Qualitative Coding,

its Types and How to

code it
 What is Code
• A code is a word or short phrase that describes something
that is going on in the data -- you can also think of codes
as tags that you attach to segments of data.
• Qualitative coding is a process of systematically
categorizing excerpts in your qualitative data in order to
find themes and patterns.
• Coding is the process of labeling and organizing your
qualitative data to identify different themes and the
relationships between them.
• It enables you to take unstructured or semi-structured
data such as transcripts from in-depth interviews or focus
groups and structure it into themes and patterns for
 What are the different types of
coding?
• The next step is to understand what types of coding
exist.
• Let’s start with the two main approaches, deductive and
inductive coding.
• Deductive and inductive coding are two approaches
used in qualitative data analysis, particularly in fields
like social sciences, psychology, and anthropology.
 Deductive Coding
• In deductive coding, you start with a pre-existing theoretical
framework or set of concepts.
• This approach involves applying predefined categories or
themes to the data based on existing theories or prior research.
• Researchers typically develop a coding scheme beforehand,
often derived from existing literature, theories, or hypotheses.
• The aim is to test the relevance of existing theories or concepts
to the dataset being analyzed.
• Deductive coding is useful when researchers have specific
hypotheses to test or when they want to explore how well
existing theories apply to their data.
 Inductive Coding
• In inductive coding, you allow the categories or themes
to emerge directly from the data.
• This approach involves examining the data closely to
identify patterns, themes, or categories without any
preconceived notions or theoretical frameworks.
• Researchers analyze the data systematically, looking for
recurring ideas, concepts, or phrases, and then group
them into categories.
• The aim is to develop new insights or theories based on
the patterns observed in the data.
• Inductive coding is particularly useful in exploratory
research or when studying phenomena for which little
prior research or theory exists.
Summarizing Deductive and
Inductive Coding
• Deductive coding involves applying predefined
categories or themes based on existing theories, while
inductive coding involves identifying patterns and
themes directly from the data without preconceived
notions. Both approaches have their strengths and
limitations, and researchers often use a combination of
both in qualitative data analysis to gain a
comprehensive understanding of the phenomena under
study.
 A little bit of both… hybrid
coding approaches
• If you’ve got a set of codes you’ve derived from a
research topic, literature review or a previous study (i.e.
a deductive approach), but you still don’t have a rich
enough set to capture the depth of your qualitative
data, you can combine deductive and
inductive methods – this is called a hybrid coding
approach.
• To adopt a hybrid approach, you’ll begin your analysis
with a set of a priori codes (deductive) and then add
new codes (inductive) as you work your way through
the data.
• Essentially, the hybrid coding approach provides the
 How to code qualitative data
• Both inductive and deductive methods of coding
typically occur in two stages: initial coding and line by
line coding.
• In the initial coding stage, the objective is to get a
general overview of the data by reading through and
understanding it.
• Then, in the second stage (line by line coding), you’ll
delve deeper into the data and (re)organise it according
to (potentially new) codes.
 How to decide which codes to
use
• But how exactly do you decide what codes to use when
there are many ways to read and interpret any given
sentence? Well, there are a few different approaches you
can adopt. The main approaches to initial coding include:
• In vivo coding
• Process coding
• Open coding
• Descriptive coding
• Structural coding
• Value coding
 In vivo coding
• When you use in vivo coding, you make use of
a participants’ own words, rather than your
interpretation of the data.
• In other words, you use direct quotes from participants
as your codes.
• By doing this, you’ll avoid trying to infer meaning,
rather staying as close to the original phrases and
words as possible.
• In vivo coding is particularly challenging when your data
are derived from participants who speak different
languages or come from different cultures. In these
cases, it’s often difficult to accurately infer meaning due
 Process coding
• Next up, there’s process coding, which makes use of action-
based codes.
• Action-based codes are codes that indicate a movement or
procedure.
• These actions are often indicated by gerunds (words ending
in “-ing”) – for example, running, jumping or singing.
• Process coding is helpful when you want to understand
actions in the data.
• You can catalogue both observable activities (running,
singing, eating), or conceptual actions (thriving, adapting,
struggling).
Process Coding Example
 Open Coding
• Among approaches to coding data in
qualitative research, open coding is perhaps one of the
least prescriptive approaches.
• Open coding offers a flexible, inductive approach to
making sense of qualitative data.
• When employing open coding, the researcher codes the
data based on what they see in the data and how they
interpret what is going on.
• This is a good first step in the data analysis process if
your research project is focused on the development of
new themes, concepts, or theories.
 Method of Open Coding
• In a sense, the researcher remains "open" to the various
possibilities of meaning in the data so that the
representations of meaning contained in a research project's
codes are as close to the data as possible.
• Essentially, any research project involving an exploratory
research question (i.e., an inquiry that develops or proposes
a new theory rather than tests existing theory) will often
employ open coding as a part of its research methods.
• Open codes are created when the researcher examines
qualitative data (such as text, images, videos, etc.), selects a
relevant segment of data, and attaches a code (or codes)
that capture the meaning or the aspects that are relevant to
the research question within that data segment.
• As mentioned previously, the researcher should look at the data
with as open a mind as possible, avoiding the temptation of
applying existing theories to the coding process.
• This approach allows for new theory developed directly from the
data.
• Example of Open Coding
• Basically, you read through your data several times and then
start to create tentative labels for chunks of data that summarize
what you see happening (not based on existing theory – just
based on the meaning that emerges from the data). Record
examples of participants’ words and establish properties of each
code (see my charts below).
Example of Open coding: Research question: How do Millennial
practitioners who work at public relations agencies describe their
generation of public relations practitioners?
Open code Properties Examples of participants’ words
Wanting experiential learning Seeking credentials Seeking experience
Feeling ambitious Ambitious
Seeking excitement Hungry for responsibility
Being eager Want to be the next big thing
Driven
Ready to roll
Always looking for a new thrill
Grow quickly
Learn things on our own
Pioneering social media and easily Being comfortable with social media Not being afraid of technology
adapting to change Wanting to lead Risk-taking
Creating and embracing new ideas Being fresh
Creating and accepting new ideas
Embracing a rapid fire speed
Being creative
 Open code Properties Examples of participants’ words
Feeling entitled due to unique Coming equipped with a public Mostly PR majors instead of majoring
qualifications, as compared to relations education and several in other fields
previous generations internships Being educated in public relations
Starting jobs with several internships
under the belt
Having a great foundation from
majors and internships
Craving immediate feedback and Desiring attention Want to feel valued and appreciated
being motivated by feeling Wanting to impress Want to be recognized
appreciated Wanting a mentor Want feedback
Want to be rewarded for good work
Advocating a Seeking personal fulfillment Don’t want to work our lives away
work-life balance Recharging by enjoying a rich Want to have room for a life outside
personal life of work
Being raised to believe they could Raised to expect excellence in our
have it all personal lives
Possessing the personal skills and Getting along well with people Friendly, sociable
characteristics needed Being intelligent Motivated by friendships at work
Valuing ethics Smart, clever, sharp
Ethical