Analysing Qualitativeand y g Q

Quantitativedata
MohammadHaider
haider@lsst.com
Sciencevs.Art
QuantitativeApproach
QualitativeApproach
Onceyouunderstand
Takesalotofpracticeto
y
thebasicrules,anyone
candoit.
doitwell.
Blind men and an elephant
- Indian fable Indian fable
Things arent always what we think!
Six blind men go to observe an elephant One feels the side and thinks Six blind men go to observe an elephant. One feels the side and thinks
the elephant is like a wall. One feels the tusk and thinks the elephant is
a like a spear. One touches the squirming trunk and thinks the
elephant is like a snake One feels the knee and thinks the elephant is elephant is like a snake. One feels the knee and thinks the elephant is
like a tree. One touches the ear, and thinks the elephant is like a fan.
One grasps the tail and thinks it is like a rope. They argue long and
l d d th h h tl i th i ht ll i th loud and though each was partly in the right, all were in the wrong.
h Commonmyths
Complexanalysisandbigwords impresspeople.
Mostpeopleappreciatepracticalandunderstandableanalyses.
Analysiscomesattheendafterallthedataarecollected.
WethinkaboutanalysisupfrontsothatweHAVEthedataweWANTto
analyze.
l h f d Quantitativeanalysisisthemostaccuratetypeofdata
analysis.
Somethinknumbersaremoreaccuratethanwordsbutitisthe
qualityoftheanalysisprocessthatmatters.
Common myths cont Commonmythscont
Datahavetheirownmeaning. Datahavetheirownmeaning.
Datamustbeinterpreted.Numbersdonotspeakfor
themselves.
Statinglimitations totheanalysisweakensthe
evaluation. evaluation.
Allanalyseshaveweaknesses;itismorehonestand
responsibletoacknowledgethem. p g
Computeranalysisisalwayseasierandbetter.
Itdependsuponthesizeofthedatasetandpersonal Itdependsuponthesizeofthedatasetandpersonal
competencies.Forsmallsetsofinformation,hand
tabulationmaybemoreefficient.
3.Interpretingtheinformation p g
Numbersdonotspeakforthemselves.
Forexample,whatdoesitmeanthat55youth p 55 y
reportedachangeinbehavior.Or,25%of
participantsratedtheprograma5and75% p p p g 5 75
ratedita4.Whatdothesenumbersmean?
Interpretationistheprocessofattachingmeaningto p p g g
thedata.
PurposeofDataAnalysis p y
Describeorsummarizedataclearly
Searchforconsistentpatternsorthemesamongdata
Enableyoutoansweryourresearchquestions
WhyUseStatistics? y
Statisticsarepowerfultoolsthathelppeople
understandinterestingphenomena understandinterestingphenomena.
Wh h d h j Whetheryouareastudent,aresearcher,orjusta
citizeninterestedinunderstandingtheworldaround
you statisticscanofferonemethodforhelpingyou you,statisticscanofferonemethodforhelpingyou
makesenseofyourenvironment(Urdan,2001).
Options for Calculating Statistical Analysis OptionsforCalculatingStatisticalAnalysis
Technologicaladvanceshavemadetheprocessof Technologicaladvanceshavemadetheprocessof
statisticallyanalyzingdataeasyenoughfornon
statisticianstodo. statisticianstodo.
Whiletherearenumerousstatisticalanalysisprograms Whiletherearenumerousstatisticalanalysisprograms
available,mosteducatorshaveeasyaccesstoMicrosoft
Excelwhichiscapableofcalculatingevenadvanced Excelwhichiscapableofcalculatingevenadvanced
statisticalanalysis.
T d Trends
Frequency
G h
Rangeofmethodsused
Growthrates
Average
Rangeofmethodsused
toanalysedata
Mean
Median
Mode
Variance
Standard
deviation
R Range
Timeseriesanalysis
Scattergraphs
Correlation
Frequencydistributions q y
describehowdataaredistributed.
Anarrangementofthevaluesofavariableandtheir g
responses.
Relativecomparisons p
describehowdataforavariablecomparewitheachother.
Rate =frequencyofoccurrenceofaparticular
outcome outcome
Ratio =comparisonofthefrequencyofoneresponse
ith th withanother
Proportion =aratiotothetotal
Percentage =proportionmultipliedby100
Trends
Lookingforpatternsindatacollections
Frequencyandreliabilityoftrends
Impactofexternalfactors,e.g.seasonalvariation,
randomevents,cyclicaltrends
Averages g
Averagesareameasureofcentraltendency themost
likelyorcommoniteminadataseries likelyorcommoniteminadataseries
Calculatedthrough3measures: Calculatedthrough3measures:
Mean Mean
Median
Mode
Averages g
Mean =Sumofitemsintheseries/numberofitems
X=x
xx
Median =middlenumberinadataseries 0.5(n+1)
Mode =themostfrequentlyoccurringvalueinadata
series series
Variance
Averageshavelimitations measuresofdata
d dt idth spreadusedtoassesswidth
Range differencebetweenthehighestandthe
l l lowestvalue
StandardDeviation usedtomeasurethe
varianceofthedatasetfromthemean can
highlight
howreliablethemeanisasbeingrepresentativeof
thedataset
TheStandardDeviation
S =
(x
i
x )
2
n
Correlation
Thedegreetowhichthereisarelationshipbetween
twoormorerandomvariables twoormorerandomvariables
Th l h l i hi h hi h h d f Theclosertherelationshipthehigherthedegreeof
correlation
Perfectcorrelationwouldbe
h wherer=1
DirectionofCorrelations
P i i ( ) i bl i (d ) Positive (+) asonevariableincreases(decreases),
theothervariableincreases(decreases).
N i ( ) A i bl i (d ) Negative() Asonevariableincreases(decreases),
theothervariabledecreases(increases).
TimeSeriesAnalysis y
Usedtoanalysemovementsofavariableovera
ti i d ll t th t timeperiod usuallyyears,quarters,months,etc.
Importanceofassessingthe:
Trend
Seasonality
Keymoments y
Magnitude
Principles of qualitative data analysis Principlesofqualitativedataanalysis
I f h i d Important forresearcherstorecogniseandaccount
for ownperspective
R d lid i Respondentvalidation
Seekalternativeexplanations
Workcloselywithsamelanguagekeyinformant
familiarwiththelanguagesandperspectivesofboth
researchersandparticipants researchersandparticipants
Principlesofqualitativedataanalysis
Contextiscritical Contextiscritical
i.e.physical,historical,social,political,organisational,
individualcontext individualcontext
Dependence/interdependence
Identifyconvergence/divergenceofviewsandhow
contextualfactorsmayinfluencethedifferences y
Principles of qualitative data analysis Principlesofqualitativedataanalysis
Roleoftheoryguidesapproachtoanalysis
Establishedconceptualframework predetermined
categoriesaccordingtoresearchquestions
d d h h d f Groundedtheory interrogatethedataforemergent
themes
Principlesofqualitativedataanalysis p q y
Dataanalysisisanonlinear
Numerousroundsofquestioning,reflecting, Numerousroundsofquestioning,reflecting,
rephrasing,analysing,theorising,verifyingaftereach
observation,interview,orFocusGroupDiscussion
Stages in qualitative data analysis Stagesinqualitativedataanalysis
Interrelatedratherthansequential
Duringdatacollection
Reading dataimmersion readingandre reading Reading dataimmersion readingandrereading
Coding listentothedataforemergingthemesand
begintoattachlabelsorcodestothetextsthat begintoattachlabelsorcodestothetextsthat
representthethemes
Stagesinqualitativedataanalysis
Afterdatacollection Afterdatacollection
Displaying thethemes(allinformation)
Developinghypotheses questioningandverification Developinghypotheses,questioningandverification
Reducing fromthedisplayeddataidentifythemain
points points
St i lit ti d t l i Stagesinqualitativedataanalysis
Interpretation Interpretation
At ll t hi f i f Atallstages searchingforcoremeaningsof
thoughts,feelings,andbehavioursdescribed
Overallinterpretation Overallinterpretation
Identifyhowthemesrelatetoeachother
Explainhowstudyquestionsareanswered Explainhowstudyquestionsareanswered
Explainwhatthefindingsmeanbeyondthecontextof
yourstudy
Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Reading/Dataimmersion
Readforcontent
Areyouobtainingthetypesofinformationyou
intendedtocollect
Id tif tth dd l t t ti Identifyemergentthemesanddeveloptentative
explanations
Note(new/surprising)topicsthatneedtobe ( / p g) p
exploredinfurtherfieldwork
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Reading/Dataimmersion Reading/Dataimmersion
Readnotingthequalityofthedata
Haveyouobtainedsuperficialorrichanddeepresponses y p p p
Howvividanddetailedarethedescriptionsof
observations
Istheresufficientcontextualdetail Istheresufficientcontextualdetail
Problemsinthequalityofthedatarequireareviewof:
Howyouareaskingquestions
Th Thevenue
Thecompositionofthegroups
Thestyleandcharacteristicsoftheinterviewer
Howsoonafterthefieldactivityarenotesrecorded
Developasystemtoidentifyproblemsinthedata(audit
trail)
Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
R di /D i i Reading/Dataimmersion
Readidentifyingpatterns
Afteridentifyingthemes,examinehowtheseare
patterned
Dothethemesoccurinallorsomeofthedata Dothethemesoccurinallorsomeofthedata
Aretheirrelationshipsbetweenthemes
Aretherecontradictoryresponses
Aretheregapsinunderstanding theserequirefurther
exploration
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Coding Identifyingemergingthemes Coding Identifyingemergingthemes
Codethethemesthatyouhaveidentified
Nostandardrulesofhowtocode
Researchersdifferonhowtoderivecodes,whento
startandstop,andonthelevelofdetailrequired
Recordcodingdecisions Recordcodingdecisions
Usually insertcodes/labelsintothemargins
Usewordsorpartsofwordstoflagideasyoufindin p g y
thetranscript
Identifysubthemesandexplorethemingreater
depth depth
Processes in qualitative data analysis Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Coding Identifyingemergingthemes
C d /l b l Codes/labels
Emergentcodes
Closelymatchthelanguageandideasinthetextualdata C y g g
Borrowedcodes
Representmoreabstractconceptsinthefieldofstudy
U d db id di Understoodbyawideraudience
Insertnotesduringthecodingprocess
Explanatorynotes,questions p y , q
Giveconsiderationtothewordsthatyouwilluseascodes
/labels mustcapturemeaningandleadtoexplanations
Fle iblecodingscheme recordcodes definitions and Flexiblecodingscheme recordcodes,definitions,and
revisions
Processes in qualitative data analysis Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Coding Identifyingemergingthemes
Codecontinuouslyasdatacollectionproceeds Codecontinuouslyasdatacollectionproceeds
Imposesasystematicapproach
Helpstoidentifygapsorquestionswhileitispossibleto p y g p q p
returnformoredata
Revealsearlybiases
l d f Helpstoredefineconcepts
Processes in qualitative data analysis Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Coding Identifyingemergingthemes
Buildingthemerelatedfiles Buildingthemerelatedfiles
Conductacodingsort
Cutandpastetogetherintoonefilesimilarlycodedblocks p g y
oftext
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Displayingdata Displayingdata
i.e.layingoutortakinganinventoryofwhatdatayouhave
relatedtoatheme
Conductquantitativeandqualitativeanalysis
Capturethevariationorrichnessofeachtheme
N diff b i di id l d b Notedifferencesbetweenindividualsandsub
groups
Organise intosubthemes Organise intosub themes
Returntothedataandexamineevidencethat
supportseachsubtheme pp
Noteintensity/emphasis;first orsecondhand
experiences;identifydifferentcontextswithin
whichthephenomenonoccurs whichthephenomenonoccurs
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
D l i h th ti i d ifi ti Developinghypotheses,questioningandverification
Extractmeaningfromthedata
h d l d k Dothecategoriesdevelopedmakesense
Whatpiecesofinformationcontradictmyemerging
id ? ideas?
Whatpiecesofinformationaremissingor
underdeveloped? underdeveloped?
Whatotheropinionsshouldbetakenintoaccount?
Howdomyownbiasesinfluencethedatacollectionand Howdomyownbiasesinfluencethedatacollectionand
analysisprocess?
Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Datareduction
i.e.distill theinformationtomakevisiblethemost
essentialconceptsandrelationship
Getanoverallsenseofthedata
Distinguishprimary/mainandsecondary/sub Distinguishprimary/mainandsecondary/sub
themes
Separateessentialfromnonessentialdata Separateessentialfromnon essentialdata
Usevisualdevices e.g.matrices,diagrams
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Interpretation Interpretation
i.e.identifyingthecoremeaningofthedata,remaining
faithfultotheperspectivesofthestudyparticipants p p y p p
butwithwidersocialandtheoreticalrelevance
Credibilityofattributedmeaning
Consistentwithdatacollected
Verifiedwithrespondents
P t lti l ti ( t d Presentmultipleperspectives(convergentand
divergentviews)
Didyougobeyondwhatyouexpectedtofind? y g y y p
i li i d l i Processesinqualitativedataanalysis
Interpretation Interpretation
Dependability
Canfindingsbereplicated? Canfindingsbereplicated?
Multipleanalysts
Confirmability Confirmability
Audittrail
Permitsexternalreviewofanalysisdecisions
Transferability
Applylessonslearnedinonecontexttoanother
Support,refine,limitthegeneralisability of,or
proposeanalternativemodelortheory
TheQualitativeAnalyticalProcess
(AdaptedfromdescriptionsofStraussandCorbin,1990,Spiggle 1994,Milesand
Huberman 1994) Huberman,1994)
Components Procedures Outcomes
DataReductions
Categorisation
Description
DataDisplay
Categorisation
Abstraction
Comparison
Dimensionalisation
Conclusions&
Verification
Integration
Interpretation
Explanation/ Verification Explanation/
Interpretation