The Advocate's Evaluation Toolkit

How to Code and Analyze Data in Excel

Instructions

It may be easier to use Excel or another spreadsheet application for open-ended responses from a
survey, because you are likely to have shorter responses, but more of them.

You can use two approaches when coding qualitative data in a spreadsheet. You can do the same sort of
coding described in the "How to Code and Analyze Data in Word" document, where your goal is to
identify themes that reduce the amount of text in easier-to-manage chunks. For this method, you will
put the survey excerpt in one column and the themes identified in the next column. You can also use
overarching themes to categorize or effectively quantify your qualitative data. To do this, you will
identify a number of “buckets” to code your data into, either decided ahead of time or as you become
more familiar with your data. Each bucket goes into its own column. If a survey excerpt goes into a
bucket, put a “1” in the bucket column for the excerpt row.

Spark Policy Institute | www.sparkpolicy.com

 Survey Excerpt Themes Codes Little political or
applied: policy support
Respondent
ID
Total per
code: 2
Lack of payday loan protection for
The current policy or political environment surrounding financial security is consumer, Some legislative success in
lacking in the payday loan protection of the consumer. Legislation has made applying restrictions
some progress in applying some restrictions but still need to make additional
1 laws to keep the consumer from being taken advantage of.
Little political/policy support for financial
It is still difficult within the political environment to get support behind security programs including asset
financial security programs. No locked in policy is put into place at this development 1
particular time to encourage or require financial security programs for asset
2 development programs.
Little political support or awareness of
Not a lot of awareness about financial security. Not an issue that has a lot of financial security issues 1
3 political buy-in
Government leaders have narrow
definition of personal responsibility and
Government leaders have a narrowly defined concept of personal ignore social deficits, Low
responsibility. Unfortunately, their definition omits many of the social deficits income/unemployed adversely affected
created as a result of focusing on profits of business or rules of play.
Inadvertent consequences arise that adversely affect those in low paying jobs
4 or those in unemployment.
Financial insecurity increasing, Disconnect
over personal responsiblility, Governor and
legislature's approach to financial security
is to cut taxes and public services,
Openings for changes in mental health
service
Citizens are becoming less financially secure, and wages are among the lowest
in the nation. This is, I suspect, causing a massive dissonance for financially
stressed people who have been taught that their financial fate is entirely in
their own hands, and failure therein entirely their own fault. In recent history,
we have a working-class but not union-labor in mentality. The Governor's
office and the state legislature are owned by a coalition of corporate- and
libertarian- oriented Republicans, whose attitude toward financial security is to
cut taxes and public services under the expectation that will attract industry.
The legislature shows little knowledge of human development or of the
complexities of human nature. I think there are some particular openings for
change--in the area of mental health services, where the public is becoming
5 increasingly aware of woeful inadequacies.
Politicians emphasize businesses over
Politicians believe in the financial strength and security of institutions and individual, low-income populations
businesses. Not as committed to the financial security of individuals, especially affected
6 low-income populations throughout the state.

Spark Policy Institute | www.sparkpolicy.com

 Low-income/
Legislation Role of personal unemployed
supports responsibility disproportionately
affected

1 2 2
Note: Once you assign codes,
you can sort on them, for
1 example, to group all of the
excerpts that discuss personal
responsibility or the lack of
policy support.

1 1

Spark Policy Institute | www.sparkpolicy.com