ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATApossible relations, ESA clarifies a chain of events
and highlights those that might have been different.
ESA does not have a place for enduring social struc-
tures that frame the action of event sequences.
Griffin’s (1993) analysis of a lynching illustrates
ESA. Based on many oral histories, a book, and
newspaper reports, he reconstructed the sequence of
events surrounding the lynching of David Harris in
Bolivar County, Mississippi, in April 1930. After
answering many yes/no questions about possible
linkages among a series of events and analyzing the
linkages, Griffin was able to conclude that the criti-
cal factor was the inaction of the local deputy who
could have stopped the process. An abbreviated sum-
mary of the ESA diagram is presented in Figure 7.CONCLUSION
This chapter discussed how we analyze qualitative
data. In many respects, qualitative data are more dif-
ficult to deal with than data in the form of numbers.
Numbers have mathematical properties that allowFunderberg and others go to
David Harris’s house to buy
moonshine (illegal liquor).An argument develops
and Funderberg
threatens Harris.A competitor of Harris’s
(Black) reveals where
Harris is hiding.Harris (Black) shoots
Funderberg (White).A deputy law officer
(White) receives
news of the shooting.The deputy visits the
scene of the killing.Others at the scene
report the killing.
Harris flees the crime
scene and goes into
hiding.The search party
captures Harris.A search party
(of White men only)
is formed.Local men (White)
assure the deputy
that a search party is
already after Harris.The deputy returns to
the office and does
nothing further.Harris’s friends kill
the man who revealed
Harris’s hiding place.The search party
takes Harris to the
river levee, ties him to
a tree, and kills him.FIGURE 7 Example of Event-Structure Analysis of the Lynching of David Harris
Source:Adapted from Griffin (1993).