Open AccessConducting Qualitative Data Analysis: Reading Line-by-Line, but Analyzing by Meaningful Qualitative Units
Author(s) -
Ronald J. Chenail
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1817
Subject(s) - qualitative analysis , qualitative research , reading (process) , line (geometry) , computer science , focus (optics) , word (group theory) , qualitative property , data science , linguistics , sociology , mathematics , philosophy , physics , social science , geometry , optics , machine learning
In the first of a series of “how-to” essays on conducting qualitative data analysis, Ron Chenail points out the challenges of determining units to analyze qualitatively when dealing with text. He acknowledges that although we may read a document word-by-word or line-by-line, we need to adjust our focus when processing the text for purposes of conducting qualitative data analysis so we concentrate on meaningful, undivided entities or wholes as our units of analysis.