Qualitative Research Methods

Kevin Meethan

Coding what is it?

At a basic level, coding is any way of
categorising and sorting data for the purposes
of analysis
In qualitative research coding is generally done
at the end of the research although some initial
categories or thoughts about the data may
have been decided before the research and
refined during it

Coding qualitative data

Coding proceeds on the basis of linking
diverse observations, statements and so on,
connected by a common themes and patterns
in a manner that enables you to draw all the
particular examples together
Coding involves the breaking down of all your
data into units which are then grouped
according to their characteristics. As such it is
rather like a filing system

Coding approaches

There are a number of ways this can be done and

a number of different systems. One of the best
known approaches is called Grounded Theory
There is no one standard approach but what they
all share in common are a number of key
techniques that require the researcher to read
their interview transcripts and field notes very
closely

Basic Procedures:
Ask a consistent and specific set of questions
of all the data: what is happening here? what
is important?
Interrogate all your data systematically

Coding: the process

The first stage is a trawl through the data to see what

is there, what patterns are emerging from the data.

Any thoughts and ideas jotted down as notes are
important. Remember to write these down as you go!
One tip is to format documents with a wide margin
that gives you the space to write in
From this sort of data you will have developed an
initial coding scheme, which has roughly divided up
your material into units

Coding: the process

The second stage is to repeat the process, refining,

expanding or rejecting initial categories
Once you have identified the significant elements in
your data these need to be tagged or coded
A code is essentially a way of identifying significant
parts of the data, so it can be in any form of letters
or numbers that make sense to you

Coding: the process

Coding is both a means of dividing your data
into manageable segments, as well as a means
of allowing you quick access to the relevant data
when you need it.
Most coding begins with descriptive labelling
and works towards more abstract analytical
categories as it progresses

The coding frame

A code can refer to a single word, a phrase, a
sentence or even a whole document
Sections of your transcripts may contain
multiple codes, because you have assigned
one code to a piece of text does not prevent
you from adding another code to it
A list of codes is often referred to as a coding
frame

 Exercise
This exercise provides an illustration of coding based on two
interview transcripts, both concerned with people taking
exercise and keeping fit.
1. Print off the two interview transcripts:
Interview_transcript1
Interview_transcript2
2. Read through them and identify areas where they overlap
and where they are different, think about issues such as
motivation, barriers, incentives and so on.

 Exercise (continued)
3. Question the data, for example look at the role of family
and friends, ask what differences gender makes and so
on. You may want to make some notes.
4. Now print off and look at the document called
coded interviews which will give you some
idea of what coding can look like.
You should bear in mind while coding must be rigorous, how
you actually do it varies from researcher to researcher.

Coding: some tips

Coding is only a means to an end, it should never
become an end in itself
Categories often change, so dont be afraid to
uncode, merge categories or split them into different
ones.
There are a number of computer packages that can
help your analysis and make the process easier,
however they do not do the coding for you! See the
slides on Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis
(CAQDAS)

References
A useful guide can be found here:
Foss, S.K., and Waters, W. (2003) Coding & Analysis of Qualitative
Data http://www.abdsurvivalguide.com/News/020603.htm
Accessed 1th July 2011.
Richards, L. (2009 2nd edition) Handling Qualitative Data. Sage:
London . See Chapter 5: Coding

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Author

Kevin Meethan

Institute

Plymouth University

Title

Coding Qualitative data

Date Created

23 February 2011

Educational Level

M Level

Keywords

UKOER LFWOER UOPCPDRM WBL Work-Based Learning Continuous

Professional Development Research Skills Qualitative Research Methods Coding

University of Plymouth, 2010, some rights reserved

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