Qualitative_data_analysis

From Table 12.6 we can tell that most of the databits (sixteen) assigned to the
categories ‘temperament’ and ‘suffering’ fell within a defined distance of each other
(however that was defined). These databits were ‘proximate’. However, there were
seven databits assigned to ‘temperament’ which fell outside this distance, as did
another five assigned to ‘suffering’, so twelve databits were not proximate. To
consider whether this pattern constitutes evidence of a connection between the
categories, we still have to return to the original data.
Some retrieval procedures
• Concurrence—do databits concur?
• Overlap—do databits overlap?
• Sequence—are the databits consecutive?
• Proximity—are the databits within a given distance?
• Precedence—does one databit precede another?
MAKING CONNECTIONS 185
So far we have considered retrievals in relation to the data as a whole. Depending
on the nature of our data, we may also be interested in relating our retrievals to the
cases which form the basic units of our analysis. For example, we could take each of
Vincent’s letters as a case, and consider whether we can identify relationships which
hold across some or all of these cases. Perhaps we may be interested in drawing some
conclusions about the content and construction of the letters. This example may
seem rather fatuous, but in relation to interview data or observations of different
agencies, we may well want to analyse our data in terms of cases.
What information do we have about our cases? Well, for each category we have
used in our analysis, we can tell whether or not we have assigned the category to
that case. We can also tell how often we have assigned the category to the case.
Taking ‘temperament’ and ‘suffering’, for example, we can produce a table indicating
whether and how often each of these categories has been assigned to each of
Vincent’s letters (Table 12.7). In effect, we treat category assignation as a case variable.
Our categories express ideas about differences and similarities within the data as a
whole, but treated as case variables, they can express values for particular cases. For