The business line of operation that will survive the technical demands that have to do with the digital way of business operation should come with the best practices that will bring a smooth operation into the line of business. The text that is seen in the excel spreadsheets can be turned into a piece of quantifiable and applicable information about the expectations and needs of your customers. This is welcoming you to the idea of qualitative data.
How to achieve high-quality codes
If you want to maximize the value in codes, then you have to achieve high-quality codes that will make you highly competitive. How do you possibly achieve that? The four majors that we are about to discuss must be the focus of your code.
The survey responses covered
It is advised that you cover as many survey responses as possible if you want a coding that will take you all the way. The code should apply to multiple comments and specific enough to be used in several areas that are related to your analysis.
Commonalities
When we take a look at customer service and customer support; they are two purposes that have a thin line of differences between them. They can be used interchangeably for each other and should therefore be combined. They are examples of commonalities that should be avoided.
The positive and negative
If the desired results that cover all in coding are to be achieved; then the positive and negative should be captured. When you create codes that contrast with each other, it will be possible to capture both the negative and positive together to create a balance between the two extremes. When you take “Useful product features” and “Unnecessary product features” and place them side by side; it will give you the benefit of two different codes. It can be effectively used to capture two contrasting themes.
Data reduction
The last thing that we shall be talking about is how to apply the two extremes of data. It is either the data you are considering is too large or in the alternative, it might be too small. If you truly want to send the right message home through your analysis; then you must create a balance between having too many codes or and having very few codes.
Do you want to achieve the ultimate in coding quantitative data manually? If the answer is in the affirmative, then the six steps that you are about to read will go all the way to give the results that will give you the soft landing that will set you apart from the midst of the pack.
The objective of manual coding is to enable readers to easily identify your themes. When you have succeeded in coding your quantitative data; it can now be easily analyzed just like numerical data are analyzed.
It is your choice to go by inductive or deductive coding. The former does not have a predefined code frame and is difficult to achieve. However, it is less prone to bias when compared to deductive coding.
You have to decide on the frame that you are going to use for the coding. When you choose a flat code frame; it is easier and faster to use. When you choose the hierarchical frame; you are going to get something that is more powerful and organized.
The code frames should be flexible. This will make it possible for it to be used in a different context.
When you are creating a code; it must cover several responses and must contrast one another. There must be a balance between too much and too little information.
It is important to be consistent in your coding approach. When you are consistent; it will go all the way to confer accuracy on your work. The right coding procedures and guidelines must be established. If the best is to come your way in your qualitative data analysis; then you must keep an eye for definitional drift.
Final thoughts
If you wanted to get the best out of manually coding your qualitative research work; then the tips above can be used to achieve the best results that will set you out from the midst of the crowded pack.