Has anyone got suggestions for types of qualitative analysis that combine inductive and deductive approaches? For a project I'm working on, we identified a relevant pre-existing framework about accessibility maturity with 5 key areas. We've completed semi-structured interviews about strengths and barriers in these 5 areas, and are now analysing the data. I'd like to focus on findings from each of these five areas as the main sections in our report, but also code inductively within each of them to discuss the emergent patterns we've found. Any suggestions for an analysis approach that might suit? I've looked at thematic analysis, content analysis, and framework analysis but none of these seem to fit as we're beginning with a pre-existing framework then coding inductively within it. Thanks for your suggestions!
One approach that may work for your project is a mixed methods approach, specifically a sequential exploratory design. This approach involves collecting and analyzing quantitative data first, followed by qualitative data analysis to further explore the quantitative findings. In this case, you could start by using the pre-existing framework to quantitatively analyze the strengths and barriers in each of the 5 areas, and then conduct a thematic analysis to explore the emergent patterns within each of these areas. You could also consider using a grounded theory approach, which involves iterative analysis and theoretical sampling as new themes and patterns emerge from the data. Whichever approach you choose, make sure to thoroughly document your methods and justify your choices.
This has been called a "hybrid" approach. See Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, (2006). "Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development." International Journal of Qualitative Methods.
Gillian Mccarthy ultimately all qualitative research analysis includes inductive and deductive components. What you described would be twofold: (1)begin with a deductive analysis focused on the 5 areas from your framework. Within this process, you would want to keep your mind open to include ideas that do not align with the framework--that is, if an idea keeps coming up in the transcripts but does not fit in one of the 5 areas, then I recommend putting these data in a separate 'category' or code depending on how you are capturing your analyses processes. (2) your second step is to identify the patterns within each of the 5 areas. In this step, you are combining data that are similar in meaning. The goal is to combine the data until you get to between 2 and 5 groups. You would also do this step for any group of data that emerges outside of the framework. In this way, you ultimately will be doing a thematic analysis at the second level--the inductive level.
See the documents attached. I hope this helps.
Veronica