¶ … Tracking Data
In research, data and information collected needs to be organized in a manner that makes sense for the researcher at the analysis and report writing stages. Data can be organized depending on the data analysis objectives of the researcher. The researcher would organize qualitative data differently than a survey or quantitative data. It is through data organization that the researcher, at times, would make sense of the data at hand and would either confirm or change the direction or focus of the data analyses (while keeping in mind that any changes should still be aligned with the study's objectives).
Organizing data collected using qualitative methods require a different kind of organization or approach to data analysis. Qualitative data are made up of text relevant to the study at hand, and may be in the form of a key word, phrase, sentence, or passage from a specific discussion into the...
Qualitative data can be organized using software such as Nvivo, wherein the researcher is assisted by the computer program in identifying themes and categories that are recurring or salient in texts recorded/documented during data collection.
In the absence of a computer program to assist in the categorization and grouping of qualitative data, the researcher could use "manual" data analysis techniques for qualitative data commonly used in research. Data can be analyzed using a thematic analysis approach, wherein salient and/or recurring themes are analyzed and become the anchor themes from which the analysis and discussion of the study will be based. Another approach would be categorization or grouping of salient and/or recurring topics mentioned during discussions about the issue/research subject at hand. Choosing the qualitative data analysis technique or approach would largely depend on the objectives and goal…
