Whether it is a thesis, dissertation, monograph, or essay, all projects include qualitative data analysis so most students are looking for essay service because sometimes are struggling with it.
So how to perform qualitative data analysis?
In this post, we want to teach you about qualitative data analysis, the concept, the stages, the processing, and the analysis itself. During your time at university, you will often hear about the analysis of research data in your essay or dissertation, that’s why we decided to tell you everything you need to know about it. Ready to learn? Let’s go…
Data analysis is one of the most important moments in the qualitative research process and involves working with the data, organizing them into manageable units. Synthesizing them, looking for regularities or patterns among them, discovering which ones are important and what they will contribute to the research.
The purpose of data analysis in qualitative research is to reduce, categorize, synthesize and compare the information. The aim is to obtain as complete a view as possible of the reality under study.
The data must be ordered and simplified in such a way that they respond to a systematic and meaningful structure. You can ask for help and buy assignments online, or you can learn how to collect qualitative data for your papers yourself.
There is no single model to follow; it can be carried out in a wide variety of ways. In the first place, objectivity is sought, not in quantification, verification, and numerical contracting of data, but in the intersubjective meaning. (onlinepharmacyreviews.net)
This type of analysis tries to understand reality as a unified whole. It can be considered the broadest stage of research; it is a task that is carried out throughout the entire research process.
Making sense of qualitative data means reducing field notes, descriptions, explanations, etc., to a manageable number of meaningful units. It means structuring and exposing those items, drawing and confirming more comprehensive conclusions.
Treatment and analysis of qualitative data
First of all, we must know that this is the moment when we must “talk about the data”, the procedures and steps cannot be standardized or tabulated as in the case of quantitative data.
Secondly, it is important to know that during the data collection stage it is important to carry out parallel analysis and draw provisional conclusions and then return to the original records.
Then, be clear about the components of the data:
- Information about reality
- The conceptual elaboration of it
- The way it is recorded and communicated
Qualitative data, such as those obtained from interviews and qualitative observation, are a bit more complex to analyze. This complexity lies mainly in the richness and density of the information and in the fact that they are polysemic.
3 phases for analyzing qualitative data
- The first is discovery in progress. At this stage, themes are identified and concepts and propositions are developed.
- Another phase involves coding the data and refining the understanding of the theme.
- Finally, it is where the researcher attempts to relativize his or her findings.
Interpretation and integration of results
Interpretation is understood in two senses, on the one hand, it refers to the relationship of the knowledge that is constructed with the knowledge already elaborated in other research. On the other hand, in the sense of understanding the meanings that circulate among the research subjects.
The important thing is not to remain in the mere description, but to arrive at the interpretation and for this, it is necessary to relate them to the theoretical framework.
According to Briones (1990:82) interpretation can be carried out from:
- Semantics: translating the terms used in the language of a subculture into the language of the total culture.
- Meaningful: looking for the meaning that the actors give to their behavior from their own perspective.
- Theoretical: guide and explain the results with a theory appropriate to the object of study.
Presentation of the results
The presentation of the results of qualitative analysis is much more complex than that of quantitative analysis. In the interview, as well as in qualitative observation, there is a multiplicity of records and annotations.
The most pertinent is the presentation of the central arguments, through a written report with arguments. This may contain textual quotations from the interviewees’ answers or texts written during the observations.
It is an interweaving of discursive propositions with carefully selected information. The conclusions assemble the elements that emerged from the analytical process to reconstruct a structured and meaningful whole.
In this phase, the results, the products of the research, and their interpretation appear together. Conclusions are propositions, affirmations that the researcher elaborates according to the problem posed, the objectives, and the premises that guided the research process.
They usually reflect the more or less complex relationships found between two or more elements. They must be coherent with the problem and the objectives of the research.
Bonus: Finally, the analysis and interpretation of qualitative data is a dynamic and creative activity. Moreover, it is carried out throughout the whole process of your papers and involves working with the data. And organizing them into manageable units, synthesizing them, looking for regularities or patterns, and making sense of them.