TIP of the Month…

When starting your data analysis, always copy all files of notes or transcripts into new files and preserve the originals in a safe place beyond your hard drive (a server, CD-Roms, flash drives, etc.). Work from the copies to begin coding, recoding, and blocking/moving data into new files (one per coding category). Ask a colleague or two to code the first three transcripts or sets of notes in order to verify the coding categories. Once all data are placed into separate files by coding category, you can begin to write each one up into a meaningful narrative for your reader.