Handling Qualitative Data
Stage Focus Key Activities Purpose Tools/Methods Used Examples
a. Setting Up Preparation before - Designing research To ensure research is Research design Drafting interview
data collection or questions- Selecting methodologically templates, consent protocols, creating
analysis methods- Planning sound and ethically forms, file naming coding frameworks,
ethical considerations- secure systems, and ethical and establishing secure
Organising data protocols storage for transcripts
storage
b. Working Managing, - Transcribing To make data Transcription Transcribing recorded
with the Data organising, and interviews- Sorting manageable and software (e.g., focus groups, labelling
initial processing of field notes- ready for analysis Otter.ai), NVivo, and sorting
raw data Anonymising data- Excel, coding sheets, observation notes
Storing and retrieving folders
data
c. Making Interpreting and - Coding- Categorising- To identify meaning, Thematic analysis, Identifying themes in
Sense of Your analysing the data Thematising- Constant themes, and grounded theory, participant narratives,
Data for patterns, comparison- Memo relationships within framework analysis, clustering data into
themes, or meaning writing the data coding software (e.g., analytical categories
Atlas.ti, NVivo)
d. Telling Your Communicating - Writing up findings- To communicate Visual aids (e.g., Presenting thematic
Project your findings clearly Visualising data- findings to your charts, models), findings in a report;
and effectively Linking to research audience and narrative writing, writing an academic
questions- Reflecting showcase insight and summary tables, paper or policy brief
and concluding thoroughness reports
