3.1 INTRODUCTION

In this session you will learn: the meaning of qualitative data, qualitative data analysis, the different approaches used in qualitative data analysis, the different methods used in qualitative data analysis and finally the process of qualitative data analysis.

Objectives of this session

3.2 Qualitative data and qualitative data analysis

3.2.1 Qualitative data

Qualitative data are forms of information gathered in a non-numeric form. Common examples of such data are:

• Interview transcript
• Field notes (notes taken in the field being studied during the field work)
• Video
• Audio records (Transcripts from audio records)
• Images
• Documents (reports, meeting minutes, e-mails)

Generally; Qualitative data is information about qualities; information that can't actually be measured. Some examples of qualitative data are the softness of your skin, the grace with which you run experiences on the grief period, experiences on a policy process and the color of your eyes. However, try telling Photoshop you can't measure color with numbers.Qualitative datadescribes whereas quantitativedatadefines.

3.2.2 Qualitative data analysis (QDA)

Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is the process of attaching meaning to the gathered qualitative information. It is the range of processes and procedures whereby we move from the qualitative data that have been collected into some form of explanation, understanding or interpretation of the people and situations we are investigating. QDA is usually based on an interpretative philosophy. The idea is to examine the meaningful and symbolic content of qualitative data. For example, by analyzing interview data the researcher may be attempting to identify any or all of:

·Someone's interpretation of the world,

·Why they have that point of view

·How they came to that view,

·What they have been doing,

·How they conveyed their view of their situation,

·How they identify or classify themselves and others in what they say,

Source:

Assignment one

3.3 Approaches used in Qualitative research/study

In order to understand the process of QDA it is important to understand the approaches used in qualitative study or research. Although there may be some slight variations in the process of QDA depending on the method used for analysis it is relevant to understand these approaches. Creswell (2007) give highlights to five qualitative design approaches which are:

(a)Narrative approach

This is a form of qualitative inquiry which uses a story telling methods in gathering data. Narrative is understood as a spoken or written text giving an account of an event/action or series of events/actions, chronologically connected. The procedures for  implementing this  research  consist of focusing  on studying  one  or two  individuals,  gathering  data  through  the  collection of their stories, reporting  individual  experiences,  and  chronologically  ordering  (or  using life  course  stages)  the  meaning of those  experiences.

A good example of a narrative study approach is a biographical study.

(b)Phenomenological approach

Simply refers to the approach that inquire phenomenon (lived experience/ event).

Whereas a  narrative  study  reports the  life  of a  single  individual,  a  phenomenological  study  describes  the  meaning  for  several  individuals  of their lived experiences  of a  concept  or a  phenomenon.  Phenomenologist focus  on describing  what all  participants have  in  common  as they  experience  a phenomenon  (e.g.  grief is universally  experienced).  The basic purpose of

phenomenology is  to reduce  individual  experiences  with a  phenomenon  to a description  of the  universal  essence (a  "grasp  of the  very  nature  of the  thing,"). To this end, qualitative researchers identify a phenomenon (an "object" of human experience). This human experience may be phenomena such as insomnia, being left out, anger, grief, or undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

The inquirer  then collects data  from persons who have experienced the  phenomenon,  and  develops  a  composite  description  of the  essence of the  experience for  all of the  individuals.  This description consists of "what" they experienced and "how" they experienced it.

Phenomenology has two major branches; hermeneutic phenomenology and empirical, transcendental, or psychological phenomenology.

(c)Grounded Theory approach

Grounded theory is a form of qualitative inquiry where a researcher comes with a theory grounded in the data. It moves from data to theory.In contrast  to the  a  priori,  theoretical  orientations in  sociology,  grounded theorists  emphasize that  theories  should be "grounded" in data from' the  field,  especially  in  the  actions,  interactions,  and  social  processes  of people. Thus, grounded theory  provided  for  the  generation  of a  theory  (complete  with a diagram  and  hypotheses)  of actions, interactions, or processes through  inter-relating  categories of information based  on data collected  from individuals.

Grounded theory has two major forms which are: the systematic procedures of Strauss and Corbin and the constructivist approach of Charmaz.

(d)Ethnography approach

Ethnography is a form of qualitative inquiry where the researchers spend much time in the field by becoming part of the population under study. It is used for studying cultural values, interactions and the daily life of a society or group of people in a given locality.

Ethnography is a  way  of studying  a  culture sharing group  as well  as the  final,  written product  of that  research.  As a  process, ethnography  involves  extended  observations of the  group,  most often through  participant  observation,  in  which the  researcher is  immersed  in the  day-to-day  lives  of the  people  and  observes and  interviews  the  group  participants. Ethnographers study the meaning of the behavior, the language, and the interaction among members of the culture-sharing group.

Ethnography originated from anthropology. Various fields have different forms of ethnographic approaches, these are; confessional ethnography, life history, auto-ethnography, feminist ethnography, ethnographic novels, and the visual ethnography.

(e)Case study approach

Case study approach is an approach whereby an in-depth understanding of an issue/phenomenon is studied in its context with its interrelated activities in a bound system. It should not be confused with the case reports in clinical medicine, this is a study approach. Thus, case study  research  involves  the  study  of an issue explored through  one  or more cases within  a  bounded  system. For instance:

The training and deployment of Human Resources for Health in Tanzania can be studied as a case by using one cadre eg. By studying how the Nurses or Doctors are trained and deployed in Tanzania.

Case study approach can use multiple sources of information; Interviews, observations, documents, questionnaires and surveys.A case study  is  a  good approach when the  inquirer has  clearly identifiable  cases  with boundaries  and  seeks  to provide  an in-depth  understanding of the  cases or a  comparison of several cases.

There are two major types of case studies; single case study approach and multiple cases study approach.

Assignment two

FEEDBACK

3.4 Methods/ techniques of qualitative data analysis

Qualitative analysis is a real work. Do not try to analyze badly gathered data. It takes too much time for too little knowledge gained. If the data are bad enough, you may reach erroneous conclusions. Usually a pre-existing data set gathered for some other purpose is not useful. Gather your own data using a suitable sampling framework for your research question.

If you properly collect your own data then analysis become a joy, if you poorly gather your own data then analysis become a burden. If you use poorly collected data from another person, then analysis become a nightmare.

Different fields have different qualitative data analysis techniques. The common techniques in public health are: thematic analysis, content analysis, narrative analysis and grounded theory analysis.

(a)Content Analysis

Content analysis is a qualitative data analysis method for the systematic description of behavior, asking who, what, when, where and how questions within explicitly formulated systematic rules to limit the effects of analyst bias.

This is the simplest and most popular qualitative method for health care research. It is the preferred technique for analyzing semi-structured interviews and cognitive testing interviews. Content analysis is comfortably self-taught and analyses progress quickly. The main aim of the content analysis is to come with categories.

The researcher arrives to categories through the process of coding. Coding refers to the creation of categories in relation to data; the grouping together of different instances of datum under an umbrella term that can enable them to be regarded as 'of the same type'. Coding can be open coding (the initial process to form categories) or relational coding (relating the categories to establish relationships).

(b)Thematic analysis

Thematic analysis is a qualitative analytic method/ techniques for: identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data. It minimally organizes and describes your data set in (rich) detail. However, frequently it goes further than this, and interprets various aspects of the research topic.

In thematic analysis the researcher aims at coming up with a theme or themes. A theme captures something important about the data in relation to the research question and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set. It is not commonly used by the novice researcher. This approach like the content analysis originated from the quantitative research. Thematic analysis is an approach to dealing with data that involves the creation and application of 'codes' to data. The 'data' being analysed might take any number of forms - an interview transcript, field notes, policy documents, photographs, video footage.

(c)Grounded Theory

Grounded theory is the classic and still standard technique for analyzing health data and for lots of other data in social sciences. Grounded theory uses a systematic hierarchical set of procedures to develop inductively derived theory grounded in data.Glaser and Straussinvented Grounded Theory in the 1960s to analyze data on caring for dying patients. Their books are classics and in wide use today because of the insights they provide, particularly in the field of palliative care. Like for the content analysis and thematic analysis grounded theory starts from codes to categories and finally arrives to the theory grounded in data.

(d)Narrative Summary Analyses

This technique was invented later by Carol Gilligan, partly as a response to Grounded Theory and also in response to the movement in literature and history called Deconstruction.

In this technique after analyzing the information we re-organize them to tell a story. The story gives us a valuable insight on the views of the participant. Narrative Summary Analysis Technique is also called threading.

Assignment three

FEEDBACK

3.5 The process of analyzing qualitative data

Although we have seen different techniques in analysis of qualitative data, all have commonalities. They all involve;

·Data collection

·Data reduction

·Data display

·Conclusion drawing

Data collection

This is the process of gathering information basing on your study objective. This can be through; interviews, focused group discussions, audio-visual, observations and document reviews.

Data reduction

This is the process whereby the research scan the rich information collected to sort those that clearly fit to his or her study objective. In real words this is the process that involves active analysis of the data to come up with categories, themes, stories or theories basing on the technique used.

Data display

This is the process of making our findings clear for sharing. This is the presentation of our results. This will be covered in the next lecture.

Drawing conclusion

This is to say what our results mean at last. It is from this part where our advice or recommendation can be drawn.

SUMMARY

EXERCISE

FURTHER READINGS