Data Analysis

Question 1

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 1

1. One of the most frequently used forms of qualitative analysis,
2. Involves making summaries of data and identifying key themes and categories,
3. Firstly, the researcher becomes familiar with the data, then they start to look for different themes, review the themes, define and name these themes and then write a report,
4. Such analysis may give the basis for hypothese, e.g. about what may be found in other sources/ other things that participant may say; the hypothesis formation is therefore grounded in the data (but could still be subjective).

Question 2

Strengths of qualitative analysis?

Answer 2

1. Preserves the detail in the data,
2. Creating hypotheses during the analysis allows for new insights to be developed,
3. Some objectivity can be established by using triangulation - other sources of data are used to check conclusion. With more sources researchers can cross-check their interpretations.

Question 3

Limitations of qualitative analysis?

Answer 3

1. How do you decide which categories to use and whether a statement fits a particular category?
2. How do you decide what to leave out of the summary, or which quotations to use?
3. These are subjective decisions and researchers may be biased, possibly showing statements or events out of context.

Question 4

What is content analysis?

Answer 4

1. Is a way to quantify qualitative data,
2. A representative sample of qualitative data is first collected, e.g. from an interview,
3. Coding units are identified to analyse the data. A coding unit could be, for example, an act of violence, or the use of gender stereotypes. These must be given operationalised definitions first,
4. The qualitative data is then analysed to see how often each coding unit occurs,
5. Statistical analysis can then be carried out.

Question 5

Strengths of content analysis?

Answer 5

1. A clear summary of the patterns in the data may be established,
2. Once a coding system has been set up, replication is easy, improving reliability.

Question 6

Limitations of content analysis?

Answer 6

1. Often an individual’s judgement is used to define coding units, so they can be subjective,
2. Reducing the data to particular coding units removes detail, and the true meaning of things may be lost when taken out of context.

Question 7

Advantages of quantifying data?

Answer 7

1. It becomes easier to see patterns in the data, and easier to summarise and present it,
2. Statistical analysis can be carried out.

Question 8

Disadvantages of quantifying data?

Answer 8

1. Care is needed to avoid bias in defining coding units, or deciding which behaviours fit particular units,
2. Qualitative data has more detail, which is lost when it is converted into numbers.

Question 9

What is primary data?

Answer 9

Information collected during a researcher’s direct observations of participants, e.g. test results, answers to questionnaires, observation notes.

Question 10

What is secondary data?

Answer 10

Information collected from other studies. This data can be used to check the validity of studies, or used to provide evidence to support or discredit a new theory.

Question 11

What is meta-analysis?

Answer 11

1. Both qualitative data and quantitative data can be analysed using a meta-analysis,
2. Where you analyse the results from loads of different studies and come up with some general conclusions,
3. They are a good way of bringing together different data, and by doing this they reduce the problem of sample size. However, one problem is that there are often loads of conflicting results out there.