Qualitative_data_analysis

WHAT IS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS? 53
If we think of theory simply as an idea about how other ideas can be related
(Dixon et al. 1988:23), then theory can provide the design through which we can
construct our wall. It can provide the necessary direction and organizing framework
through which to bring together the different concepts used in our analysis. A sense
of direction or design implies a role for theory in conceptualizing experience, in
much the same way as our concepts convey meaning (Sayer 1992:49–65). For
example, we may entertain a theory that dating and mating through the personal
ads is related to either very extrovert or very introvert behaviour. This is a
psychological conceptualization of behaviour, by comparison with alternative
theories which might stress, for example, the influence of social or spatial factors.
On the other hand, we can also think of a theory as a complex system of ideas
through which we conceptualize some aspect of experience. Such theories are the
equivalent of a palace, and as we all know, theories of this type in social science have
a similar scarcity value. Ideologies and prejudices can accommodate (or deny) the
inconsistencies and contradictions which characterize our everyday thinking. A
complex system of ideas that conceptualizes experience—that’s something else! A
system is a set of logically interconnected parts which together constitute a whole. A
few loosely related propositions about causal interconnections do not constitute a
theory in this sense, though they may contain elements of one. A problem with
complex systems of ideas is that they often relate concepts which are poor
conceptualizations of experience. More attention is given to ‘systematizing’ ideas
than to conceptualizing experience—a characteristic most familiar in the more
quantitative disciplines such as economics.
The traditional emphasis in qualitative research has been on generating theories
rather than testing them. This reflects a concern with developing adequate
conceptualizations of the social world before we develop elaborate theories. As Bliss
(1983) puts it, we are often at the stage where the problem is to know what the
problem is, not what the answer is. The qualitative analyst is cast in the role of a
discoverer who unearths problems, identifies indicators and formulates hypotheses
rather than investigating predetermined problems within an established theoretical
framework (Becker and Geer 1982). This image is an attractive one, providing we
do not insist that our discoverer must completely disregard any existing maps of the
ground being explored! Also, in social research the dividing line between
formulating and testing theories is barely discernible (Sayer 1992: 204). It is
difficult to separate the process of discovering theory from the process of evaluating
it. Much of the task of qualitative analysis is not just to develop conceptualizations
but to examine their adequacy in the light of the data.
Given its predominantly exploratory character, and its emphasis on the problems
of meaning and conceptualization, qualitative analysis is more likely to result in the
construction of walls than the creation of palaces. It can enrich our descriptions of