14 LEARNING UNIT 14

14 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

14.1 INTRODUCTION
The whole purpose of conducting qualitative research and following the research
process up to this point is to generate findings. The analysis and interpretation of
qualitative data is required in order to finalise and communicate these findings.
Learning unit 14 is intended to help you understand the important concepts of
qualitative data analysis and interpretation in order to communicate these findings.
Chapter 19 of the prescribed book (Fouché, C.B., Strydom, H. & Roestenburg, W.J.H.
[Eds.]. 2020. Research at grass roots – for the social sciences and human services professions. 5th
edition. Cape Town: Van Schaik – ISBN 9780627038211) is titled qualitative data
analysis and interpretation. In this chapter, the main elements that play a role in
qualitative data analysis are discussed.

FIGURE 14.1
Module outline (lesson 11)

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14.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this learning unit and the relevant parts of the prescribed
book, you should be able to:

• gain a better understanding of the nature of qualitative data analysis and

interpretation
• gain clarity on the criteria for trustworthy qualitative research
• demonstrate a knowledge of the qualitative data analysis process
• recognise the writing process as a tool for data interpretation

14.3 CONTENT OF THE LEARNING UNIT

To achieve the aim and learning outcomes of this unit, you will cover the following
topics in chapter 19 of the prescribed book:

(1) characteristics of qualitative data analysis

(2) enhancing the quality of qualitative research
(3) conceptualising a framework for data analysis and interpretation
(4) data management

After reading and thinking about the contents of chapter 19 of the prescribed book,
you will have to explain the concepts of qualitative data analysis and interpretation.

14.4 KEY CONCEPTS

The following key terms are important in this learning unit:

• audit trail • data familiarisation • researcher as

• authenticity • data presentation instrument
• coding • data saturation • research participant
• computer-assisted • defining and naming • thematic analysis
qualitative data themes • theme development
analysis software • dependability • transcribing
(CAQDAS) • meaning making • transferability
• conceptual • member checks • triangulation
framework • peer debriefing • trustworthiness
• confirmability • prolonged
• credibility strategies engagement in the
• criteria for assessing field
quality
• crystallisation

Remember to take a look at the glossary of terms that has been uploaded on myUnisa
under Additional Resources. If you see a term and you do not know what it means,
stop and go to the glossary. This will familiarise you with the terminology of research
and you will get comfortable with the content of this module much quicker.

https://mymodules.dtls.unisa.ac.za/pluginfile.php/15594258/mod_folder/content/0/
SMA4801_Glossary%20of%20terms%20Eng.docx?forcedownload=1

After working through the learning unit, you should be able to explain all of the
above-mentioned concepts. These concepts are all explained or defined in the
prescribed textbook and this unit. Qualitative data analysis forms part of step 12 in
the research process (see figure 14.2).
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 LEARNING UNIT 14: Qualitative data analysis

FIGURE 14.2
Qualitative data analysis as part of the research process

14.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Study the section titled characteristics of qualitative data analysis in the prescribed
textbook. From the discussion in your prescribed textbook, it is clear that qualitative
research aims to understand human behaviour from a subjective point of view,
looking to gain perspective. The four dimensions of quality in qualitative research
are credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability.

14.6 ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Study the section titled enhancing the quality of qualitative research in the
prescribed textbook. This section of the prescribed textbook introduces us to the
four concepts of quality in qualitative research as part of trustworthiness. These four
concepts are transferability, dependability, conformability, and credibility.

ACTIVITY 14.1: QUALITY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

What are the criteria for assessing the quality of qualitative research?

• Transferability: The transferability of research findings refers to the extent to which

the research findings can be applied in other contexts and studies.
• Dependability: Dependability refers to the stability of findings over time where the
researcher attempts to account for changing conditions in the phenomenon under
study as well as changes in the strategy/design created by an increasingly refined
understanding of the setting. As such, the researcher should explain whether the
research process is logical, well-documented and audited.

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• Confirmability: Confirmability refers to the importance of a self-critical attitude

of the researcher towards their own preconceptions and the need for continuous
reflexivity. Confirmability has become less of an issue since the traditional distance
between the researcher and the researched has narrowed considerably over the past
decades. This is because the notion of involving the participant as co-researcher
in the research process has become more prevalent.
• Credibility or authenticity: Credibility refers to the identification and description
of research participants. This is the most important criterion in qualitative research.
The researcher should continuously reflect on whether there is congruency between
research participants’ views and the researcher’s reconstruction and representation
thereof.

Pay close attention to the discussion of these four concepts in the prescribed textbook.
The key argument for ensuring quality in qualitative research is communicating how
credible the research is and what process was followed during the research. The
transparency with which the research is conducted and communicated is a crucial
part of proving the usefulness and integrity of the research process and the research
findings (Connely, 2016).

ACTIVITY 14.2: CREDIBILITY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Which strategies can you employ to increase the credibility of your qualitative research?
Triangulation is the most valid strategy for theory construction and the enhancement
of trustworthiness. This strategy makes use of different methods of data gathering and
interpretation, data sources, theories, and investigations to overcome the weaknesses
of a single method/approach.

Prolonged engagement refers to the immersion of the researcher into the lifeworld
and culture of research participants over a long period of time. The aim is to gain an
understanding of the participants’ behaviour, values and social relationships in their
social context. Persistent engagement within a conceptual framework brings rigour to
a qualitative study.

Peer debriefing is an important strategy to enhance rigour in qualitative studies. This

involves setting up an analytical session where peers can be a sounding board for
new ideas, insights and hunches that were gained during the research process. This
provides an ideal opportunity to refine and discuss fieldnotes.

Member checking refers to the researcher returning transcripts to participants to

provide them with an opportunity to verify the meaning the researcher has given to
their words. This can be done in either a formal or informal manner during the course of
observation and conversation throughout the entire research process. The researcher,
in collaboration with the participants, could also ask other individuals who are close to
the participants or others who have had similar experiences to read and comment on
the final script. The researcher may also engage member reflections in cooperation
with the participants. The aim of member reflections is to provide additional insights
into and credibility to the research.

Data saturation takes place when the researcher has reached a point where new
interviews provide little or no new information and the data can now richly contribute to
answering the research questions. The aim of data saturation is to guide the researcher
with regard to whom and what to include in the study to reach a point of data saturation.
Theoretical saturation is reached when new cases provide very few new insights.

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Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) offers a suite of digital

tools that could be used to store, organise, analyse, represent and transport qualitative
materials. It facilitates the ordering and categorisation of data so that researchers can
creatively manage it and make sense thereof. It also enhances the transparency of
the qualitative data analysis process and enables researchers to make their analysis
more transparent. This is possible because the tasks involved can be better described
than analysing them manually. Applying CAQDAS encourages the validity of qualitative
data analysis by facilitating an accurate picture and ensuring a continuous audit of the
entire process.

14.7 CONCEPTUALISING A FRAMEWORK FOR DATA ANALYSIS

AND INTERPRETATION
Study the section titled conceptualising a framework for data analysis and
interpretation in the prescribed textbook. This section of the prescribed textbook
makes a clear distinction between the researcher as research instrument, and the
researcher as research participant.

ACTIVITY 14.3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

What are the core elements of the conceptual framework and how do they relate to
one another?
The conceptual framework relates the data, the “self” (researcher as instrument) and the
“other” (participants), each with their own philosophy (ontology, epistemology, axiology)
background, beliefs, expectations, cultural values, perceptions and experiences, to one
another as well as to the social world/culture and existing knowledge (the larger whole).

As qualitative data analysis involves continuous analysis and interpretation, it is

particularly important for the researcher to not only continually be aware of their
conceptual framework, research questions, methods, values and biases, but also of
their presence in the very situations they study. The researcher-as-instrument must be
acutely aware of this, while also being open to flexibility and the changes this requires.

The implication is that researchers should not only critically reflect on their own positions in
the study, but also on those of their participants and interactions with them. To gain insight
into the meaning that participants give to their experiential world, the researcher should
understand the participants’ lived experiences and broader relationships to networks
(e.g. family, friends), institutions (e.g. school, work, church), culture and society. In co-
constructed research strategies, the roles of “researcher” and “researched” are blurred.

Within the framework of participatory or indigenous research, for instance, qualitative

researchers become advocates for the people they study; this implies an even stronger
relationship with the participants and their worlds. This also calls on the researcher to
give a voice to those who might have been oppressed or treated unequally.

14.8 DATA MANAGEMENT

Study the section titled data management in the prescribed textbook, paying
close attention to the discussions on how data collection, sampling, analysis and
dissemination is closely related to each other and directly linked with data management.
Qualitative research follows a thematic approach to analysis and interpretation in

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order to understand the meaning of the topic under investigation, as communicated

by the research participants.

ACTIVITY 14.4: DATA ANALYSIS

How would you go about analysing data in qualitative research?

There are multiple ways to undertake qualitative data analysis that range from content
analysis to conversation analysis, from grounded theory to phenomenological analysis,
from narrative to film analysis, from visual data analysis to electronic data analysis.
Each of these options offer advantages and disadvantages. Some are more common
and easier to apply than others, but all are closely linked to the selected qualitative
research strategy.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis, for instance, focuses on how people make

sense of their lived experiences and is therefore an appropriate method of analysis for
a phenomenological design. Analyses aimed at building theory from data, align well
with grounded theory. As may be apparent, any visual analysis therefore also requires
an appropriate method of data collection. Since researchers can only convey their
understanding of the data to their readers by interlinking it with their presentation, writing
has now more than ever became an integral part of interpretation and analysis. One
way to make the text understandable to the reader, is therefore to include themselves
(as the researchers) and their perspectives into the text. Consequently, text is no longer
written in the third person or in the past tense, but increasingly in the first person and
in the present tense.

Pay close attention to the discussion of transcribing the data, data familiarisation,
coding, theme development, data interpretation and the definition of themes and
categories and the presentation of data. Figure 14.3 below gives an example of a
thematic analysis as generated by ATLAS.ti.

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FIGURE 14.3
Thematic analysis (Fouché, 2022:409)

Proper analysis of qualitative data is extremely important and the onus is on the
researcher to ensure that he/she has the required skills to successfully complete
a qualitative research project from start to finish. Take a look at the video below
regarding thematic analysis in qualitative research.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDeAphsTkU

14.9 SUMMARY OF LEARNING UNIT

This learning unit provided an overview of the important aspects in qualitative
data analysis and interpretation. Using a trustworthy approach through the research
process is extremely important to ensure the quality of the research as well as the
quality of the research analysis and findings. Data management and analysis is a
skill that is honed over years, and any qualitative researcher should be dedicated
to complete this process as meticulously as possible to ensure that good quality
analysis can be conducted.

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The next learning unit will look at mixed methods and evaluation research
(Learning unit 15) as part of lesson 12.

14.10 REFERENCES
Connelly, L.M. 2016. Trustworthiness in qualitative research. MedSurg Nursing, 25(6):
Nov to Dec, pp. 435+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/
A476729520/AONE?u=usa_itw&sid=googleScholar&xid=cc1c1abc (accessed
on 18 July 2022).
Fouché, C.B., Strydom, H. & Roestenburg, W.J.H. (Eds.). 2021. Research at grass
roots – for the social sciences and human services professions. 5th edition. Cape Town:
Van Schaik.

Assessment 4 MCQ

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