Develop a Teaching Resource for Qualitative Data Analysis

As you read through the set of reflexive questions that are provided this week, you will see that these questions are designed to serve as prompts for journaling throughout the dissertation process. These questions will help you think more critically and reflectively about the process of analysis in general, and more specifically about your role as a qualitative researcher. As you read these prompts, think carefully about all of the actions you might take in the analytic process and the implications thereof. As you read through these lists of reflexive questions, give deep thought to those that seem significant to you; you may also want to note some of your responses in your research journal.

This week, you are asked to switch roles and imagine you are a dissertation instructor. You have been assigned the task of explaining to your graduate students how to go about analyzing, evaluating, and presenting their research data. To do this, you will create a PowerPoint presentation.

In your presentation, explain the process of qualitative data analysis. For each slide, include applicable speaker notes, which can be in the form of brief paragraphs or bulleted lists. Remember, as you are creating this presentation that it is important to keep in the forefront of your mind what new learning you want your students to come away with; that is, what you want them to know, understand, recognize, and acknowledge. As you think about this, you may want to brainstorm and jot down some ideas in your research journal.

This assignment can be completed by following these guided steps:

Slides 1-5: Explain the coding process. Refer to the relevant literature, and include citations as needed. Make sure that you mention all of the key elements that you have learned about data analysis in this course thus far.

Slide 6: Provide a coding example for instructional purposes. To do this, you will engage in a rather fun activity by developing and compiling a mock coding scheme to illustrate how the coding process takes place. Here is one example of how this is done: Have you seen when you order coffee the person taking your order usually writes your name and a few other letters on the paper cup? For example, you may notice the following letters on your cup (descriptions for each are provided in parentheses):

  • CB Sk (cold brew skim milk)
  • CB Oat (cold brew oat milk)
  • MOC FRAP LI (mocha frappucino light ice)
  • CB H/H (cold brew half/half)
  • L S/M (latte skim milk)
  • S F/C (Small, full cream milk)
  • CB LI -PM (cold brew light ice leave place for milk)
  • DR 2SH/EXP (dark roast with 2 shots of espresso)
  • XMAS-NS-NC (Christmas blend, no sugar, no cream)

What the person taking your order is actually doing is providing a code of your order for the barista who is making the drink. The code is essentially a short-hand version of what drink you have ordered. You can use this same concept to explain the coding process to your students. To illustrate the coding process, choose one of the following coding scenarios or metaphors and develop 12-15 applicable codes to create your mock coding scheme:

  • Taking inventory in a toy store
  • Selecting plants to be delivered to the botanical garden
  • Taking inventory at a used car lot
  • Packing a suitcase for a beach holiday
  • Packing a suitcase for an Antarctic trek

Slides 7-10: Explain the process of evaluating and presenting research findings. Refer to the relevant literature from Weeks 1-4, and include citations as needed.

Slides 11 -14: Here you will be providing your reflections on the analytic process that you have conducted. You will need to choose to respond to at least four reflective questions from the textbook.

  • Reflective questions, pp. 258-259. Address two questions of your choice (1-2 slides)
  • Reflective questions, pp. 293-294. Address two questions of your choice (1-2 slides)

 Slide 15: Provide a final reference slide.

Length: 15 slides with relevant speaker notes for each slide

References: Minimum of 4 scholarly sources to explain the coding process (Slides 1-5) and a minimum of 4 scholarly sources to explain the process of evaluating and presenting research findings (Slides 7-10)

Your presentation should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.