Qualitative_data_analysis

This approach is very exploratory, and we could also explore the data from the
opposite direction by retrieving all the databits categorized under ‘X’ OR ‘Y’ (recall
that this means all the ‘X’ and all the ‘Y’ databits) and then look for links between
them:
Retrieve all ‘X’ OR ‘Y’ (and look at the variation in links)
MAKING CONNECTIONS 195
Table 12.9 Identifying connections between categories for databits assigned to category
‘suffering’ and databits linked to these by the link ‘caused by’
This procedure may prove useful because it allows us to focus on different ways in
which the categories we are interested in may be connected. A number of different
links exist between the two categories, and we can compare the frequency and
content of these links as another way of analysing the character of the relationship
between the categories.
If we have a large volume of data assigned to a particular link, we may want to be
more specific (and efficient) by specifying further conditions for our retrieval. For
example, we could specify which ‘X’ or ‘Y’ categories we are interested in:
Retrieve all ‘X’ with a ‘Z’ link (and look at the variation in ‘Y’ categories)
Retrieve all ‘Y’ with a ‘Z’ link (and look at the variation in ‘X’
categories)
For example, suppose we want to explore the factors which are connected with
‘suffering’. We can do this by treating ‘suffering’ as our ‘Y’ category and ‘caused by’
as our ‘Z’ link. We can then retrieve all the databits which have been assigned to
category ‘Y’, and all the databits linked to these by link ‘Z’. By examining the
categories assigned to these linked databits, we may identify possible connections
between categories. In Table 12.9, it is clear that most ‘X’ databits have been
assigned to the categories ‘transposing’ and ‘temperament’.