Discussion: Coding, Categories, and Themes

Qualitative researchers approach data collection with an appreciation of the data sources (the participants, documents, etc.) as the key to understanding the phenomenon of interest. The same is true for data analysis. The researcher chooses an approach or approaches in order to systematically move through the words and images to identify codes, categories and themes that will reflect the sources’ experience.

• A code is a word or short phrase that assigns an attribute, idea, or quality to a portion of text or visual data.
• A category is a collection of these codes that share attributes, meaning, and/or intent. It is also labeled with a word or short phrase.
• A theme is developed from one or more categories and can represent a “manifest” (directly observable) or “latent” (underlying) aspect of the phenomenon.

For this Discussion, you will examine coding, categories, and themes in your qualitative data you previously collected.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 9 of the Ravitch and Carl text and Chapter 12 of the Rubin and Rubin text and consider the differences in coding, categories, and themes.
• Use the Course Guide and Assignment Help found in this week’s Learning Resources to search for books, encyclopedias and articles related to coding, categories, and themes in qualitative research.
• Review your coding of your phone interview transcript. Identify two or more codes that could be grouped into a category. Next, identify samples of text you chose to define the codes.
• Do the same for one of the Scholars of Change videos that you coded.
• Consider if you can detect a theme emerging from your data analysis process. If you can identify a theme, name and describe it. If you cannot, consider why this is the case.

By Day 3

Post an explanation of the differences between codes, categories, and themes. Provide examples from your work. Use your Learning Resources and the article you found to support your explanation.

Be sure to support your main post and response post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA style.

Required Readings

Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Chapter 6, “After Second Cycle Coding” (pp. 273–289)

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.

• Chapter 9, “Methods and Processes of Data Analysis (pp. 254–294)
• Chapter 10, “Writing and Representing Research: The Research Report” (pp. 295–324)

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Chapter 12, “Data Analysis in the Responsive Interviewing Model” (pp. 189–211) (previously read in Weeks 5, 6, 7, and 8)

Walden University Library. (n.d.). Course guide and assignment help for RSCH 8310. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/rsch8310
Use this website to search for books, encyclopedias, and articles based on the requirements for the Discussion and/or Assignment.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2016).Visualizing data with Word or Excel [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 6 minutes.
In this media program, Dr. Susan Marcus, Core Research Faculty with the School of Psychology at Walden University, demonstrates how to visualize data using Microsoft Word or Excel.