Many people think that, because you need to be able to work with computers and understand statistics, analysing quantitative data is harder than analysing qualitative data. After all, anyone can listen to a few recordings or read a dozen transcripts and make some kind of sense of them. They are wrong.

Analysing the results of qualitative research is a sophisticated and taxing process that calls for hard, concentrated effort, a clear mind and an intuitive approach to the data. If you are successful, the results can be impressive, leading to a deep understanding of issues and their causes. If unsuccessful, you can end up in an awful mess.

Basic principles of analysis

It is possible to identify some principles that underlie the analysis of qualitative data. Here I should acknowledge the work of Renata Tesch who in her book, Qualitative Research: analysis types and software tools (Routledge, The Falmer Press, 1990), has brought together a wide range of different approaches, most of them developed in the academic research community.

Analysis should not come last

Analysis should not just start when the data have been collected. You should begin thinking things through from the outset, trying to develop explanations and interpretations of the issues or circumstances that you are exploring. As the data are being collected you should be refining your ideas, questioning things and trying to see underlying reasons and causes. Analysis and collection should become integrated so that you can use what you deduce to inform in the next interviews or discussions.

Analysis should be systematic but not rigid

You should proceed in an orderly fashion with discipline. You should adopt an organized approach, pursuing lines of enquiry and documenting your work as you go on. You should only stop when new data no longer generates new insights. But throughout, you should strive to keep your mind open. Do not just look for evidence to confirm your early interpretations, look also for evidence to refute it.

Produce analytical notes as you go along

As you work through the data, pause every now and then and write a note to yourself setting down where you are and what you have concluded so far. These notes will help you to crystallize your thoughts and to track what you are doing and where you are going.