Qualitative_data_analysis

198 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
will be experienced as ‘suffering’ by the patient? We have to check whether this
inference conforms to the criteria we have used in assigning the category ‘suffering’.
What about the causal links we have recorded between these databits? Have we
reasonable grounds for linking these databits? In each case, we have evidence of
Vincent’s mood (‘in love’, ‘nervous’, ‘heart thundering’ ‘I want to die’). But is it
reasonable to infer a causal link between this mood and the corresponding event?
There are some hidden premises in these links: it is the premature postcard, the
dropped instruments, the request to ‘please rinse’, and the ghastly birthday gift
which result in ‘suffering’ for the patient. Is it reasonable to attribute these actions
to Vincent’s moods? We must look for evidence in the data to confirm or contradict
our assumptions. Connecting categories may therefore require a re-examination of
earlier decisions. One advantage of retrieving linked data is that each link can now
be reconsidered in the light of other examples.
Another way of examining the internal evidence is to look for consistency across
subcategories. If we have previously subcategorized ‘suffering’ into ‘patient’ suffering
and ‘dentist’ suffering, we can check whether the link between databits holds for
each subcategory as well as for the overarching category. If it does, we may have
more confidence in the connection we are inferring between the categories. If it
does not, then we may have to refine our analysis and consider whether the
connection exists between one or more subcategories rather than the overarching
category. In examining the links between subcategories, we also have to examine the
internal evidence of a connection.
For example, suppose we subcategorized the last databit, referring to Vincent’s
ear, as an instance of ‘patient suffering’ as well as ‘dentist suffering’. To see it as
‘patient suffering’ we have to assume that Vincent did send his ‘birthday present’ to
Claire—though we are not told how it ended up in the Novelty Shop. We also have
to assume that Claire suffered as a result. These are not unreasonable assumptions,
and these nuances of meaning are a vital part of the text. Nevertheless, we have to
acknowledge the inferences involved in assigning categories and links to the data.
In considering the connection between categories, we also have to review the
conceptual intelligibility of the relationship we are examining. If we claim a causal
connection between the categories ‘temperament’ and ‘suffering’, just what are we
asserting? Reviewing the evidence, we might reflect on the respective capabilities and
liabilities of Vincent and his patients. We might consider that Vincent’s capacity to
inflict suffering is inherent in his role as a dentist, with the technical and
professional power to dictate the form and course of treatment. The patients by
contrast are predominantly consigned to a passive role, vulnerable to Vincent’s
whims and predelictions. Those who resist (Mr Greenglass and Ms Memling) do so
by escaping from the dentist-patient relationship. Thus we can understand the
connection between Vincent’s volatile temperament and patient suffering in part as