You are here

Interactive Qualitative Analysis
Share
Share

Interactive Qualitative Analysis
A Systems Method for Qualitative Research



February 2004 | 472 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

"The authors take a 'user friendly' systematic approach to qualitative research, something that has long been missing in the field. I consider this to be a groundbreaking work, one that will hit home with students and faculty alike."   
—Justin M. Laird, SUNY Brockport

"This book does an excellent job of integrating design, methods, and analysis. . . . The real beauty of the book is that it overturns many of the age-old assumptions about how 'good' research should be done. . . . The authors' pleasant and refreshing style, coupled with subtle irreverence for outmoded or constraining paradigms of inquiry, makes for highly enjoyable reading."
 —Roger Rennekamp, University of Kentucky
 
Interactive Qualitative Analysis: A Systems Method for Qualitative Research aims to help students unscramble the mysteries of qualitative data collection, coding, and analysis by showing how to use a systematic, qualitative technique: interactive qualitative analysis. The authors synthesize ideas from grounded theory, path and factor analysis, quality management theory, Foucauldian concepts of power and knowledge, and systems theory. A dialectical revision of Guba and Lincoln's theory of rigor is offered which, combined with systems theory, offers new insights into the meaning of reliability and validity in qualitative research.

Unlike many theoretical works, Interactive Qualitative Analysis develops the theory into a complete and transparent set of protocols for research design, observation, analysis, and interpretation. The construction, interpretation, and comparison of recursive systems of meaning, or mindmaps, is articulated in detail. The book is organized so that those not interested in theory can skip to the applied chapters. Case studies illustrate each stage of the research process with an emphasis on interpretation.

The combination of theory and practice perfectly suits the book for advanced qualitative research courses across the social sciences, especially those that address epistemology. Professional researchers and evaluators will also find this an invaluable guide to qualitative analysis.

Key Features

* Advice boxes alert readers to potential pitfalls in qualitative research, and offer the appropriate steps to take in order to avoid such issues
* Sidebars provide clear and concise snapshots of the theoretical basis for research  decisions
* Interactive CD contains sample data and exercises to provide students with effective practice as well as reinforce and clarify principles explained in the book
* Provides a "road map" to using interactive qualitative inquiry in dissertation writing


 
Prologue: A True Story
 
Acknowledgments
 
1. Paradigm Wars: The Place of IQA
Particles and People : The Relationship of the Observer and the Observed

 
The Paradox of Representation

 
Paradigm Wars

 
A Framework for Discourse

 
More Than a Laundry List

 
Revisiting Kuhn

 
The Problem With Zealots

 
Discourse and Dialectics

 
Aristotelian Logic

 
Aquinas and the Scholastics

 
The Limitations of Logic

 
A Dialectical Alternative

 
The Ideology of IQA

 
Beliefs and Values Redux

 
Looking Back and Looking Forward

 
 
2. Systems as Representations
In for a Dime, In for a Dollar

 
Corvettes, Golden Means, and Fibonacci Numbers

 
Reification, Reality, and Social Construction

 
Understanding a System

 
Research Questions and Systems

 
What Is Research?

 
Systems Topology

 
Drivers and Outcomes

 
Topological Zones

 
Comparing the Two Models: Ritz Crackers and Coffee Cups

 
Epistemological Acrobatics: Zooming In, Zooming Out, and Looping

 
Making Sense of Systems: A Preview of Rationalization

 
Rigor and the Nature of Qualitative Research

 
IQA Systems

 
 
3. IQA Research Flow
Bricolage or Petit Point?

 
The Researcher's Footprint

 
Overview of the IQA Research Flow

 
Group Realities: IQA Focus Groups

 
IQA Interviews

 
IQA Results

 
 
4. IQA Research Design: Thinking About the Problem
Where Do I Start?

 
An Epistemological Dialectic

 
Synthesis, Not Compromise

 
Research Design as a System

 
Touring the System: An Example

 
Final Reflections

 
Case Example

 
 
5. Group Reality: System Elements
In Debt to TQM

 
Affinities: The Building Blocks of Mindmaps

 
Affinities and Variables: A Rough Analogy

 
The Power of Naming: Constructing Affinities

 
Designing the Focus Group

 
Focus Group Facilitation: Preparing to Conduct a Focus Group Exercise

 
Warm-Up Exercises: Some Variations

 
Architecture and Warm-Ups: The Same Principles Apply

 
Brainstorming the Rudiments of Meaning

 
Facilitator's Role and Functions

 
Clarification of Meaning

 
Affinity Analysis: The Logic of Inductive and Axial Coding

 
Back to the Focus Group

 
Inductive Coding

 
Axial Coding

 
Affinity Descriptions

 
Facilitation Guidelines: Flags for the Facilitator

 
Systems and IQA Focus Group Protocols

 
Case Example

 
 
6. Group Reality: System Relationships
Theory of Theoretical Coding

 
What Is Theoretical Coding?

 
Issue 1: Level of Detail

 
Issue 2: Organizing the Focus Group

 
Issue 3: Creating a Group Composite

 
Steps and Variations for Focus Group Theoretical Coding

 
Design Considerations

 
Focus Groups and Follow-Up Interviews

 
Focus Group-Only Research

 
Creating a Group Composite: The IRD

 
Determining Drivers and Outcomes

 
Focus Group System Influence Diagram

 
Protocol for Drawing the SID and Removing Redundant Links

 
Conclusion

 
Case Example

 
7. Individual Reality: The IQA Interview

 
The Role of Interviews

 
The Power of the Gods

 
Data, Analysis, and IQA

 
Structure and Purpose of the IQA Interview

 
Procedure for Creating an Interview Protocol

 
Preparing for the Interview

 
Logistical and Operational Details

 
Improvisation Within Structure

 
Some More Tips for Interviewing

 
Conclusion

 
Case Example

 
 
8. Individual Reality: System Relationships
Individual and Group Analytics

 
Individual Interview Coding

 
Combined Interview Coding

 
 
9. Description
IQA Theory and Presentation Format

 
The IQA Cookbook: A Detailed Outline for the "Typical IQA" Study

 
Affinities and Researcher Engagement

 
Turning the Write-Up Crank

 
Case Example: Research Purpose

 
Literature Review

 
Case Example: Literature Review

 
Methodology Documentation

 
Describing the Results

 
Case Example: Describing the Results

 
Describing Relationships

 
Case Example: Describing Relationships

 
Feedback Loops, Zooming, and Naming

 
Case Example: Feedback Loops, Zooming, and Naming

 
Turn the Crank Again

 
 
10. Interpretation
Representation and Interpretation

 
Interpreting the Results

 
Comparing Affinities

 
Case Example: Compairing Affinities

 
Comparing Composite Systems

 
Case Example: Comparing Composite Systems

 
Describing Individual Variations

 
Case Example: Describing Individual Variations

 
Applied Meaning: Forecasts and Interventions

 
Same Issue, Different Constituencies

 
Same Constituency, Different Issues: Metacomparisons

 
Looking Back and Looking to the End

 
 
11. Comparisons, Interpretations, and Theories: Some Examples
Overview

 
Case I. Power and Gender: Two Different Worlds

 
Case II. Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Media Messages

 
Case III. Principals' Supervision Styles in High- and Low-Performing Schools

 
Case IV. Education Entrepreneurs: Leaders and Followers

 
Case V. Rural Community Visioning

 
Case VI. The Graduate School Experience

 
Case VII. Text Analysis

 
 
Afterword
 
References
 
Index
 
About the Authors

"The authors take a ‘user friendly’ systematic approach to qualitative research, something that has long been missing in the field. I consider this to be a groundbreaking work, one that will hit home with students and faculty alike."

Justin M. Laird
SUNY Brockport

“This book does an excellent job of integrating design, methods, and analysis. . . . The real beauty of the book is that it overturns many of the age-old assumptions about how ‘good’ research should be done. . . . The authors’ pleasant and refreshing style, coupled with subtle irreverence for outmoded or constraining paradigms of inquiry, makes for highly enjoyable reading.”

Roger Rennekamp
University of Kentucky

Very comprehensive text, more suitable for postgrad students than UG ones. Good coverage of the paradigm wars, system relationships etc. Quite 'technical' in parts, but uses analogy to aid understanding.

I would recommend as essential, but it may be too detailed for some learners. It's very well written and suitable for learners who really want to get to grips with coding

Ms Vicky du-Caine
Centre for Educational Studies, Hull University
September 4, 2015

Good addition in a mixed method study environment.

Professor Carmen Winter
Technology - Comupter Science, Cooperative State University Baden-Wuerthemberg
January 19, 2016

Chose another book that was easier for students to understand.

Dr Christopher Weiler
Elementary Education Dept, Kutztown University
April 14, 2015

This book suits those who conduct qualitative research. The book firstly introduce the logic of paradigm and then frame the research philosophical stance. Moreover, the content of the book provides various examples with a thorough explanation. It also details the operational details for research designers.

Dr Chavi Chen
IESEG, School of Management, Catholic University of Lille
May 3, 2013

This book is very useful for researcher students, it simplify the methods of analysing qualitative data. I would highly recommend it for the starters in qualitative researches.

Dr Maryam Ba-Break
Nuffield Ctr for Int'l Health & Dev, Leeds University
July 31, 2012

A comprehensive book written to a high academic level. Will be of use to my stronger students.

Dr Liesl Conradie
Department of Social Work (Luton), Bedfordshire University
June 28, 2012

really this book is very good but not for the beginners in this field.
the most important part is interviewing and coding.

Dr George Kodsy
information technology, college applied science
February 22, 2012
Key features
  • Annotated, detailed examples that show readers how researchers makes choices in a research study.
  • Advice boxes, which alert readers to pitfalls to steer clear of in research, and the appropriate steps to take to avoid these issues.
  • Theoretical sidebars provide clear and concise snapshots of the theoretical basis for research decisions.
  • CD with sample data and exercises provides students with effective practice, as well as reinforcement and clarification of the principles explained in the book

Sage College Publishing

You can purchase or sample this product on our Sage College Publishing site:

Go To College Site

This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.