Practical Research 1 Quarter 2 – Module 7: Analyzing the Meaning of the Data Gathered What I Need to Know
Collection of data which you have done in Module 5 is only the
beginning of your research process. Once you have collected all the information you needed, you have to organize them. Since your research is qualitative, this module focuses on “analysis” which is more concerned with the meaning of information gathered from different sources, such as notes/observation, recorded interview/transcripts, and/or focus group transcripts which will be explained in this module.
Learning Competencies
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. infer and explain patterns and themes from the data collected; 2. analyze and relate the findings with the pertinent literature; and 3. appreciate the process of analyzing the meaning of data gathered.
What I Know
Activity 1. Let’s check your prior knowledge…
Directions: Read each item carefully. Write TRUE if the statement is true and FALSE if it is not true. Write your answers on your Activity Notebook.
1. Listening to your audios or reading your records is part of a formal
system in analyzing data. 2. Analysis is a prerequisite before concluding something. 3. Grouping similar kinds of information together in categories is possible in evaluating data. 4. In analyzing the data, relating different ideas and themes to one another is needed. 5. The best way to organize data is to go back to your interview guide. 6. It is not necessary to arrange the data since it is understandable and easy to analyze. 7. Recognizing noticeable themes, repeated ideas, or verbal expression and patterns of belief that link people and settings together is the most intellectually challenging phase of the analysis. 8. Results are more reliable when they are complete from numerous independent bases.
vi1 9. Validity is enriched when they are confirmed by more than one “instrument” measuring the same thing. 10. The primary aim in analyzing the gathered facts is to find out if the recorded data exist to give answers to research questions.
What’s In
Activity 2. Let’s amplify your imagination…
Directions: Answer the following in your notebook.
1. What would you like to become someday? ________________________.
You may choose one profession from among the pictures below:
13 2 2. List down as many as you can the qualities that you have and you don’t have as a person that you think are needed for your chosen profession.
I have these… I don’t have these…
Example: Example: diligent organized
3. What did you find out? Analyze your answers and write a simple inference if you could possibly able to reach your goal in life considering your qualities.
What is It
The starting point of data analysis in qualitative research is by
“getting to know” your data. This can be done by listening to your audios or reading your transcripts (O’Connor & Gibson, 2003). After doing this, it will give you a general idea of what people are saying and what results you are looking for.
Formal Systems
There are formal systems for analysis of qualitative data that have been developed in order to help researchers get at the meaning of their data more easily (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). These systems involve:
➢ coding techniques for finding and marking the underlying ideas
in the data; ➢ grouping similar kinds of information together in categories; and ➢ relating different ideas and themes to one another.
Manual Guide
O’Connor & Gibson (2003) provided the researchers a manual to guide
them in the process through a step-by-step guide to analyze qualitative
143 interviews (O’Connor & Gibson, 2003). The components to this type of analysis include:
➢ organizing the data
➢ finding and organizing ideas and concepts ➢ building over-arching themes in the data ➢ ensuring reliability and validity in the data analysis and in findings ➢ finding possible and plausible explanation for findings ➢ an overview of the final step
Step 1: Organizing the Data
According to Huberman & Miles (1994, p.432) as cited by O’Connor &
Gibson (2003), valid analysis is hugely aided by data displays that are focused enough to permit viewing of all full data set in one location and are systematically arranged to answer the research question at hand.
The best way to organize data is to go back to your interview guide.
Identify and differentiate between the questions/topics you are trying to answer, and those that were simply included in the interview guide as important, but for the moment, not essential.
Once you have answered your original questions, look at other ideas and themes that have emerged from your data (surprises). Look at them in terms of how they relate to your questions and in terms of future research considerations.
Data should be organized in a way that it is easy to look at, and that allows the researcher to go through each topic to pick out concepts and themes.
Step 2: Finding and Organizing Ideas and Concepts
As postulated by Marshall & Ross (1995), identifying salient themes,
recurring ideas or language, and patterns of belief that link people and settings together is the most intellectually challenging phase of the analysis and one that can integrate the entire endeavor (Marshall & Ross, 1995, p.114).
What to look for:
• Words/Phrases Used Frequently. Look for the words that are frequently used and keep a list of these words.
4 15 • Finding Meaning in Language. Sometimes, you will notice about the person’s perceptions, attitudes, and feelings about something simply by noticing the words they use to express themselves.
• Watch for the Unexpected. This is where you learn new things or things you didn’t expect to hear. It is important to always follow up when your participant seems to be going in a new or unexpected direction. These situations are called “rich points” (Asar, 1998) and are often valuable.
• Hearing Stories. Stories are a way for the interviewee to communicate
the point of ideas or symbols indirectly. Many events, themes, and meanings can come out of a story. It is important to pay close attention to them and to their meanings.
• Coding and Categorizing Ideas and Concepts. Once you have identified the words/phrases used frequently, as well as the ideas coming from how the interviewee has expressed him/herself and from the stories that he/she has told you, you have to organize these ideas into codes or categories. Step 3: Building Over-Arching Themes in the Data
Each of the response categories has one or more associated themes
that give a deeper meaning to the data. Different categories can be collapsed under one main over-arching theme.
Step 4: Ensuring Reliability and Validity in the Data Analysis and in
Findings Validity: The accuracy with which a method measures what it is intended to measure (Schopper et al., 1993) and yields data that really represents “reality” (Goodwin et al., 1987). Validation does not belong in some separate stage of the investigation, but instead as an ongoing principle throughout the entire research process.
Reliability: The consistency of the research findings (Kvale, 1996).
Ensuring reliability requires diligent efforts and commitment to consistency throughout interviewing, transcribing, and analyzing the findings.
As themes and patterns emerge from the data, it is important to go
through the data, carefully searching for negative instances of the patterns. These are sometimes called “outliers” (Miles & Huberman, 1994). It is often too easy to discard these since they don’t fit into the patterns and themes of the data; however, it is just as important that these are carefully examined
16 5 and that possible explanations for these outliers are thought out (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
The dynamics of the interaction between the interviewer and the
interviewee will be influenced by the personal characteristics of both parties. Differences in age, gender, education, background, and language will all have an effect on the outcome of the interview (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
Triangulation: Findings are more dependable when they can be
confirmed from several independent sources. Their validity is enhanced when they are confirmed by more than one “instrument” measuring the same thing.
Different types of triangulation
➢ Triangulation from different sources: for example, interviewing
different members of the community who can give different perspectives on a specific question or topic. Personal journals are also an example of this. ➢ Triangulation from different methods: looking at the same questions/topics but trying to answer them using different research methods, such as surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews (often blending qualitative and quantitative methods). ➢ Triangulation from different researchers: having two different researchers conduct the same interview, for example, or analyze the same data is a good way to test validity. What can you expect from triangulation?
Corroboration of the findings: they are both valid and reliable.
OR
Inconsistent or conflicting findings: these can elaborate the
findings and often lead to more complex and context-respective explanations. Through triangulation, it is not uncommon to find things that were missed in the original data collection process. Sometimes, it means that our assumptions were off base, and that we need to change our questions or do more research.
Obtaining Feedback from Participants
The best way to examine the validity of the research findings and of the researcher’s interpretation of them is for the researcher to
17 6 go back and ask those individuals who participated in the study or who can speak on behalf of them.
“Local informants can act as judges, evaluating the major
findings of a study” (Denzin, 1978).
Focus Groups: After all the interviews have been completed, a
series of focus groups will be conducted in order to obtain feedback from community members on the accuracy, the validity, and the appropriateness of the research findings. The implications of the research findings and how the dissemination of information should be done will also be discussed.
External Validation of Coding Strategies
Not only is it important to ensure validity in the research
process and findings but also in the data analysis process. One way to do this is to compare how you (the researcher) have categorized and coded the results into themes with how a colleague would have done it. Randomly select a few passages from questions/topics that you have already coded and analyzed. Give the list of your codes/categories to a colleague as well as all of the responses for that question/topic. Have them code the responses and you can compare the coding with your own as a measure of validity and reliability of coding strategies. Remember, however, to always protect the identity of your participant, even if you are working with a trusted colleague.
Step 5: Finding Possible and Plausible Explanations for Findings
So, What Did You Find?
➢ Start by making a summary of your findings and your themes. Ask Yourself Some Questions ➢ Are these findings what you were expecting, based on the literature? ➢ Were there any major surprises in the findings? ➢ How are they different/similar to what is stated in the literature from other similar studies? Important Sources to Answer Those Questions Literature Go back to the literature and compare your findings. This may also help you find possible explanations for them.
187 An Overview of the Final Steps
What are the Implications of the Findings?
Once you have developed your over-arching themes, you need to think about the implications. Why is your work important, why should anyone pay attention to it? What are the implications within each community? How are the partners within the communities reacting to the findings?
This is where the ACTION comes in from Participatory Action
Research. The findings from the research should help us not only in identifying strategies to bring about change, or to be more responsive to a community’s needs, but also help us find realistic ways of implementing those strategies.
Communicating the Information
Determine (before writing the final report) who will have access to the information and how those people/communities will be affected by it.
Keeping in line with the foundational principles of the research
project, we aim to disseminate the results carefully, sensitively, and in conjunction with those affected. It is important to remember that some study results are sensitive to some people and communities. Hence, ask yourself, “What is the most appropriate way to let people know of the results of the study?”
There are many options:
➢ Newspaper ➢ Newsletter ➢ Mail ➢ radio or video ➢ council meeting ➢ focus groups ➢ community workshops/seminars ➢ formal report These decisions may also have funding implications to be considered.
Organizing the Information into a Final Report
This includes not only the results but also how the entire research process was carried out, what went right, what went wrong, highlighting the strengths and limitation as well as what you would do differently and how it could be improved. One of the most important things to take into
819 consideration when writing the final report is knowing who your target audience is going to be (who is actually going to be reading the report?) In the final report, you are summarizing why the research question(s) you were looking at was an important one, how you went about answering it (methods), what your findings were, the implications of those findings, recommendations, and strategies, and areas of future research that you were able to identify.
What’s More
Activity 3. Let’s do it…
Directions: Answer the following questions comprehensively.
1. Why should reliability and validity be established after analyzing the
data gathered?
2. How will you know that the data you gathered are reliable and valid?
What I Have Learned
Activity 4. Let’s reflect…
Directions: Write a short reflection on your Activity Notebook.
I thought _________________________________________________________
Directions: By applying all your learnings, get the data you gathered from your own interviews (If you have not yet done conducting your interview, contact your research teacher and arrange a time so you can accomplish this task). Do the following:
1. Analyze your data and look for an over-arching themes (see glossary for meaning of themes). 2. Make sure that all your questions (refer to your Statement of the Problem) were all answered. 3. Check if your findings confirm or negates with the findings to other researchers in your RRL. 4. Make some inferences based from your findings. 5. Label your paper as DRAFT. This must be submitted to your research teacher.
Assessment
Activity 6. Let’s check it out…
Directions: Read carefully the statements or questions below and write your answers on your activity notebook. 1. Qualitative data analysis focuses on examining ________________________. a. numbers b. visions c. words d. concepts
2. The value of data analysis results is determined by their connection with
your ________________________. a. research method c. research design b. research title d. research questions
3. The following are research activities to be done in organizing information
for final report, except:
a. summarizing b. coding c. proof reading d. overlooking
21 10 4. The features of participants’ accounts characterizing particular perceptions and/or experiences that the researcher sees as relevant to the research question are _________________________.
a. interviewees b. respondents c. themes d. subjects
5. The accuracy with which a method measures and what it is intended to measure is _____________.
a. validity b. dependable c. reliability d. durability
6. What is the best way to organize data?
a. by familiarizing it c. by stocking them all
b. by calling other researchers d. by looking the interview guide
7. The consistency of the research findings is ______________________.
a. assurance b. insurance c. reliability d. measurable
8. This can elaborate the findings and often lead to more complex and context-respective explanations__________.
a. finding b. conflicting finding c. initial finding d. false finding
9. Why are focus groups conducted?
a. to obtain knowledge c. to get feedback
b. to find colleagues d. to earn energy
10. Which of the following is not included in the group?
a. coding techniques for finding and marking the underlying ideas in the data b. grouping similar kinds of information together in categories c. selecting the data needed for interpretation d. relating different ideas and themes to one another
22 11 Additional Activities
Activity 7. Let’s go beyond…
Directions: From your Draft in your Activity 5, present the results of your study by writing a final draft with a heading RESULTS. Use the following guide:
Paragraph 1. Restate your problem in a paragraph form.
Paragraph 2. Briefly describe the methodology used in your study,
Respondents, Instruments, etc.
Paragraph 3. Present the summary of your findings and analysis. These
include your inferences.
Use a clean short bond paper and be consistent with the format.
You are almost done with your paper.
Expected output from previous and current modules:
Title Introduction Statement of the Problem Scope and Delimitation of the Study Significance of the Study Review of Related Literature Methodology Research Design Participants Sampling Data Gathering Procedure Results
