I find myself confronting my assumptions and hopeless optimism again. In my sole experience with coding qualitative research data in an earlier methods course, I felt enthusiastic and a sense that the possibilities were endless. I was encouraged to believe that there is no “one way” to do coding, and the entry points were endless. I was not taught about the cycles of coding that are required, nor did I learn how to move from codes to themes. The readings and lecture this week have made me realize that even my preliminary understanding of initiating qualitative analysis was incomplete and that there are defined methods for coding to increase reliability. I have also learned that coding qualitative data is a massive undertaking.

We completed a couple of break out activities in class this week. It was really valuable to work collaboratively to come up with examples for the three methods on which we focused this week: Grammatical, Elemental and Affective Coding. Prior to class I had listed examples for several Grammatical and Affective coding methods, but struggled with Elemental Coding. My assigned practice was with Elemental Coding, and everyone in the group felt like we were facing quite a challenge with this topic. After a clarifying discussion we realized that it would be helpful to have a simulated topic that may support us in generating imaginary in vivo codes. Once we started setting a scene it was easier to extend our understanding to what may be said by a participant. It was definitely easier to work with Affective Coding, especially when we consider how emotionally laden conversations about education can be.

I know that as a novice researcher, others will support me as I engage in any type of analysis. I would like to believe that as I continue in research I will draw upon a network of peers and participants and check my understanding and preliminary analyses.

It really helped to read the chapters by Saldaña (2021) after the Content Analysis section of the textbook. Saldaña seemed almost joyful in his approach to coding and the textbook felt a bit more rigid.