Qualitative_data_analysis

Figure 3.10 Qualitative analysis as an iterative spiral
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS? 55
This requirement accepted, we can allow our mountain to be of any size and
shape: the small hill of a short undergraduate project, or the precipitous peak of a
large-scale research project. The latter may present some absorbing technical
difficulties manageable only by an experienced team, but for the most part much the
same tasks are required of both novice and expert. In both cases, our interest is in
the view, and our purpose in climbing the mountain is to obtain it. The mountain
is climbed bit by bit, and while we are climbing, we focus on one step at a time. But
the view we obtain is more than the sum of the sequence of steps we take along the
way. Every so often, we can turn and look to the horizon, and in doing so we see the
surrounding country from a fresh vantage point. It is the climb that makes this
possible, but we only obtain a fresh perspective if we remember to look as well as
climb.
We can push this analogy a little further. By looking, we obtain fresh views, not
just of the surrounding country, but also of the path we have just taken, and of the
climb ahead. We may see the path we have taken so far in a new perspective, as
detail is lost and new patterns emerge. Or looking ahead, we may plan, given a
closer view, to take a different route from that first intended. We may find some
bits of the climb easy and straight-forward, others difficult and requiring
considerable care. We may have to take devious paths, not always going straight or
always going up; at times we may even retrace our steps. This climb, with its