At this point in the qualitative research process, the amount of data you have collected may feel overwhelming. You will probably have interview transcripts, demographic information about your respondents, your own notes, and other materials or documents. You might feel ready to start writing up your findings, but more likely, you are uncertain about next steps. Either way, before you can analyze your data, you must first organize it in a way that makes sense to you and that will make it easier to answer your research question.
The first step that a researcher engages in is de-identification of the transcripts to remove any identifying information. Then, the researcher will organize the data to be able to keep track of it throughout the analysis process. Finally, the researcher will “clean” the data to make sure the transcripts are readable when they begin analysis. Once the data has been de-identified, organized, and cleaned, the researcher can focus on theme creation which you can learn more about in the Data Analysis section.
The presentation below provides more information about de-identifying, organizing, and cleaning the data:
What about translated data?
Cleaning and checking the data can become tricky if your interview transcripts have been translated from another language. Although you want to make the transcript readable for analysis, you also want to avoid distorting the words of the participant. Checking the data becomes all the more important in cases of translated data because you want to be sure that the transcript and recording match up even if they are in two different languages. It may be helpful to have multiple pairs of eyes and ears on the data to ensure accuracy, ideally working with someone who speaks the same language as the participant.
As you go through the transcripts you can also take some steps to reduce the sheer amount of data you are working with. Note places in the transcript where there are digressions and interruptions that move the conversation away from the topic of interest. If sections of the data are not applicable to your research interests you don’t have to take the time to do further analysis of them. But be careful not to cut too much from the transcripts since some data might surprise you in its significance.
Personal Project
The interview process can make data collection feel overwhelming, but take a deep breath. These emotions are a normal part of the procedure experienced by many researchers. Staying organized can help you to feel more in control. Go through however much data you have and make sure that all your participants have pseudonyms (code names) associated with them. Go ahead and create a system of folders, either digitally or physically, in which you can keep track of participants, their interview data, and any other data associated with them. This way, you can organize what data you have and use this same organizational strategy if you continue to interview new participants.
