Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA

own devising. Once sorted, you ask about the crite-
ria used. You next give the people the items again
and ask them to sort them in other ways that they
may think of them. There is a similarity to Thurstone
scaling in that people sort items, but here, the num-
ber of piles and types of items differ. The purpose of
the sorting is not to create a uniform scale; rather, it
is to discover how people understand the world. Can-
ter et al. (1985:90) provide the example of a gambler
who sorted a list of eight gambling establishments
five times. Each sort had three to four categories.
One of the sorts was organized based on “class of
casino” (high to low). Other sorts were based on
“frills,” “size of stake,” “make me money,” and “per-
sonal preference.” By examining the various sorts,
you see how people organize their social reality.^30

Diagrams

Qualitative research often presents data analysis as
visual representations, such as diagrams and charts.
Diagrams and charts help organize ideas and assist
in systematically investigating data. They also com-
municate results to readers. We can use spatial or

temporal maps, typologies, and sociograms. Thus,

in a study of Little League baseball, Fine (1987)

used sociograms to show the social relations among

players. In addition to taxonomies, maps, and lists,

we use flowcharts, organizational charts, causal dia-

grams, and various lists and grids to advance analy-

sis and illustrate findings (see Figure 6).

Maps

Both quantitative and qualitative researchers place

data on maps to help them see spatial relations and to

supplement or reinforce results from other data analy-

ses. For example, Ballen and Richardson (2002) used

maps of France and United States to examine data on

geographic patterns in suicide rates and to support

theories of social integration and imitation from

Émile Durkheim. Kiser and Linton (2002) presented

a map of France with sites of rebellions marked in

their study (discussed in Example Box 4). Villarreal

(2002, 2004) used a map of Mexico in his study of

violence and social-political change. In their study of

differences in local hate crime law enforcement,

McVeigh and colleagues (2003) offered a map of

FIGURE 5 Partial Flowchart of Cake Making

Pour Batter

into Pan

Grease

Pan

Preheat

Oven

Check Temp. of Oven

Set Timer

Put Cake

in Oven

Lower Temp. Raise/Set Temp.

Wait 10 Min. Wait 10 Min.

Mix

Batter

Hot OK Cold

Gather

Ingredients

Get

Bowl