Dr. Kallia O. Wright on Moving Past "That Rut" Toward Novelty in Your Qualitative Data
Hello Qualitative Mind,
I am Kallia O. Wright. I am an Associate Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Illinois College in the United States. I am originally from Jamaica and I am a proud qualitative researcher specializing in intercultural health communication. As we start the celebration of Black History month in the U.S., I always find myself reflecting on my role and responsibility as a Black female scholar collecting and sharing the narratives of people overlooked by society. As a qualitative researcher, I am a conduit for my participants who often remark how happy they are to just share their stories. But sometimes, I feel I am losing their narratives because I can’t quite figure out what is going on in the data. So, I offer in this post suggestions for how to move that mountain in the data analysis experience.
Recently, I was watching an episode of the U.S. American television show, Wheel of Fortune. In the final round, a contestant tried to guess a word with only a few letters revealed. “Tin Car,” “Tin Carrrrr,” he repeated. “Tin,” he said finally and shook his head in frustration as the seconds ran out. The answer was revealed – “Tip Jar.” “Oh!” he gasped. Pat Sajak, the host, commiserated and stated, “You know, sometimes, you get something stuck in your head and you just can’t move past it.” The contestant nodded in disappointment.
Some qualitative researchers can relate to the contestant. I certainly can. At times, we are looking at the clues (our qualitative data), we can feel it sending us little clues about what exactly is going on or what it is trying to express.
Like the contestant, we know we are so close to a breakthrough. Almost there! “Tin Carrrrr?!” we ask, with our foreheads all furrowed.
So, how do we reveal our findings? How do we uncover those surprising results that make our study worthwhile and meaningful? How do we get out of the “Tin Carrrrr?” rut so that we don’t miss significant information or narratives? Here are some reminders and suggestions:
Let Your Research Questions Guide You
Sometimes, the data and the narratives are so rich that we get consumed by the deep dive of analysis and cannot find our way back. Research questions act as anchors that keep us grounded and set the parameters of our inquiry. They keep us stable as we move through the sometimes stormy terrain of data analysis. I recommend printing out your research questions or placing them on sticky notes in a space that is visible to you every time you look up a period of coding or interpreting.
But Don’t Get Stuck on the Research Question
Unfortunately, the research questions can be limiting; those anchors can weigh you down. If the questions you are asking are not revealing satisfactory or clear answers, then, maybe you are not asking the right questions. We must be open to changing the questions, which is an inherent trait of qualitative research.
One way to reveal the right questions and get the meaningful answers we need is to turn to yet another television game show. This is an idea from Sarah J. Tracy, an organizational communication qualitative researcher. In her book, Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact, Tracy recommends that you view the data or your codes as hints or answers and then come up with questions that would yield those answers, just like on the show, Jeopardy. I decided to do this with one of my current research projects. Imagine the late Alex Trebec saying: “Answer: In a study about pregnant Black Women’s experiences in the healthcare system the following codes emerge: “Co-opting Husband’s Credibility,” “Self-Advocacy,” and “Doula/Midwife Support.” A contestant presses the buzzer, is acknowledged, and says, “What are actions Black Women have to take to ensure they are heard during their pregnancies?”
Think of Using the Abductive Approach
To ensure that you do not get locked in, Sarah Tracy also recommends a phronetic iterative process. This approach encourages researchers to go back and forth between established theories and your research questions and the qualitative information you see appearing. This abductive process lets you be guided by the framework of previous research or sensitizing concepts, while also allowing you to record emerging and new data. Analyzing and re-analyzing and writing and re-writing are part of the qualitative experience. By embracing this process, your mind is open to surprises and hunches. You won’t get stuck on an unclear idea because this approach is characterized by a willingness to interpret and see the information in multiple ways.
“Tracy (2020) labels good researchers as those who “keep looking for surprising discoveries that may then lead to more precise and robust explanations of the scene” (p. 29).”
Finally, here are some questions to ask as you analyze your data and search for novelty:
What is this (a specific aspect of your data) an example of?
What is this behavior pointing to/addressing/answering?
What else could this behavior be pointing to/addressing/answering?
Is this data answering my research question? If not, what question is it answering?
Is this offering any new insight into the phenomenon I am studying?
Is this data revealing information that I need to read more about?
In what ways can I explain this unexpected/surprising data?
No qualitative researcher wants to be like that Wheel of Fortune contestant, especially if we are conducting research in marginalized communities who need their voices and their stories to be part of the larger research conversation.
Black History month offers that inspiration and conviction. There are experiences from our research participants that are difficult to hear and analyze. But these narratives, that may be impacted by racism and other forms of discrimination, need to be drawn into the light. Based on our expertise, qualitative researchers are in a prime position to do this. We can help bring more equitable experiences to various ethnic communities.
So, embrace the flexibility that is needed in qualitative research. It’s key to helping you move from being stuck on “Tin Carrrrr?” to walking into a larger purpose.
Yours truly,
Kallia