Qualitative_data_analysis

ASSIGNING CATEGORIES 127
the data. There may be elements in the sequence of events which are significant to
our analysis. To understand the evolution of action and its history we should respect
the order in which events are narrated by Vincent.
Although often characteristic of fieldwork notes and documentary material, not
all data has a chronological order which justifies a decision to ‘begin at the
beginning’. For example, for data which has been collected through a one-off survey
of respondents, a chronological order may apply to the data within each interview,
but not between the interviews. It may be entirely arbitrary whether one starts with
one interview or another, if random or pragmatic factors determined the order in
which interview data was collected, transcribed and filed. There is a natural
tendency to file such data in some ‘meaningful’ sequence, perhaps numerical or
alphabetic, for ease of retrieval. We must be careful not to invest the essentially
arbitrary order in which cases are filed with an unwarranted significance.
This point is not entirely trivial, as bias can arise simply from continually
encountering some data more frequently because it is located first in some arbitrary
—perhaps numerical or alphabetical, but not chronological—order. Those with
names headed by a letter late in the alphabet will know all too well the injustices
attendant on coming last in some convenient but arbitrary order. For data organized
in this way, we may adopt the injunction: never begin at the beginning! Using the
computer, we may be able to ensure that our analysis is based instead on a genuinely
random sequence of cases.
The allure of working in sequence is as seductive in its way as the temptation to
start at the beginning. Surely it is plain common sense to work through the data
systematically, i.e. sequentially? But again, we should be aware that we are making a
decision to analyse the data in this, and not some other way. There are alternatives.
For example, we may have sufficient familiarity with the data, and feel sufficiently
focused in our analysis, to analyse data in a selective rather than sequential way. We
could focus on the analysis of responses to key questions. Or we could use the
computer’s search facilities to locate within the data key text significant for the
analysis. Another option is to search through memos to locate key ideas. Whichever
way we choose, categorizing the data can proceed through a variety of selective
paths, rather than slavishly following the sequential route.
Our first decisions, therefore, are where to begin, and whether to analyse selectively
or sequentially. In this case, let us begin at the beginning, and analyse the data in
sequence.
Now let us decide how to break up the data into bits. To simplify matters let us
select between the two options we outlined earlier. Shall we opt for individual
points or whole episodes? Suppose we choose the former, perhaps because we want
to develop a more fine-grained analysis. As there are less than a dozen fairly short
letters in all, we can afford to develop a more detailed breakdown of the data.