Analyzing The Meaning of
The Data and Drawing
Conclusion
THE PATTERN, THEME, and CODE
A code in qualitative inquiry is most often a
word phrase which symbolically defines a
summative, salient, essence-capturing,
and/or evocative attribute for a portion of
language-based or visual data. This data can
compose of interview transcripts, participant
observation field notes, journals, documents,
literature, artifacts, photographs, video,
websites, e-mail and correspondence.
Pattern
is something that happens in a regular
and repeated way.
Theme
is generated when similar issues and
ideas expressed by participants within
qualitative data are brought together
by the researcher into a single
category or cluster
Two strategies on how to infer data
1. thematic analysis and
2. qualitative data analysis (QDA).
But we will focus on thematic analysis.
6 steps in thematic analysis
1. Familiarization with the data: This phase involves
reading and re-reading the data, to become immersed and
intimately familiar with its content.
2. Coding - this phase involves generating succinct labels
(codes) that identify important features of the data that
might be relevant to answering the research question. It
involves coding the entire dataset, and after that, collating
all the codes and all relevant data extracts, together for
later stages of analysis.
3. Searching for Themes. This phase involves examining
the codes and collated data to identify significant broader
patterns of meaning (potential themes). It then involves
collating data relevant to each candidate theme, so that you
can work with the data and review the viability of each
candidate theme.
4. Reviewing themes. This phase involves checking
the candidate themes against the data set, to
determine if they tell a convincing story of the data,
and one that answers the research question. In this
phase, themes are typically refined, which sometimes
involves them being split, combined, or discarded.
5.Defining and naming themes. This phase involves
developing a detailed analysis of each theme, working
out the scope and focus of each theme, determining
the “story” of each. It also involves deciding on an
informative name for each theme.
6. Writing Up. This final phase involves weaving
together the analytic narrative data and extracts and
contextualizing the analysis in relation to existing
literature.
Here is an example of a transcribed result of an interview conducted
in Clarin National High School to displaced learners during the Marawi
siege. They were able to come up with varied themes depending on
the question asked. This is a result based on a one-on-one interview.
Data analysis
For most researchers, this is the heaviest task, but
it is the most fulfilling. Qualitative data analysis is
an ongoing and cyclical process which includes
identification, examination, and interpretation of
certain patterns and themes in the data. It
determines how these patterns and themes help
answer the research questions.
Qualitative analysis
1.Know your data. Reread your written
observations, relisten the audio recorded
interviews, or rewatch the movie or clip.
2.Focus your analysis. Focus yourself on consistent
and or varied responses. For example: your
research question is, “Why are some high school
students sometimes late for school?” Common
responses would be school’s distance, waking up
late, tons of chores prior to going to school,
sleeping late, etcetera.
3. Do coding. Always consult your
research questions or you might end up
coding unnecessary information. Coding is
simply categorizing the data and reducing
them
4. Clean your data. Go through your data
once more if there are data errors.
5. Identify meaningful patterns and
themes. Identifying meaningful patterns
and the theme is the heart and soul of the
entire qualitative data analysis. In this
6. Interpret your data. After analyzing,
coding, and organizing the data,
identifying the patterns and themes,
you are now ready to interpret your
data. In interpreting the data, you will
synthesize your tables to a paragraph.
This is a result based on one-on-one
interview.
RELATING THE FINDINGS TO ITS
RELEVANT LITERATURE
Concluding qualitative research needs the
researcher to recall more thoroughly the
problem statement, objectives, and results
and findings of your analysis and how they
connect and organize together.
The aim is to integrate them to
come up a comprehensive, logical,
and smart answer or explanation to
the research question. Research
conclusion has its important roles
and purpose in a research study.
These are commonly elaborated as the
following:
a) it stresses out the importance of the
thesis statement,
b) it gives the written work a sense of
completeness,
c) it leaves a final impression to the
readers and d) it demonstrates good
organization.
Conclusions
are inferences, deductions, abstractions,
implications, interpretations, general
statements and/or generalizations based
upon the finding. It should appropriately
answer the specific questions raised at
the beginning of the investigation in the
order that they are given under the
statement of the problem.
When making the conclusion
in qualitative research, it
should be drawn from the
patterns and themes
Strategies or tips to writing
1. Write in aconclusions:
manner that is comfortable to you and edit while
writing.
2. Write to be understood. Do not write to impress or to sound
smart. Avoid highfalutin words to replace the common but
clearer ones.
3. Write from an objective distance. Remember that you are
writing a formal academic paper.
4. Write in a fresh new style. In concluding your qualitative
research, you are supposed to present a new knowledge after all.
5. Conclusions should be formulated concisely, that is, brief and
short, yet they convey a meaningful and logical argument
