The process of analysing my recorded interview involved making a decision of what approach to take with regards to the method I chose. Analysing ethnographic and qualitative research data often happens at the same time as data collection. During the process you return to the data often and each time you do, you go more in depth and uncover new findings. It is a process that requires a lot of time for review and reflection.
There are a few ways to analyse qualitative data:
- Content analysis – what are the participants saying?
- Thematic analysis – what themes/topics are being discussed?
- Discourse analysis – how are people saying things? What words/language is used?
I will be breaking up the interview into four main elements in order to analyse the data and present my findings:
- Focus questions related to specific elements of the research question
- Identifying and coding themes/categories
- Comparing participants responses
- Linking themes/responses to existing theory
- Interpretation – what does the data mean?
Focus questions:
- How are black academics with disabilities currently represented in educational settings?
- How is disability perceived by myself?
- How is disability perceived by the participants?
- What impact could an increased visibility have on students?
- Does the qualitative data support the views of the participants?
Coding themes/categories that I have identified so far:
- Relationships
- Memories
- Associations
- Language
- Stereotypes
- Emotions
- Behavior
- Conciousness
- Perspective
- Acknowledgement
- Spectrum
- Attitudes
- Coping mechanisms
- Visibility
- Stigmas
- Vulnerability
These are the main categories that I have drawn from my initial primary coding of the data so far. I will be looking at each one and determining their importance and meaning within the context of this research project. These codes will then be coded again to create higher level themes within the data – the process is much like breaking down everything into blocks and then building those blocks back up again to create a more complex picture.
Comparing participants responses:
Participant responses can be compared in several ways such as separately by question, topic or time period. Each response can then also be reviewed and compared holistically and similarities/differences can be identified between the individual responses.
Linking themes/responses to existing theory:
I will be looking at the themes that I have identified and exploring whether or not there are any patterns or links to existing theories. Do the participants’ responses agree or disagree with any of the evidence collected from the quantitative data?
Interpretation:
What does the data actually mean and how can it inform my conclusions? Is it even possible for me to come to a solid conclusion based on the analysis of this data alone?
There is no one specific way to analyse qualitative data – as stated at the beginning, the more you return to it, the more you uncover. Each time the data is looked at, new patterns emerge which can lead to different conclusions and interpretations.
References:
FitzGerald, E., 2012. Analysing video and audio data: existing approaches and new innovations. [online] Available at: www.researchgate.net/publication/236616317_Analysing_video_and_audio_data_existing_approaches_and_new_innovations [Accessed 14 March 2021].
Knoblauch, H. and Schnettler, B., 2012. Videography: analysing video data as a ‘focused’ ethnographic and hermeneutical exercise. Qualitative Research Journal, pp.334–356.
Lacković, N., 2018. Analysing videos in educational research: an “Inquiry Graphics” approach for multimodal, Peircean semiotic coding of video data. Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy,.
Saldaña, J., 2009. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. 1st ed. Sage.