Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: How to Prepare
• Part 2 of 2: How to Collect and Analyze Data
• Tips

Qualitative analysis is a vast field of research that uses methods of gathering unstructured data such as observations, polls, surveys, and documents to find topics and meanings that will expand our understanding of the world. The purpose of any qualitative analysis is to find out the reasons for actions, attitudes and motives, and not just provide answers to questions like "what", "where" and "when". Qualitative research is applicable across disciplines ranging from social sciences to health care and entrepreneurship, so it can be found in any educational institution and in virtually every workplace.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: How to Prepare

1. 1 Determine the question to be investigated. The right research question should be clear, specific, and accessible. Qualitative analysis examines the causes of people's behavior or the basis of their beliefs and beliefs.
   • Research questions are one of the most important aspects of your project. They determine what you want to learn or understand, and they also help you focus on one thing, since you cannot explore everything at once. Also, the research questions will determine your an approach to work: different questions require different methods.
   • Find a balance between relevance and feasibility. The first is a fairly broad question to which many would like to know the answer. The latter is a question that can be explored using the available tools and methods.
   • Start with a relevant question that should be narrowed down and made available for research. For example, "What it means to be a teacher for a teacher" is too broad a topic for one project, which can be narrowed down to a specific type of teacher or focus on one level of education.So, "What does it mean to be a teacher for people with a different first education?" or "What does it mean to be a teacher for a teacher in high school?" - quite suitable options.
2. 2 Review the literature. Literature review is the process of studying such texts that are written by other people on a topic of your choice or a specific topic. You need to familiarize yourself with broader questions and analyze research that is relevant to your topic. An analytical report should then be drawn up to synthesize and integrate existing work (rather than simply summarizing each issue investigated in chronological order). In other words, it is necessary to "explore other studies."
   
   • For example, if your research question focuses on the attitude of teachers with a different first education to their work, then you should conduct a literature review on the topic of second teacher education. What motivates people to change their field of activity and become a teacher? How many teachers were originally engaged in something else? Where do they most often work? A review of the existing literature on the topic will help you adjust your question and provide a basis for your own research. You will also recognize variables that can influence the study (age, gender, grade) and which need to be considered.
   • A literature review helps determine your real level of interest in the topic and the relevance or feasibility of such research due to gaps in the available information.
3. 3 Evaluate how qualitative analysis is appropriate for studying this issue. Qualitative methods are applicable if the question cannot be answered "yes" or "no". This analysis is especially useful when answering the "how" or "what" questions. Also, qualitative research allows you to take into account different budget decisions.
   • For example, if your research question is formulated as “What does it mean to be a teacher for people with a different first education?”, Then it cannot be answered “yes” or “no”. Also, there is hardly one comprehensive answer to such a question. Therefore, qualitative analysis will be the most appropriate method.
4. 4 Determine the ideal sample size. Qualitative methods do not rely as much on large sample sizes as quantitative methods, but they also provide important insights and insights. So, hardly an affordable budget will allow you to cover of all people with a second pedagogical education in all localities Russia, so you can narrow the scope of the study to a large city (for example, St. Petersburg) or schools within 200 kilometers of your current place of residence.
   • Consider possible outcomes. Qualitative methods are generally broad enough that there is almost always a chance of finding useful data. This approach differs from quantitative experiments, which can waste time exploring unproven hypotheses.
   • It is also necessary to consider the research budget and available financial resources. It is usually cheaper and easier to plan and conduct quality research. For example, it is almost always easier and more economical to gather a small number of people for a survey than to buy statistical software and hire the appropriate experts.
5. 5 Select a quantitative analysis method. A qualitative research project is the most flexible of all experimental research, so there are many accepted methods available to you.
   • Actionable research focuses on solving a pressing problem and working with others to solve a problem or find answers to specific questions.
   • Ethnography is the study of human communication in groups through direct participation and observation within the selected community of people.Ethnographic research stems from the discipline of sociocultural anthropology, but today it is used in a broader context.
   • Phenomenology is the study of the subjective experience of other people. She explores the world through the eyes of another person and collects information about how he interprets his experience, sensations or emotions.
   • Sound theory sets the task of creating a theory through the systematic analysis of data. An analysis of specific information takes place, on the basis of which theories and causes of the occurrence of phenomena are formed.
   • Analysis of specific situations - this method of qualitative research is an in-depth study of a specific person or phenomenon within the existing context.

Part 2 of 2: How to Collect and Analyze Data

1. 1 Collect data. Each research method uses one or more methods of collecting empirical data, including surveys, participatory observations, field data collection, working with archives, documentaries, and more. The method depends on the research methodology. For example, case studies usually rely on interviews and documentary material, while ethnographic research requires field data collection.
   • Direct observation the situation or subjects of research is possible by watching videos or participating in life. With direct observation, concrete observations of the situation are carried out without influence or intervention. For example, you should find out how people with a second teacher education behave in class and after school. Observations lasting several days require permission from the school, students, and the teacher. Record all important details as you work.
   • Observation with direct participation is the immersion of the researcher in the life of the community or the situation that needs to be studied. This form of data collection will take longer as it requires full participation in the community in order to find confirmation of your observations.
   • Interview are the process of collecting data by asking specific people. This is a flexible way, because interviews can be conducted individually, by phone or on the Internet, as well as in small "focus groups". There are also different types of interviews. A standardized interview is a set of pre-prepared questions, while a free interview is a simple conversation in which the researcher can touch on different topics. Interviews allow you to find out how people feel or react to a particular situation or phenomenon. It will be extremely useful for research to conduct standardized or free interviews with people with a second teacher education in order to find out their attitude to this type of activity.
   • Polls - written questionnaires and open-ended questions about ideas, feelings and thoughts, which also allow collecting data for qualitative research. For example, in a study of the work of people with a second teacher education, you can conduct an anonymous survey of 100 teachers in your area if you are afraid that they may be secretive in interviews. Anonymous polling will allow you to get more sincere answers.
   • Document analysis is the study of existing written, video and audio materials without the participation or influence of the researcher on the situation. Documents come in many varieties, including both "official" documents from various organizations and personal documents - letters, memoirs, diaries, social media accounts, and online blogs. For example, if a topic concerns teachers, schools create different types of documents, including reports, brochures, manuals, websites and curricula. Teachers with a second teacher education can blog or column. Typically, document analysis is useful in conjunction with another data collection technique such as interviews.
2. 2 Analyze the data. After collecting the data, it is necessary to start analysis to find answers to the research question and formulate theories. There are different options for data analysis, but all analysis models for qualitative research deal with the analysis of written and spoken texts.
   • Encoding allows you to categorize a word, phrase or numbers. Start with the list of codes available based on your initial knowledge of the subject. For example, "financial hardship" or "community involvement" are two suitable codes that you can pick up after reviewing the literature on the topic of teachers with a second teacher education. Methodically study all the data available to you and code the ideas, concepts and topics to categorize them. Also, in the process of reading and analyzing the data, a new list of codes will appear. So, in the process of coding an interview, it may turn out that the concept of "divorce" is often found in documents. Add the appropriate code. Encoding helps you organize data, identify patterns and commonalities.
   • Descriptive statistics allows you to analyze data using statistics. This approach can help you describe, display, and summarize data to highlight patterns. For example, if you have 100 teacher ratings, you can use that data to estimate the overall student performance. This is possible with descriptive statistics. It should be understood, however, that descriptive statistics cannot be used to draw conclusions, confirm or disprove a hypothesis.
   • Narrative analysis pays special attention to speech and content, including grammar, words used, metaphors, plot themes, meaning of situations, socio-cultural and political context of the narrative.
   • Hermeneutic analysis focuses on the meaning of a written or spoken text. In essence, the researcher seeks to understand the object of study and to reveal the internal consistency of the text.
   • Content analysis or semiotic analysis examines a text or a series of texts in search of topics and meanings based on the frequency of words. In other words, the researcher seeks to recognize structures and systematic patterns in oral or written text in order to come to some conclusions based on such patterns. For example, if in interviews with different teachers with a second pedagogical education the same words and phrases such as "second chance" or "contribute" are often encountered, then you should consider what this frequency of use of words may indicate.
3. 3 Write a study. When preparing a qualitative research report, you need to consider the target audience of the text and the formatting requirements for the specific research journal in which you want to publish your report. It is important to formulate the actual purpose of the work, as well as explain in detail the methods used for collecting and analyzing data.

Tips

• Qualitative research is often seen as a precursor to quantitative research, which is a more logical approach based on available data using a statistical, mathematical or computational method. Qualitative analysis is often used to create introductory parts and develop constructive hypotheses that are tested using quantitative methods.