Identify Qualitative Data Analysis in a Study/Identify First-Cycle Coding Domains and Procedures

Part 1: Identify Qualitative Data Analysis in a Study
Instructions:
For this assignment, you will review the five research articles (uploaded) listed below, and then answer the questions on the qualitative data analysis performed for each study. There will be four questions for each study, asking the following:

Was coding done by a single researcher (solo) or by a team (collaborative)?
When did the data analysis (coding) occur?
Were first- and second-cycle coding methods used in the article?
Which second-cycle coding method, if any, was used in the article?

Before you answer the questions, read each of these articles in depth enough to be able to become familiar with the qualitative data analyses of each:

Merriam, B. & Muhamad, M. (2000). How cultural values shape learning in older adulthood: The case of Malaysia.Adult Education Quarterly, 51(1), 45-63.
Weiss, M. & Lloyd, J. (2002). Congruence between roles and actions of secondary special educators in co-taught and special education settings. The Journal of Special Education, 36(2), 58-68.
Lee, S. (2002). The effects of peers on the academic and creative talent development of a gifted adolescent male.Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 14(1), 19.
Ashcraft, C. (2008). So much more than “sex ed”: Teen sexuality as vehicle for improving academic success and democratic education for diverse youth. American Educational Research Journal, 45(3), 631-667.
Terrion, J. L. (2006). Building social capital in vulnerable families: Success markers of a school-based intervention program. Youth & Society, 38(2), 155-176.

As you go through the articles, use the following study guide below to make notes on the questions that will be asked.

Study Guide uploaded*

Guidelines
Read through each article to determine the type of qualitative data analysis being performed.
Answer the four questions for each study using the study guide.
Make sure each answer is answered in a complete sentence or sentences.

Part 2: Identify First-Cycle Coding Domains and Procedures
Instructions
In discussion this week, you will evaluate the following study in terms of its first-cycle coding:

Lee, S (2002). The effects of peers on the academic and creative talent development of a gifted adolescent male. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 14(1), 19.

Identify at least one first-cycle coding domain and at least one specific first-cycle coding procedure used in the study listed above, and explain why you selected your answers. After you have posted your discussion, reply to another post by doing one of the following:

Discuss if there is a first-cycle code you did not list or see in the article
Discuss if the explanation for a code is different from what you would have expected
Guidelines
To receive full credit for this assignment, you should post the following:

Post a discussion that includes a short paragraph (three to four sentences) identifying first-cycle coding domains and procedures used in the study
Respond to at least two other discussion posts and discuss if there is a first-cycle code you did not see or if the explanation for a code is different than what you would have expected.

Overview
In Module 6, you will learn about qualitative data analysis methods: the fundamental tools and first-cycle and second-cycle coding. As you are becoming aware of this in the course, there are different ways to design a study and analyze its data. Learning about different qualitative data analysis methods is just as important as learning about quantitative data analysis for you as a research consumer and for using research to inform your practices. Qualitative and quantitative data each answer questions that the other cannot, so having an understanding of what each can and cannot tell us and how a researcher analyzes the data are needed to critically evaluate their findings.

Just as with quantitative data analysis, there are many methods or techniques for analyzing. Focus first on understanding the fundamental analytic tools of qualitative analyses and then on the unique dimensions of a given method.

Expected Outcomes
By the end of this module, you should be able to do the following:

Describe the fundamental analytic tools of qualitative data analysis: coding, codifying, and analytic memoing
Explain first-cycle coding and second-cycle coding methods
Distinguish between first-cycle coding and second-cycle coding methods
Assigned Reading
In addition to this week’s material, you should complete the following reading this week: I will upload the following parts to the chapter seen below.

Saldana, J. (2009, Chapter 3 pp.45-126). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. London: Sage.

Part 1 uploaded*
Part 2 uploaded*
Part 3 uploaded*

Lessons
Introduction to Qualitative Coding
In this lesson, we will cover the foundational tools qualitative researchers use to analyze the data: coding, codifying, and analytic memoing. Coding is essentially assigning a discrete label (e.g., codes) to a segment of data that represents some idea, behavior, important word usage, etc. Codes break the data down into small units, and, as such, coding is associated with first-cycle methods. Codifying takes the codes and finds commonalities among them, such as a theme. So, where codes deconstruct the data, codifying reconstructs or puts it back together in a meaningful way. Codifying is associated with second-cycle methods.

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First-Cycle Coding
PART 1:
In this lecture, we will begin to look at distinct first-cycle coding methods. In particular, we will examine two coding methods: grammatical and elemental. First-cycle sometimes goes by the name of “open-coding,” but I prefer first cycle because it is a more general term that encompasses the many methods in this stage of coding.

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PART 2:
This part 2 lecture covers three additional first-cycle coding methods: affective, literary and language, and exploratory methods. As a reminder, researchers can, and often do, use more than one first-cycle method, so be aware that these are not necessarily stand-alone coding methods.

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Second-Cycle Coding
PART 1:
In this lesson, we will look at different methods researchers use to codify their data. Remember that codifying is the process of putting the codes back together to answer a question. Also note that we often refer to second-cycle codifying as coding, which could be confusing, but when we codify we are actually creating a new “code” that represents some commonality among first-cycle codes. In part 1, we will cover pattern, focused, and axial codifying methods.

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PART 2
In part 2 of this lesson, we will continue our examination of second-cycle coding methods. We will cover theoretical, elaborative, and longitudinal methods.