Qualitative Social Work

Qualitative Social Work http://qsw.sagepub.com/

Qualitative Analysis: A Teaching Tool for Social Work Research Marie Connolly Qualitative Social Work 2003 2: 103 DOI: 10.1177/1473325003002001282 The online version of this article can be found at: http://qsw.sagepub.com/content/2/1/103

Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com

Additional services and information for Qualitative Social Work can be found at: Email Alerts: http://qsw.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://qsw.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://qsw.sagepub.com/content/2/1/103.refs.html

>> Version of Record - Mar 1, 2003 What is This?

Downloaded from qsw.sagepub.com at The University of Melbourne Libraries on January 22, 2014

07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 103

Qualitative Social Work Vol. 2(1): 103-112 Copyright ©2003 Sage Publications London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi 1473-3250[200303]2:1;103-112;031282

PRACTICE AND TEACHING OF QUALITATIVE SOCIAL WORK

Qualitative Analysis A Teaching Tool for Social Work Research Marie Connolly University of Canterbury, New Zealand

ABSTRACT Practitioner and beginning researchers in social work often struggle with the process of qualitative data analysis. This article discusses the use of a teaching tool for qualitative analysis that is relatively simple to apply within the classroom setting. Based on the grounded theory method of qualitative analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1990), the purpose of the tool is threefold: (1) to facilitate a beginning understanding of the processes of qualitative analysis for students; (2) to provide an experiential opportunity for students to practice using qualitative data – thereby encouraging ‘learning-by-doing’ strategy; and (3) to simplify the process of analysis as a precursor to the student’s more indepth study and understanding.

KEY WORDS: data analysis methodology qualitative analysis teaching research


103

07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 104

104 ■ Qualitative Social Work 2(1)

INTRODUCTION Since qualitative interviews can be viewed as extensions of ordinary conversations (Tolich and Davidson, 1999), it is perhaps not surprising that beginning social work researchers quickly gain confidence in their ability to undertake some aspects of qualitative research. Social work most frequently concerns interviewing people, and interviewing skills can readily be transferred across from practice to research. Indeed, it could be argued that social workers have a huge advantage over other beginning researchers in that they have a repertoire of interviewing skills that can be enhanced by training in the particular skills of qualitative interviewing. Hence social workers are attracted into qualitative research, and often end up with voluminous data sets. However, confidence can quickly dissipate when confronted by data analysis. The actual process of analysis in qualitative research has been described as one that remains ‘mysterious to all but the qualitative researcher’ (Morse, 1994: 24). For students new to social work research, the way in which analysis moves from the raw data to the development of explanatory propositions may seem like something conjured, as if by magic, by people with special un-learnable skills. Theoretical propositions ‘emerge’ somehow from the data, through a process that is rarely well described in the literature (Morse, 1994). However, such theory does not merely ‘emerge’. It is extracted from the data by a set of interrogative actions, undertaken by the researcher, through a process of generation, reduction, and reconfiguration. In recent years writers have responded to the complexity of qualitative analysis and important in-depth practice texts have been developed (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994; Miles and Huberman, 1994; Strauss, 1995; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). These texts have strengthened the literature and represent important advancements in the field. For the beginning researcher, however, the complexity of data analysis can also be daunting. Seeking ways to simplify the process, as a precursor to more in-depth study, may well encourage social workers to engage with qualitative research, and to actively develop a research culture within their practice. This article discusses a model of qualitative data analysis that has been influenced by the grounded theory style of social research (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1990), and the teaching methods of Strauss (1995). The grounded theory approach is one of a number of qualitative traditions of inquiry. Cresswell (1998) discusses grounded theory in his analysis of five traditions of qualitative research including also: biographies, phenomenological studies, ethnographies, and case studies. After Strauss, the model discussed in this article has been primarily designed as an undergraduate teaching tool for students who are new to research. It has also been found useful as a supervision tool when working with research students as an encouragement to practice skills of analysis prior to undertaking their own research. It includes the use of extracts


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 105

Connolly Qualitative Analysis ■ 105

from qualitative interviews in a step-by-step process of analysis, beginning with the generative phase, through a process of interpretation, and on to the construction of alternative explanations. It has been used with undergraduate class groups of around forty students and in general it is the student’s first exposure to a research method class. Prior to using the model, the students have been introduced to the philosophical foundations of qualitative research, its cultural and ethical components, and the standards and practice of qualitative interviewing. They have had the opportunity to scrutinize interview transcripts for evidence of reflexivity (the self-conscious analysis of the impact of the researcher on the process of research), and have also been introduced to the notions of critical inquiry within qualitative research (Crotty, 1998; Kincheloe and McLaren, 1994). The article discusses the initial setting up of the classroom exercise and the use of research data as the primary resource for working through the analysis model. It then proceeds towards the application of the model through the different phases of the analysis process.

THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS EXERCISE The Research Data as a Case Example

Qualitative interview extracts from a completed research project are used in a constructed exercise designed to demonstrate logically the way in which analysis occurs, from the original text through to the development of explanatory propositions. The first step in the exercise involves engaging the students with the research by describing the project from which the extracts have been taken. This is done with the whole class group. The study is outlined, and a brief discussion of key literature findings is provided. The example described in this article involved the use of a research project that looked at the effects of unemployment on family life (Connolly, 1995). Within this research, couples that had been affected by unemployment were engaged into an exploratory study looking at how their lives had changed since being unemployed. The interviews explored issues such as quality of life, leisure time, plans for the future, health patterns, the families domestic organization, decision-making, family relationships, and reflections on their experiences. Working in small groups of two or three the students are given the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and knowledge of unemployment and how it impacts on families, and to identify reflexive issues that may emerge during the process of undertaking such a project. This then forms the basis of a large group discussion, after which the students return to their small groups and are given several extracts of interview text from the research project. Two examples of extracts used in the classroom exercise now follow. These examples involved interviews with two of the men in the study.


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 106


Extract One: I’ve always worked you see. How can a man support his family without working? Sometimes I can’t even look at Mary when something goes wrong with the benefit. I should be providing for her and the kids, not the Government. Extract Two: I mightn’t have made much, but I feel in myself that I was doing something and feel a little more important that somebody needed me enough to employ me for a day’s work. Sad as it may seem, basically to survive on the dole you have to rip the system off. I hate saying that but I think we’ve got to get a little realistic and face it head on. We can’t survive without ripping the system off. I don’t get any joy in saying that, because I hate anybody ripping anyone off but there is nothing else I can do. The Application of the Qualitative Data Analysis Model

The students are then given a copy of the model containing the phases of the qualitative analysis process. This includes three phases: the Generative Phase, the Interpretative Phase, and the Theorising Phase (Figure 1).

THE GENERATIVE PHASE Step One: 1st Level Analysis

The generative phase involves the student in the 1st level of analysis – the careful examination of the data sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph, sometimes word-by-word analysis of the text. This is equivalent to the open coding phase within the grounded theory method. Strauss and Corbin (1990: 62) describe it thus: . . . the data are broken down into discrete parts, closely examined, compared for similarities and differences, and questions are asked about the phenomena as reflected in the data. Through this process, one’s own and others’ assumptions about phenomena are questioned or explored, leading to new discoveries.

In the 1st level analysis students are encouraged to explore meaning within the text and record these on a separate piece of paper. For example, 1st level analysis of the first extract may unfold as follows: I’ve always worked you see. Always: Coded as continuity. Other possibilities: enduring, expectation.


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 107


Worked – type of work? Meaning of work = paid work? You see – emphasis, importance? How can a man support his family without working? Man/support: Coded as breadwinner. Other possibilities: supporters/providers/ financial Support – roles? The ‘man’s role? Tied to financial support role? Family – dependents? Father the head of? How can – without working?? – incomprehensible? Sometimes I can’t even look at Mary when something goes wrong with the benefit. Can’t even look at: Coded as shame. Other possibilities: failure? powerlessness? Mary – relationship I, Mary, benefit: Coded as person/state relationship. When something goes wrong – uncontrollable, powerlessness? I should be providing for her and the kids, not the Government I – identity – emphasis Should be providing – reinforce male provider I should be providing – identity linked to provider role Not the Government – no context of government safety net, dependency = negative?

The first extract is analysed within the class group using an OHP transparency. Notes are made on the transparency as students develop ideas, and the class goes over the extract word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence. The students then work in their small groups, analysing the extracts and generating potential meaning from the interview transcripts. Once the first level of analysis is completed, the generated lists of meaning and coded notes are often many pages long.


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 108



Figure 1 A PROCESS OF QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 109


! " !

Figure 2 REDUCING THEMES TO CONCEPTUAL CATEGORIES

Step Two: 2nd Level Analysis

The 2nd level of analysis then involves the ordering of the coded notes thematically. The shift from the coded notes toward the development of themes is the first step in the process of data management. The themes need to be of a manageable number, and the thematic analysis requires the student to distil from the voluminous coded notes, properties and similarities that are grouped by meaning. Naming the themes is sometimes considered challenging for students, as they are encouraged to sense the essence of the grouped meaning. Students look across their lists, and begin to synthesize the stories and experiences of the participants – what Morse (1994: 30) refers to as ‘weeding the significant from the insignificant’. These are then recorded on the analysis sheet (see Figure 1). By the end of the 2nd level analysis, students typically have discerned between 20–30 themes, and the process then moves on to the interpretative phase.

THE INTERPRETATIVE PHASE The interpretative phase requires the student to translate the themes into conceptual categories. It is a reductive process, whereby the findings from the study can be reported in manageable components. Because the extracts come from a completed research study, and have been carefully selected to encourage a more straightforward movement from data→themes→conceptual categories, the analysis can generally be guided to illustrate connections between themes. Examples of themes from the class analysis are recorded on an analysis sheet OHP, and the class is then encouraged to identify patterns and relationships between the themes, and connect them more systematically by bringing them together conceptually. Illustrating the move from themes to the first conceptual category on the OHP provides the first example (see Figure 2). In small groups the students are then encouraged to begin the process of reconfiguration from the particular to the general – from the detailed coding of the particular, toward the grouping of themes, becoming increasingly distanced from the particular toward the more general and abstract. This provides


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 110


a greater freedom to consider the categories in different ways, exploring alternative meanings, and new understandings. By the end of the interpretive phase students generally emerge with a maximum of six conceptual categories. An important part of the interpretative phase is the confirmation of the categories by returning to the data and generative coding, and re-examining the categories in the light of this. Confirmation of the categories increases the grounded validity of the findings – or in other words, ensures that the findings are, indeed, grounded in the data. Students are encouraged to critique each others’ conceptual categories against the themes and detailed coding developed during the generative phase.

THE THEORIZING PHASE Within the context of the classroom exercise it is only possible to use a small number of extracts from the research study. The use of so few extracts does inevitably limit the development of explanatory propositions. Nevertheless, the extracts come from a completed piece of research, and experience has found that students learn much from seeing how themes and conceptual categories have the potential to unfold into theoretical explanations. In order to do this, the exercise has been designed and constructed to demonstrate a logical progression from data→themes→conceptual categories→theoretical explanations. The purpose of the exercise is not to validate or challenge the findings of the existing study, but to provide a vehicle through which the students can move logically through the steps and see the connections between the themes, the conceptual categories, and the theoretical propositions that are offered. Hence, the particular extracts are chosen because they offer the more straightforward connections and predictable thematic choices. For example, the extracts chosen consistently reinforced the ‘male breadwinner’ role, and how the men felt compelled to support the family by taking on casual work while also receiving the benefit. This created feelings of sadness, shame, for some of the men, but also seemed an inevitable consequence of not having enough money to respond to the needs of the family. Predicting the student’s thematic choices within the generative phase enables a guided discussion toward the first of the conceptual categories, and then on to the theoretical propositions. The example used in this article illustrated the themes of ‘role’, ‘responsibility’, ‘breadwinner’, ‘survival’, ‘obligations’, and ‘lawlessness’, and provided a context within which they could be brought together under the conceptual category of ‘Divided Loyalties’. From here, the class was encouraged to discuss the predicament facing the unemployed men when they were required to be both a responsible parent, and a responsible citizen. The men were identified as having competing obligations, and the notion of a ‘responsibility tension’ was proposed (see Figure 3). The ‘responsibility tension’ was discussed as an explanatory proposition,


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 111


Figure 3 THE RESPONSIBILITY TENSION

and students were then asked to return to the generative coding and identify its support from within the data. This reinforced the importance of confirmation, and the process of grounding the findings in the data. It is useful to have a number of alternative theoretical propositions available from the original research project so that a flexible response to the generated themes can also be accommodated. This is one of the considerable benefits of using a completed piece of research within the exercise.

CONCLUSION Using data from completed research projects can provide a rich experiential opportunity for students who often struggle with data analysis. The students approach the exercise enthusiastically and seem to enjoy working with ‘real’ data. Choosing extracts that offered straightforward thematic possibilities builds confidence as patterns emerge, and themes strengthen. Careful selection of extracts is important, as they can be predictive with respect to the thematic and conceptual development. This has the benefit of fostering both guided process, and self-discovery as the themes and conceptual categories emerge.While unpredicted responses from students were few, they created important opportunities to explore alternative meanings and plurality. Using the tool and practicing the analytical steps in the small group setting also had the effect of building competence in a shared learning experience. Of course, the subtleties and dimensions of qualitative analysis are complex, and the practice of analysis needs to take place within the context of well-structured research projects. In this regard the use of a simplified tool in an exercise such as this may create misunderstandings that qualitative analysis is


07 Connolly (to/d)

2/12/03

3:52 PM

Page 112


indeed a simple process. Of course, it is far from it. Nevertheless a practice opportunity that breaks down the steps for beginning researchers can also build experience and inspire confidence in the actual undertaking of research. Ultimately, it is this confidence that will contribute to the strengthening of a research culture within social work, and encourage workers to be both users and producers of research. References

Connolly, M. (1995) ‘Family Life on the Dole’, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work 5(1): 47–62. Cresswell, J. W. (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Crotty, M. (1998) The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the Research Process. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln,Y. S. (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago, IL: Aldine de Gruyter. Kincheloe, J. L. and McLaren, P. L. (1994) ‘Rethinking Critical Theory and Qualitative Research’, in N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis:An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Morse, J. M. (1994) ‘ “ Emerging from the Data”: The Cognitive Processes of Analysis in Qualitative Inquiry, in J. M. Morse (ed.) Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Strauss, A. L. (1995) Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Tolich, M. and Davidson, C. (1999) Starting Fieldwork: An Introduction to Qualitative Research in New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

Marie Connolly, PhD, is Senior Lecturer, Head of the Department of Social Work, and Director of Te Awatea Violence Research Centre at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. She teaches research methodology, social work theory, and working with violence. Her research interests include sexual offending, reflexive practice, and family work within the child protection area. She has a social work background in statutory child welfare. Her books include Effective Participatory Practice: Family Group Conferencing in Child Protection, and New Zealand Social Work: Contexts and Practice. Address: Department of Social Work, University of Canterbury, PO Box 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. [email: [email protected]]
