Anda di halaman 1dari 18

CREATING CATEGORIES

Dey Ian. 1993


Danitza Crdenas Ortiz Cod: 20091165047

CATEGORIES
It expresses ideas about the data. It is a conceptual tool that helps us to classify and compare the important or essential features of the phenomena we are studying.

HOW CAN THIS BE DONE?


To compare observations we must be able to identify bits of data (units of meaning) which can be related for the purpose of comparison 1. we could organize the data by grouping LIKE with LIKE

2. we can put all the bits of data which seem similar into separate piles, and then compare the bits within each pile
2.1 sub-piles if the data needs further differentiation We can compare observations within each pile or sub pile, looking for interesting similarities or differences within the data

THIS PROCEDURE BEGS FOR TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:


1. what is an observation?
2. How can an observation be judged similar to or related to some other observation?

LABELING
Is designating names for unique bits of data
Labeling= categorization= making and applying distinctions between the data

Categories must be grounded conceptually and empirically. That means they must relate to an appropriate analytic context and be rooted in relevant empirical material. Categories which seem fine in theory are not good if they do not fit the data. Categories which do fir the data are not good if they cannot relate to a wider conceptual context A category cannot be created in isolation from other categories the formal relations between the categories are important in defining the relation between any particular category and the data.

Internal Categories External

they must be meaningful in relation to the data they must be meaningful in relation to the other categories

HOW DOES ONE BEGIN TO GENERATE A CATEGORY SET?


We have to consider:
Type of data being analyzed Researcher aims , inclinations, knowledge and theoretical sophistication.

One source of ideas for generating categories is the data itself

Categories should not be imposed upon the data arbitrarily; the categories adopted should reflect the data

Resources for generating categories:



Inferences from the data Initial or emergent research questions Substantive, policy and theoretical issues Imagination,

intuition and previous knowledge

WHAT DO THESE CATEGORIES MEAN?


the meaning of a category is therefore bound up on the one hand with the bits of data to which it is assigned. And on the other hand with the ideas it expresses.

APPROACHES
Line by line (strauss. 1987)
Each bit of data can be as small as a single word Each bit considered in detail Contrast it with other bits Variety of distinctions may emerge The aim is to generate theory which is fully grounded in the data .

APPROACHES
Holistic (Jones. 1985)
Categories which are based in general comprehension of the data and proceed to a fuller and more detailed categorization Attemps to grasp basic themes or issues in the data by absorbing them as a whole Broad categories and their interconnections are then distilled from a general overview of the data Sub-categorization

APPROACHES
Middle-order categories (cf. Becker & Geer. 1982) Based on fairly common sense categories, around which the data can be organized

The analysis can move either direction, towards more refined distinctions through sub categorization or towards more integrated approach by linking and integrating the middle-order categories

Number of categories Few


Flexibility and reliability Efficiency

Many

confidence in

Volume of

categories

data

HOW TO DEVELOP A CATEGORIES LIST?

1. Categories must contain no duplicates 2. categories must be exhaustive

TO KEEP IN MIND
Categories may be extended or modified to cope with the data which does not quite fit
Categories can be considered, not just in terms of the data but also in terms of their connections with other categories Data must be always considered in context

ASSIGNING CATEGORIES:
What does categorizing the data involves?
The transfer of bits of data from one context (the original data) to another (the data assigned to a category) What constitutes a bit of data? There is not right answer. We may want to categorize words, lines, sentences or paragraph Bits of data acquire new meaning, in relation to other bits of data with which we implicitly or explicitly compare them To analyze the data within categories we should respect in which events are narrated.

HOW TO ASSIGN CATEGORIES


Select a bit of data

Categorize this bit of data (this needs to be done immediately)


Label as a proper name which denotes the individual bit of data Assign a category

Categories are created, modified, divided and extended through confrontation with the data so at the end we will have enough conceptual tools for our analysis.

RESOURCES FOR THE ANALYSIS:


Categorization extracts those observations which can be distinguished with respect to specific criterion or set of criteria.
Categorization produces some ideas about whether and how sub categorize the data. We should have clarified the boundaries between categories and begun to develop some ideas about possible connections between them.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai