Open coding is “reading through an interview and recording…a brief conceptual ‘code’ that reflects what the participant is discussing” (p. Qualitative analysis begins through open coding once transcripts are imported. With more consumption, production, and standardization of this mode of inquiry, and calls for more widespread education in this method among undergraduate and graduate students, we hope to see a rise, not only in quantity, but also in accountability (see ), rigor, and standards reflected in qualitative scholarship generally. This influx has established the need for related reporting standards introduced by the American Psychological Association. The field has faced the twin circumstance of a dramatic increase in qualitative publications-based on data collected both through traditional and online sources see -as well as a wide array of quality and systematic rigor in such work. Some journals that were once reluctant to publish qualitative research are becoming more methodologically inclusive and encouraging high-rigor qualitative publications, though some journals have remained impermeable by qualitative work. Scholars have remarked that qualitative inquiry has brought pluralist orientations to theory and practice and has inspired theory building, fostered greater inclusion of minorities, and promoted interdisciplinary collaborations. The rise in qualitative scholarship has been helpful for social science in general.

Altogether, the present article provides qualitative researchers practical guidance for executing multiple stages of qualitative analysis.įrom 1995 to 2016, there has been a 15-fold increase in qualitative scholarship in the social sciences. Transcription tips and outsourcing benefits and cautions are also offered. Materials include several tables and figures that offer practical demonstrations on how to use Nvivo in data analysis. Guidance addressing transcription, importing data, forming coding pairs, performing initial/open coding (examples of three types), determining core themes, systematic team-based coding, maintaining a data audit trail, creating a Numeric Content Analysis (NCA) table, and preparing work for publication is provided. The present article guides the developing qualitative researcher through technical and procedural aspects of analyzing qualitative data with specific attention to reliability and rigor. Little scholarship provides concrete, pragmatic explanations of (and directions regarding) the execution of systematic, high-rigor qualitative analysis. From 1995–2016, there has been a 15-fold increase in qualitative scholarship in the social sciences, but the rigor and quality of published work has ranged widely.

Nvivo for content analysis