The Concept of Qualitative Content Analysis - Assignment Example

Qualitative Content Analysis Three Researchers Who Have Described Qualitative Content Analysis The s of the three researchers who have described qualitative content analysis include: 1. Patton, he says “any qualitative data reduction and sense making effort that takes a volume of qualitative material and attempts to identify core consistencies and meanings“(Patton, 2002). 2. Hsieh & Shannon describe qualitative content analysis as “a research method for the subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns” (Hsieh &Shannon, 2005). 3. Finally, researcher marrying describes qualitative content analysis as “an approach of empirical, methodological controlled analysis of texts within their context of communication, following content analytic rules and step by step models, without rash quantification” (marrying, 2000). Create, name describe own qualitative content analysis process (detailed description) The process I would use for my own qualitative content analysis would be as follows. Data preparation I would take data from interview sheets and write them down as this would enhance accuracy in my analysis. Interviews entail a lot and it is necessary to transcribe everything beforehand such that during data preparation I would have everything down. This include, answers to all interview questions, body language of the interviewee and all the word classes used(Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). Unit of analysis definition The coding of messages before an analysis is vital to qualitative content analysis. This is because slight differences in unit defining can lead to inaccurate decisions during coding(Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). Therefore, unit of analysis can be defined as the element of writing that is confidential during content analysis. An example is that during aninterview, an interviewee can use a word to describe his or her entire feeling. This is noted and not necessarily told to the interviewee but used during coding. Categorizing of categorizing In order to develop categories they have to be sourced. Sources of categories can be found in stipulated theories, related works or data taken during data preparation. In this phase inductive reasoning is used to generate theories while reasoning, inductive and deductive, are used to code schemes(Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). Coding scheme testing The coding scheme must be accurate as any mistake will lead to a different decision which will make all data wrong thus wrong findings and conclusions. Therefore, a test on the coding scheme must be done to test its authenticity(Creswell, 2007). This must be done very quickly to certify and develop the scheme for use on the data preparation. Consistency must be emphasized lest a mistake is done to ruin the whole data. Conclusion After checking everything like coding authenticity and consistency and coding the whole text from the interview it is time to conclude. Write down findings which will have been developed through reconstructions of coded data. Implications will be made to rule out assumptions. Writing a report Finally, after concluding the findings and writing the down the coded scheme a report must be written. Qualitative content analysis must be extremely accurate after through monitoring. All decisions leading to the conclusion must be reported including, methods used, practices and processes used(Schilling, 2006). Difference between inductive versus deductive coding techniques The difference between inductive content analysis is that inductive reasoning is used when qualitative content analysis uses a procedure that reduces raw statistics into groupscentered on useablereadings and clarification(Creswell, 2007). This is based on the researcher’s careful analysis and assessment. In that information moves from specific to broader generalizations. Thus it begins with the theory, hypothesis to pattern then to observation. On the other hand, deductive reasoning is used when the qualitative content analysis used includes deductive reasoning. This is because deductive reasoning works with a technique referred to as top-down approach where information goes form more generalized data to more specific data(Creswell, 2007). Thus, deductive reasoning starts with a theory and then hypothesis which leads to observation and finally to confirmation. 3 different definitions/ explanations of qualitative in depth interview Qualitative in depth interviews are carried on because researchers need to obtain rich statistics using qualitative tentative perspective(McNamara, 2009). The three explanations are in the designs of interview which are considered to bring out in depth information that can be accurately used in the qualitative content analysis. Therefore, the first isthe informal conversational interview. This is followed by the second which isthe general interview guide approach interview. Finally, this leads to the last one which is standardized open ended approach interview(McNamara, 2009). Compare and contrast 3 definitions of qualitative in depth interview There are many similarities and differences to the three qualitative in depth interview approaches. Firstly, in both informal conversational interview and general interviews the questions are not structured as in the standardized open ended interview where interviewees are asked identical questions(Kvale, 2007). In informal and general interviews questions are asked asper the interviewer and the setting or the interviewee. General interview is a bit more structured unlike informal interviews where the interview is more flexible and relaxed. Secondly, structured open ended interviews are open ended unlike informal and general interview where the interview is not open ended(Kvale, 2007). The fact that open ended interviews are open makes work even harder for the researcher since interviewees narrate stories and it is upon the researcher to sift through to find their answers. This is unlike the informal and general interviews where it is specific question and specific answer kind of interview. Lastly, informal and general interviews are interesting and time conscious unlike standardized interview which is stifling in question asking(Kvale, 2007). This can prove to be difficult sincedifferentintervieweesneeded different approach to get the real answer from them, but standardized interview dos not allow that and the story narratives form interviewees takes time and is cumbersome. Identify and explain two challenges of using qualitative in depth interview technique for marketing research Qualitative in depth interview technique is a good technique for marketing research although it has its disadvantages. The use of standardized open ended interview approach is full of biasness on the side of the interviewee(Schilling, 2006). For example an interviewee might have had a bad experience with a certain product. The reason could be that the interviewee was sick and their judgment was clouded by their sickness and bad mood. Or the interviewee was given a product that was not handled well by another person, thereforeprompting them to dislike the product. Since standardized open ended interview does not give the interviewer a chance of paraphrasing the question the answer might be misleading thus it is not a good technique for marketing research. Another challenge experienced by use of qualitative in depth interview technique is that informal and general interviews may consume the interviewer who might stray from the vital questions. This is because the interviewer is allowed to structure the question according to the setting, the interviewee’s nature or any other situation(Schilling, 2006). This may lead to time wastage and lots of useless answers that do not answer the questionnaire. Moreover, the interviewers are just human beings and have the tendency of forgetting some questions in the heat of the moment. This may lead to false information of totallack of information. In addition, it may force the interviewer to cook up information just to fill up the lack of data, thus undesirable use for marketing research. References Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry &research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage. Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2003).Educational research:An introduction (7th ed.). Boston, MA: A & B Publications. Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S.E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277-1288. Kvale, S. (2007).Doing interviews.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Mayring, P. (2000). Qualitative content analysis.Forum: Qualitative Social Research,1(2). Retrieved July 28, 2008, from http://217.160.35.246/fqs-texte/2-00/2-00mayring-e.pdf. McNamara, C. (2009). General guidelines for conducting interviews. Retrieved January11, 2010, from http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods.Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage. Schilling, J. (2006). On the pragmatics of qualitative assessment: Designing the process for content analysis. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 28-37. Read More