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.
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
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.
they must be meaningful in relation to the data they must be meaningful in relation to the other categories
Categories should not be imposed upon the data arbitrarily; the categories adopted should reflect the data
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
Many
confidence in
Volume of
categories
data
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.
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.