Initiation into qualitative data analysis

Abstract

Qualitative data analysis may be daunting to nursing graduate students and other novice qualitative researchers. This article describes a qualitative research project required in a graduate nursing research course that was desired to guide students through their first qualitative data analysis. Common pitfalls novice researchers may encounter, such as data shuffling, premature closure, and overly delayed closure, also are discussed. The project reported in this article not only decreased students' anxiety concerning qualitative data analysis but also helped students gain respect for the amount of time, effort, and creativity this process entails.