Inquiries, Investigations and Immersion
Handout
Qualitative Coding
Activity 1. Qualitative Coding. Teacher provides a sample coding. Students observe and analyze how
the coding is being done.
Sample Question: What were your stressful experiences in modular distance learning ?
Stressful experiences in modular distance learning
_______________________________________________________________
Responses Frequency
_______________________________________________________________
Lack of time 6
Late submission of modules 2
Network connection issues 1
Learners’ poor grasp of the modules 1
_______________________________________________________________
Questions: 1. What have you realized in this activity?
2. How is coding done?
3. Why do we need to do the coding of participants’ responses?
What is qualitative coding?
Qualitative coding is a process of systematically categorizing excerpts in your qualitative data in order
to find themes and patterns.
It enables you to take unstructured or semi-structured data such as transcripts from in-depth interviews
or focus groups and structure it into themes and patterns for analysis.
Coding your qualitative data makes your analysis more systematic and rigorous. It also provides
transparency and reflexivity to both yourself and others.
It’ll enable you to find insights that are truly representative of your data and the human stories behind
them.
Benefits of qualitative coding
Increase validity: Qualitative coding provides organization and structure to data so that you can
examine it in a systematic way to increase the validity of your analysis.
Decrease bias: Qualitative coding enables you to be aware of potential biases in the way data is
analyzed.
Accurately represent participants: Qualitative coding allows you to evaluate if your analysis
represents your participant base, and helps you avoid over representing one person or group of people.
Enable transparency: Qualitative coding enables other researchers to methodically and
systematically review your analysis.
How do you code qualitative data?
Thematic Analysis Coding
Find recurring patterns and themes .
Thematic analysis coding is utilized when you’re looking for themes or patterns across your data set.
If you find a pattern within different parts of your data or see that certain excerpts point to the same
underlying idea or meaning, code those excerpts with a unifying code.
See how to do thematic analysis.
Pattern Coding
With Pattern coding, you group of similarly coded excerpts under one overarching code to describe a
pattern.
Focused coding / selective coding
With Focused coding, you create a finalized set of codes and categories from your first coding pass
(often from “open coding”). You then re-code the data according to this final code list with the intent
to not deviate from it.
In comparison to an initial “open coding” pass which allows for emergent and changing codes,
focused coding is a method where you don’t intend to change the code list any further.
Axial coding
With axial coding, you relate codes or categories to one another. You’re looking for relationships and
links between what you found in earlier rounds of coding.
See how to do open, axial, and selective coding.
Theoretical coding
With theoretical coding, you conceptualize a hypothesis of a theoretical framework through sorting
and organizing codes. You structure the codes and categories that emerged from data into a theory.
Elaborative coding
With elaborative coding, you apply a theory from a previous research study and observe whether or
not your current codes and categories relate. You can think about it as elaborating on pre-existing
theories.
Longitudinal coding
With longitudinal coding, you organize your existing codes and categories in a way that enables you
to compare them over time.
Content analysis coding
Directed content analysis is a deductive approach to qualitative analysis where you start with an
existing theory or framework and utilize data to either support or build upon that framework.
Activity 2. Pattern Coding
Directions: Using the transcription from the interview, do the pattern coding. Identify which responses
have the highest frequency in each question.
Home-based Activity
Continue the pattern coding of all responses and read the handout on Thematic Analysis