Qualitative_data_analysis

48 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
Figure 3.5 Formal connections between concepts
MAKING CONNECTIONS
According to Alvin Toffler, we are so good at dissecting data that we often forget
how to put the pieces back together again (Coveney and Highfield 1991:296). This
problem only arises, however, if we forget that description and classification are not
ends in themselves but must serve an overriding purpose, namely to produce an
account of our analysis. Concepts are the building blocks of our analysis. In
qualitative analysis, the first task is to make these building blocks. But building
requires more than blocks. The blocks must be brought together. Connecting
concepts is the analytic equivalent of putting mortar between the building blocks.
Classification lays the foundation for identifying substantive connections. But now
we are no longer concerned about similarities and differences between the blocks. It
doesn’t matter whether one block looks like another or not, what counts is how (or
whether) the blocks interact to produce a building (Figure 3.6).
How can we identify substantive connections? One common method is through
identifying associations between different variables. Once the data is classified, we
can examine regularities, variations and singularities in the data. In studying the
personal ads, we may find that those who describe themselves as good-looking tend
also to express particular interests, such as an interest in forming romantic
attachments. If so, we have identified a ‘pattern’ within the data. By studying such
correlations between different categories we can build up a picture of our data which
is both clearer and more complex than our initial impressions. We can begin to fit
the different parts of the jigsaw together. For example, we may find that the sportslovers
are looking for company, the arts-lovers are looking for companionship, the