Undoubtedly the best known source for covering different versions of coding is Saldana's book, The Coding Manual.

But rather than investigating all the many ways that people have discussed coding, you might be better off to select a form of analysis (e.g., Grounded Theory or Thematic Analysis), and then concentrate on just the kind of coding that goes with that method.

Temtim - David is correct. Best that you determine your methodology to give you a more specific guide to the most appropriate analysis method and focus on that method. You mention the common techniques but there are many others as well. For instance, if choosing phenomenological research, there are differing analytical frameworks depending on the philosophical methodology adopted i.e. Giorgi, van Manen etc.

There attached chapter may assist.

Grounded, explanatory, content analysis are few methods

Qualitative data is rare in science otherwise science should be recognized every where there are a large group of people devote their time on research activities. Very few are only concerned on it.

I thank you all for interesting explanations for my questions especially the elaborative explanation given by Heather

I always use the thematic analysis on which I look at the different things that come up during the data collection process that is, when using primary sources of information. My main guide first is the questionnaire that I have or the interview guide. From this, one is able to pick out the different issues that are to be captured by the study. secondly, one looks at the emerging themes that were initially not present in the research guide questions. I have basically been using thematic analysis for all the studies that I have been doing.

Temtim - Grounded theory, ethnographic, narrative research, historical, case studies, and phenomenology are several types of qualitative research designs and the researcher can analyse the qualitative data as per the research design which fits best to the nature and scope of the topic. The following steps are helpful: 1) Prepare and organize your data. Print out your transcripts, gather your notes, documents, or other materials, 2) Review and explore the data, 3) Create initial codes, 4) Review those codes and revise or combine into themes, 5) Present themes in a cohesive manner. Coding in qualitative analysis simply involves categorizing your data into concepts, properties and patterns. Coding is a vital step in any qualitative data analysis and helps the researcher give meaning to data collected from the field.

I've used Grounded Theory for one study and content analysis for another - depends on what you are trying to do with the data and what your methods were for collection such as using an semi structured interview guide or more fluid narrative techniques. Without knowing your purpose and methods it's hard to guide you.

Dear Temtim,

I have a series of videos on my YouTube channel on qualitative methodology. Lectures 5,6 and 7 cover thematic analysis and the earlier videos cover other issues related to qualitative work and give an introduction to other forms of qualitative analysis. The videos are under the PSYC13024 playlist (this is the code of the unit that I use the video on - it is a level 3 undergraduate psychology course). here is my YouTube address.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJLwX036Z8xjMpfEMAbj4LA/

Subscribe and you will received future videos that may relate to qualitative work.

Cheers,

Paul

My two cents, which involves a bit of work. Consider your own methods of collecting data, type of data, and objective(s). Then find a study (or studies) similar to yours with respect to these variables. Hopefully it or they have been published in reputable journals. Look at their methods and carefully review the rationale for their selected methods. Research, study, and try to understand why they chose their specific analytic approaches. Although this sometimes varies by investigator experience and skill-set, doing this will at least give you an idea of sound methodological approaches that apply to your own study. I believe going this route will prevent you from missing the mark in your analysis, particularly if you have limited experience in this type of research.

For qualitative research one can collect data from personal interview,focus group,ethnography or case study etc.This could be analysed by the word count analysis and sentiment analysis or content analysis by a software like NVIVO

The following publications may further help:

• Connolly, M. (2003) Qualitative analysis: A teaching tool for social work research, Qualitative Social Work, 2, 1, pp. 103-112.
• Dey, I. (2005) Qualitative data analysis: A user-friendly guide for social scientists. New York: Routledge.
• Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. 2nd edn. CA: Sage: Thousand Oaks.
• Pope, C., Ziebland, S. and Mays, N. (2000) Analysing qualitative data, British Medical Journal, 320, 7227, pp. 114-116.
• Thomas, D. R. (2006) A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data, American journal of evaluation, 27, 2, pp. 237-246.

You can also quantify qualitative data using fuzzy logic.

I just saw this question today.

For text-based qualitative analysis, here is a basic process you can follow. Of course, there are many variations and approaches to qualitative analysis (as mentioned in other answers), and you need to select the one that best fits with your study.

Method Critical Text Theme Analysis

I would basically recommend MAXQDA. I think the features of the software blends into text, visual and multimedia analysis nicely. It is a software program designed for computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data, text and multimedia analysis in academic, scientific, and business institutions. Check out www.maxqda.com