Basic data analysis – qualitative data

Qualitative data can be a little trickier to analyse, as you are dealing with words and not numbers.

For example, one of the most common types of qualitative data comes from interviews with research participants. We analyse qualitative data by grouping similar themes. This sounds simple enough, but there are some things you need to be aware of so you do not run into difficulty.

There is usually a lot of raw data to analyse. There could be hours of interview footage to watch, along with all the notes you might take during the sessions, and you need to make sure you have enough time to properly understand it all.

You also need to make sure you focus on finding the underlying ‘why’. You are not just trying to find out what happens or if something did happen, but why it happened.

Be aware of confirmation bias. This is the tendency of people to favour information that confirms or strengthens their existing beliefs or values while discarding information that contradicts them. You need to remain unbiased and focus on facts.

Affinity mapping

One of the most common techniques used group qualitative data into similar themes is called affinity mapping.

‘Affinity’ here means ‘relationship’, ‘similarity’ or ‘closeness’. An affinity diagram is a way of visually grouping said by different research participants by topics, so that overall themes become clear.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, this was almost always done in person, using sticky notes. Since the pandemic, a larger amount of research and analysis is now done remotely, but the process is still the same. We can now use online whiteboard or collaboration tools, such as Mural or Lucid.

Creating an affinity map:

Step 1:

The first step is to familiarise yourself with your data – and there might be a lot! Some of the types of data you could have to analyse include:

• interview recordings, transcripts or notes
• focus group recordings, transcripts or notes
• participant diary study entries
• notes taken from a direct observation

It is easiest to do this on an ongoing basis. Consolidate your notes, discuss with team members after each session or interview, so that you are not trying to absorb hours of information all at once.

Step 2:

The next step is to transfer the main points onto individual sticky notes and attach them to a wall or an online whiteboard so that they can be easily moved around and grouped.

The things you want to extract from the raw data are the key quotes, actions and behaviours of your participants that show what they were doing, thinking and feeling in the specific context of the research session.

Step 3:

The next step is to create the affinity map, which means looking at all the findings on the sticky notes and grouping them together based on similarities.

For example, if multiple participants in an interview discussed their experience of using the same part of a website, those quotes or descriptions of actions or reactions would be grouped together and given a distinct title or label.

When this is done in person, it is a dynamic process in which the whole team can stand at the wall and discuss their thoughts and reasoning while moving the sticky notes around into different groupings. It is slightly less social when done online, but the principle is the same.

Step 4:

The final step is to look at your findings (the themes that have emerged from your analysis) and turn them into actionable insights. We will learn more about insights in the next step.

Working together

In the previous step, we said that analysis, like research, is a team sport. Affinity mapping works best when you collaborate as a team.

It helps to have multiple people contributing so you can discuss ideas, challenge each other and reach a consensus. When the affinity diagram exists physically on a wall, even people who are not part of the team can contribute – sometimes people spot things when walking by or overhear a conversation and then come up with a valid suggestion.

Task

In the few steps, we will look at how we communicate our research findings and insights.

Think of your current role in the context of your organisation or team. How do you communicate information within the team and with other stakeholders? What are the benefits or drawbacks of doing things this way?

Share your thoughts and experiences with other learners in the comments below.