Qualitative_data_analysis

206 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
Table 13.4 Databits by case and category
A problem with this approach may be immediately apparent. If we insist on
preserving its full detail, our matrix is quickly overloaded with data. We may
therefore prefer to summarize the data, for example by using only databit indices
within the matrix (Table 13.5).
Now we can compress more data into our matrix, perhaps at the expense of
immediate intelligibility—although on screen we can compensate for this by using
the computer to retrieve data as required. We can make comparisons across rows or
columns and also gain a better overall sense of the data. Contrast the use of
‘temperament’ in the first couple of letters with those which follow, for example.
The use of transpositions of ‘temperament’ to create humorous effects is uneven.
Compare this with the other transpositions, which are far more pervasive. And there
is always some element of ‘suffering’ by patients in each of the letters included in
our matrix.
Our matrix is still fairly cumbersome, and with many cases and categories, we
may still very rapidly find ourselves ‘overloaded’ with data. There are limits to how
much information we can absorb at any one time. Matters are eased somewhat by
the computer’s ability to handle many columns and rows, presenting on screen only
those in which we are currently interested. But if we have a lot of material, we may
opt for an even more abstract way of summarizing the data, by reducing it to