A few weeks ago, I had the chance to sit down and code some non-numerical data with two undergraduate researchers. In preparation, we read sections of Johnny Saldana’s Coding Manual and Cheryl Geisler’s and Jason Swarts’ and open-access book Coding Streams of Language.
We opted for In Vivo coding, which involved arriving at categories based on the participants’ own language.
Below, Sam Velasquez, reflects on his experience with coding non-numerical data.
When Dr. Rifenburg told me we would be coding I was a bit confused because the only “coding” I was familiar with is what I learned about in computer science class. Once he explained the exercise, I was excited to begin the process of dissecting and categorizing the interviews I had transcribed. The goal was to take quotes and label them according to recurring themes found throughout what was said by the interviewee. Being able to color code different quotes from the interviews helped make meaning of out of the responses I had obtained. Even though responses were different, they fit into themes that are shared across all interviews and will help further our study.
J. Michael Rifenburg 