Coding Text and PDF Files

Abstract

How do I code my data or parts of my data, for example, text passages or parts of images? This chapter deals with the basics of coding. Working with categories (codes) and coding parts of your material is not only one of the oldest qualitative data analysis techniques; it is probably still the most widely used. In the past, this was done by laboriously cutting out clippings of text with scissors and pasting them onto index cards and adding a keyword. QDA software lets you do all this far more quickly and efficiently. The specific coding procedure will vary considerably between the different methods and research styles. So, for example, you would proceed rather differently in the context of a grounded theory approach than you would in that of a qualitative content analysis or discourse analysis. QDA software does not restrict you to a certain method—in fact it facilitates a wide range of coding processes.