Introduction

Qualitative data comes in several forms from a variety of sources. In this training, you will use examples of qualitiative data from a fictional research study on HIV risk among adolescents in Brooklynville. The types of data collection methods that might have been used in a study like this include:

• Semi-structured interviews with high school students attending an afterschool program in your community;
• Focus groups with parents attending a free medical clinic;
• Newspaper articles from local publishers who have covered your topic of interest

Each of these approaches produces rich narrative data that requires both analysis and interpretation. The steps outlined in this section of the module will guide you through the basic steps of the analysis process. Keep in mind however, that the analysis process is fluid, or iterative, so anticipate that you will move back and forth between steps.

The tasks involved in analyzing qualitative data include:

Organize

• Transcribe the audio recordings and read the transcripts several times to generate informed themes based on the words of respondents.

Reduce

• Group themes into codes to classify the data and note patterns between the classifications of data.
• Explore relationships between the classifications of data.

Describe

• Write a final report filled with rich descriptions in the words of the participants themselves.

Let’s go a bit deeper into each of these steps in the analysis process. Start the analysis process by organizing your data.