Completing Assignment 1 was an incredible challenge! My immediate impression is that qualitative coding is best done with a research partner as a minimum. This was another reminder of how alone I feel in this course, as I wondered how many of my classmates were meeting and discussing their thinking, comparing codes and themes. My second impression was that I have so much left to learn. This assignment was very valuable because it was a chance to apply our learning to a relevant task.

My first step in approaching this assignment was to parse the Research Question. I am wondering if someone completely unfamiliar with the research or the project ever does qualitative coding? I found that since I didn’t have the background knowledge or literature review available to me and I was coding this document “cold”, I had to rely on the Research Question as my primary source of codes or themes.

I eventually had to pick a day to stop coding the transcript. I followed Saldaña’s methods and read through the interview from beginning to end, noting impressions and underlining key words and passages. Creating several versions of concept maps to help me find more sense and meaning.

What do I need for future success? I need to keep reading qualitative analysis texts. I am currently reading two in addition to the course texts. I also need guided practice. My next plan is to complete an unstructured interview with a friend who knows about my research design plans and then code the transcript. I am curious if knowing the topic well, the literature behind it, and the person who is speaking will help the analysis process or make it even more challenging?