2010 Apr; 45(5): 648670. Due to the need to maintain confidentiality of respondents (who have given informed consent) and potential respondents or persons present in field settings (who do not know of the ethnographers role), no cameras of any kind are employed. In qualitative research, the process is much more iterative and inductive. One additional software packagegotomypc.comnow permits all project staff (with appropriate password protection) to access and read (and copy data) from the FileMaker Pro database while working from remote sites (e.g. A computer database may be a good help in this process if the researcher will not use more complex and comprehensive software for his analysis. Staff conference calls scheduled every two weeks enable the investigators to provide feedback about the quality of work by ethnographic staff, and to discuss emergent findings. However, ethnographic probing and analysis of their stories revealed that a negative answer did not mean the absence of physical assault. While the database will provide mountains of words regarding a particular topic, the hard work just begins. Five thematic questions from the 15-page qualitative protocol for the Katrina project are provided in figure 4. But as you get further into your analysis, you may realize there are additional organizational approaches that can provide insight, such as parental status as in the example below. Another limitation is that respondents often talk about issues that are off the topic of the question; they need to be reminded to address the topic. FileMaker Pro offers several ways of accessing this data and generating results specific to a given topic. Points of view, opinions, and conclusions in this paper do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Government or National Development and Research Institutes. The .gov means its official. An important component of training staff occurs via role-playing, so as to develop experience in observation and field note writing, interviewing, and other skills that are expected. Making decisions supported only by raw data is a big mistake for any project, including UX Design projects. It often takes much time and intensive supervision to get staff both trained and systematically supervised to write excellent field notes. MAINTAIN COPIES: Prepare. The web-based interface now enables ethnographers in remote sites to directly submit their work to the central repository on the NDRI network. Our experience has been that each unit of work must have its own field note. In the Katrina project, this involved development of question domains regarding time windows and illicit drug markets being studied. research team members, use of N6TM software to organize data, and creation of a comprehensive audit trail with internal and external audits. Quantitative research methods include: A/B testing Eye-tracking reports Heat maps Survey questions (like "rate this on a scale of 1-10") Qualitative user research Qualitative research is different from quantitative. Brent Edward, Slusarz Pawel. Organizing Your Data and Keeping Them Safe Window containing the text addressing that question, both the interviewers question and respondents answer. Previously each of these expenses needed to be recorded on paper receipts and submitted on a timely basis to ensure reimbursement.3 Instead, we now use programmer-developed scripts in FileMaker Pro that computerized the recording of field expenses. Some legitimated their punishment as spankings or as deserved. The published report provides quoted materials from several subjects who reported that they had not been beaten, but actually were, during their childhood as depicted by their stories (Dunlap Golub Johnson 2003b; also see Dunlap et al 2003a and Dunlap et al 2006). Outcome measures: These cassettes would then be submitted to the central repository, and subsequently transcribed. Manwar Ali, Dunlap Eloise, Johnson Bruce. Webinar strategy 101: Everything you need to run a successful webinar. Further, since observations are focused upon persons engaged in illegal behaviors (drug sales), observations will need to include interpretations of the meanings implied by words used by respondentsas well as what might be learned by returning for additional observations later. Bazeley P. The evolution of a project involving an integrated analysis of structured qualitative and quantitative data: From N3 to Nvivo. Another major technological advance, digital voice recorders (DVR), now provide much superior sound quality and recording accuracy for about the same price as cassette recorders. Introduction Qualitative research methods are a key component of field epidemiologic investigations because they can provide insight into the perceptions, values, opinions, and community norms where investigations are being conducted ( 1,2 ). Each digital voice file is uploaded via the internet to a transcriber who has been specially trained to maintain the confidentiality of these data and to accurately reproduce the exact words spoken by the interviewer and each research subject. But paper receipts for field expenses are now giving way to similar electronic filing and documentation. By this we mean that the investigator proposes to study a rather specific topic, and outlines in considerable detail the various dimensions or lines of inquiry that the project will be designed to elicit. [The administrator enters data from the transcript into the correct fields in the database, see below.] Choose and follow a clear file naming system Identification is key. This chapter will explore data management and data preparation as steps in the research process, steps that help facilitate data . In: Newman William M, Boudreau Frances A., editors. Managing data involves performing a series of tasks - from identifying and locating potentially useful data sources; to collecting, organizing, reducing, and processing them; to generating informative documentation for them; to storing and preserving them. The analyst needs to define categories for the different themes and may assign some numeric value to each category. No matter how large or small the project, the qualitative methodology depends primarily upon eliciting self-reports from subjects or observations made in the field that are transcribed into field notes. Rather, many of the respondents regarded the physical punishments they received as distinct from being beaten. They provided rich stories about how they had been beaten (from the perspective of the analyst). 3 Ways to Analyze Qualitative Data from Interviews - wikiHow The Analysis Unique case orientation -- assumes that each case is special and unique; the first level of analysis is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends upon the quality of individual case studies. How to organize your research data during analysis Screen shot from the Katrina Project Database (program: FileMakerPro). Gerbert B, Caspers N, Moe J, Clanon K, Abercrombie P, Herzig K. The mysteries and demands of HIV care: Qualitative analyses of HIV specialists views on their expertise. Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. That is, during the collection and analysis of qualitative data, important insights about social processes are uncovered. Such researchers may find our experience helpful at improving their efficiency in managing the Mountain of Words in their future research. Go through the data set several times, and determine which interviews are useful and which you might set aside. Indeed, a variety of other approaches for integrating qualitative and quantitative data analysis are available (MacMillan and Koenig 2004; Mangabeira, Lee and Fielding 2004; Miles and Huberman 1994). At the end of 2007, approximately 106 Katrina subjects have been recruited and have completed at least one interview, but the majority has completed the full baseline protocol and their responses are entered into the database. Dunlap Eloise, Golub Andrew, Johnson Bruce D. Girls sexual development in the inner city: From compelled childhood sexual contact to sex-for-things exchanges. (Five of 101 questions.). During the past 25 years, the U.S. federal government, through the various institutes of the National Institutes of Health and Department of Education, has provided increased funding to support qualitative researchers to address numerous topics. Before We refer to the process as semi-quantitative coding because the actual referent and the phenomena being so classified are diffuse and not widely understood or agreed upon in American culture. The central repository is the location where all of the original raw data files submitted by the ethnographic staff are stored on a network hard drive (and backed up to CDs). Marijuana argot as subculture threads: Social constructions by users in New York City. As an example, one publication (Sifaneck et al 2007) from the Marijuana/Blunts project highlights how the following hypothesis was tested: Advantaged persons pay much more than the less advantaged for their marijuana in NYC. This FileMaker Pro database has been programmed so that each question in the structured interview protocol has a location (or field) in the database where a subjects answer to that question is to be stored. If so desired, only specific subsets of respondents can be queried; for instance, a particular query can be limited to include only those subjects interviewed in New Orleans, or only those engaged in heroin use. How to Manage Qualitative Data: A Step-by-Step Guide Rapid and Rigorous Qualitative Data Analysis: The "RADaR" Technique for Management of a Large Qualitative Data Set: Establishing Reflecting on how you, as a researcher, may have influenced both the data collected and the analysis is an important part of the analysis. Many other details are fleshed out in the research methods section of the application and in the development of protocols and data collection devicesas well in other prior publications (Davis et al 2006; Lewis et al 1992). As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. In the Katrina project, staff have found it important to also document that nothing is happening or that no one was observed at specific locations where previously active drug distribution was observed. The average social scientist will need to master it effectively or have the support of an experienced database programmer to create the appropriate FileMaker Pro database structure and create special reports as needed. A key strategy in the development of probes is to ask respondents to tell us a story about that topic, with a follow-up question, is there anything else? This strategy is designed to let people talk as much as they want to about that topic and provide further interesting details. The major shortcomings of these programs stem from their being word based. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Although the structured qualitative research approach has been useful in managing the mountains of words generated by our projects, we recognize that many other researchers have also been successful in accomplishing the major functions of planning, collecting, storing, and organizing qualitative analysis. For example, one paper from the Transient Domesticity project analyzed qualitative data about beatings in childhood. Qualitative Methods - Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper All of these projects have been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Our best ethnographers have been persons who have recovered from heroin/crack abuse as young adults, but who have gotten bachelor and masters degrees, and have been trained to routinely write rich field notes and conduct high quality interviews with extensive probing.2. Subst Use Misuse. Staff members report that it is best to record for a half to three-quarters of an hour on one digital voice file, take a break, and resume the interview but with a different digital voice file. We address how researchers can most efficiently use such technological advances to conduct their qualitative research on a wide range of topics. But the structured organization of the data permits the staff members to efficiently conduct analyses with the database, as described next. Several different staff members can contribute to the data collection, even when working from remote locations. Far more important than hiring the right person is the investigators ability to systematically train all staff in the details of the qualitative research process, and give them time to upgrade their skills, until they accomplish it well. But such cassettes could be lost, some times had bad recording quality, and other limitations. Baseline qualitative protocol -- a carefully developed interview schedule that elicit stories and accounts from respondents. Learning to Do Qualitative Data Analysis: A Starting Point Questions as written in the structured qualitative protocol. We refer below to DURING KATRINA DISASTER: this began on Aug 29 (Monday) and lasted thru September 6 (Tues) when virtually everyone was evacuated from New Orleans. This article focuses upon strategies and experiences of the authors, who have conducted a wide variety of research projects which are primarily qualitative in their focus, although some have also included quantitative components. Info button provides demographic information about the subject, interviewer, and date. No matter how well conceptualized the qualitative research project has been, actual implementation is fraught with many difficulties. While the coding process is relatively straightforward, it is very tedious and time consuming. Table of contents Step 1: Define the aim of your research Step 2: Choose your data collection method The controlling feature is the filename, in which is embedded: the type of work done (field note or voice recorded interview, the staff member who collected data, the date it was collected, and whether it refers to a specific respondent or not. While many qualitative researchers make substantial attempts to structure their research, so as to obtain rich responses from subjects and well-written field notes, the careful structuring of qualitative protocols, systematic use of databases for storage, retrieval, and management of the mountains of words collected, and other efficiencies described below represent important advances for qualitative researchers to consider. Collecting and Analyzing Qualitative Data | Epidemic Intelligence How to organize your qualitative data collection - Trint This open-ended questioning approach is also seeking the meaning of specific argot terms (e.g. Managing paper files was especially problematic in New Orleans, as mail service (both pickup and delivery), was severely disrupted by the flooding of most local post offices. Management of a Large Qualitative Data Set: Establishing Mangabeira Wilma C, Lee Raymond M, Fielding Nigel G. Computers and Qualitative Research: Adoption, Use, and Representation. After several weeks of ethnographic observations and systematic review of field notes, and drawing upon the collective experience of the research team, staff members collaborate to develop a protocol that is specifically designed to elicit rich qualitative data. the basics of observations and field note writing. Social workers with several years of experience often have both the credentials and street savvy to become good ethnographers. This is an important step in the qualitative data analysis process. Use these tips to be ready to collect the research data and to know what to do with it afterwards. Researchers planning ethnographic projects in the future will need to be more efficient in the use of limited financial resources. Raw data are major parts of any analysis pipeline and it is important to properly store them. The senior author, Johnson, was trained as a quantitative researcher at Columbia University, but has been associated with several leading ethnographers and qualitative researchers during his career. DVRs are more compact and easier to use (with training), and eliminate the need for multiple steps involved with handling recorded cassettes. The confidentiality and anonymity of both the digital voice file and the associated field notes are maintained but recorded in the central repository for subsequent handling. A special subproject was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data in a systematic fashion. This paper describes three methods of organizing usability data based on study complexity and reporting requirements. Create the folder structure at the outset of your research and write a short memo to yourself describing its logic. Data management and security in qualitative research - PubMed Whether and how to use these semi-quantitative codes will remain the task of the analyst developing a paper. In the analysis of these data, Sifaneck (et al 2007) systematically described the differences (from qualitative data) between designer marijuana (usually grown hydroponically with flowering buds preserved by plastic cubes) and commercial marijuana (usually grown outdoors, compressed into bricks for transport, and sold in ziplock baggies). If multiple codes are appropriate, the coder enters them separated by a space (in this example codes for cocaine (2) and heroin (4) are entered). This also displays the semi-quantitative coding system described below. Keeping track of all these units of work becomes extremely cumbersome and time consuming when using only paper files. This means that the semi-quantitative codes can now be analyzed quantitatively in conjunction with the extensive qualitative data. An example in MAXQDA informed consent procedures approved by the institutional review board. They need to clearly state the question number being asked so that the transcriber types the question number and exact words spoken by the interviewer. Moreover, most scientific theories and hypotheses are formulated to be answered by quantitative approaches. The aims are provided in the abstract of the Katrina project in Figure 1. An intellectual history of NUD* IST and NVivo. They are especially valuable in field settings where much background noise may interfere with recording. Richards Tom. Instead of collecting numerical data points or intervene or introduce treatments just like in quantitative research, qualitative research helps generate hypotheses as well as further inves Qualitative Study Book One administrative staff person is responsible for managing all of the files. The end result is a large and extensive database containing mountains of words. It would be another unit of work when they conduct another interview that covers the last set of questions. An important function is the query, a procedure for locating responses to specific questions associated with the topic that the analysts wish to address. MacMillan Katie, Koenig Thomas. User Research: How to Collect & Organize Qualitative Data | Aurelius Only the field worker has rights (password protected) to upload files into their location in the repository. The application must propose a specific focus for the research, delineate specific aims, indicate its significance, describe preliminary research, and provide detailed methods and analysis plans. Since the subject always retained possession of their marijuana, no legal issues arose. Street drugs: Obtaining reliable self and surrogate reports about the use and sale of crack, powder cocaine, and heroin. On a routine basis, ethnographers now upload each and every field note via the internet. With a lengthy qualitative protocol such as that used in the Katrina project (with 100 main questions; each with many probes), a given subject may need two to four interview sessions to complete it. The Info button provides the analyst with a summary of key information about that respondent (code name, gender, ethnicity, age, date of interview, interviewer). The baseline protocol described below includes questions asked of respondents for the month before Katrina, during the week of the Katrina Hurricane and flooding of New Orleans, a month after evacuation from New Orleans, and in the present (in the past 30 days) at the time of the interview. Review committees often want larger samples, inclusion of special populations, and higher levels of abstraction and theory testing than can be accomplished by smaller qualitative research projects. The authors acknowledge with appreciation the many contributions to this research by Lawrence Duncan, Stanley Hoogerwerf, Joseph Kotarba, Edward Morse, Gwangi Richardson-Alston, Claudia Jenkins, and Vicki Zaleski. Ethnographers also need to conduct their research outside of regular business hours; they need to adjust their work schedule to fit the typical work hours of potential subjectsactive drug users and sellers, in the Katrina project. Although literature on maintaining rigour in qualitative research is abundant, few articles have tackled doing so with large qualitative data sets (Knafl & Ayres, 1996) and few researchers have documented their process.A search of the literature was conducted and confirmed these findings. But if and when the coding scheme has been generated, the analytic staff can encode each respondents answer according to those themes, and classify the responses into numbers. Qualitative research creates mountains of words. In: Cole Spencer., editor. As well as keeping your brain very much in gear, you need to be really . The assignment of such (numeric) semi-quantitative codes also grossly simplifies and possibly reifies the answers given by subjects. the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health. Objective: To describe a method to handle data in qualitative research. Even after identifying such quoted materials, and arranging them according to thematic content, many other issues arise. This article reports on strategies for planning, organizing, collecting, managing, storing, retrieving, analyzing, and writing about qualitative data so as to most efficiently manage the mountains of words collected in large-scale ethnographic projects. All files are electronic digital files that can be easily stored and transmitted using computer technology. The authors have also addressed such issues in prior publications. Some urban ethnography is now conducted with multiple ethnographers and field workers; this involves training, coordinating, and structuring the work of those who will conduct the actual research, and systematically recording qualitative information that will often be analyzed by persons who did not collect it. The site is secure. Qualitative data, such as transcripts from an interview, are often routed in the interaction between the participant and the researcher. Ream Geoffrey, Johnson Bruce D, Sifaneck Stephen, Dunlap Eloise. Moreover, each unit of work needs to have header information that is standard across all units of work. You could also combine related themes into major categories and label them. We will call this structured qualitative research. All three have worked together on several different qualitative research projects. Data management, which encompasses topics such as human subjects' protection, confidentiality, data storage and record keeping, data ownership, and data sharing, is a critical .