Qualitative_data_analysis

Figure 10.5 Reassessing relationships between categories—2
Figure 10.6 Reassessing position of categories in analysis
SPLITTING AND SPLICING 153
computer to speed the process up by looking for us. This involves boolean
retrievals, which we shall consider in Chapter 12. Meantime, as we can see even
without the help of the computer, it so happens that there are no databits which
have been assigned to both these categories. Sometimes negative results can be very
positive! This particular result suggests that we have been able to distinguish clearly
in the data between occupational characteristics related to ‘task’ and occupational
characteristics ‘other than task’, even though initially we regarded these as inclusive
rather than exclusive categories. We may want to check this by a thorough review of
the data; but if we are satisfied that these databits can be divided unambiguously
between the two categories, then we can reasonably regard them as exclusive rather
than inclusive (Figure 10.5).
We can now treat ‘occupation’ as a nominal varible, with two categories which
are exclusive and exhaustive.
We have considered whether or not these categories are exclusive, because this
question fairly jumped out at us from our retrieval of the data. Suppose a few
databits had been assigned to both categories. It would still be worth asking whether
these categories could be regarded as exclusive rather than inclusive. We would want
to check whether the databits assigned to both categories could not be split between
them, for example by dividing the databits. In general, we may want to review
whether the relation between categories is inclusive or exclusive whereever the
pattern of databits shows few if any databits assigned to the categories in
combination. If we can develop nominal—or perhaps even ordinal—variables by
developing on our initial categorization, we sharpen our conceptualization of the
data and provide a better basis for subsequently examining connections between
categories.
So far we have focused rather narrowly on the conceptual and empirical
relationship between ‘task’ and ‘occupation’. We can also consider how to splice
categories from a wider analytic viewpoint. How do these categories contribute to
our overall analysis? (Figure 10.6)