How to Code Your Qualitative Data—A Comparison Between Grounded Theory Methodology and Qualitative Content Analysis

Authors

  • Nicola Bücker Comenius-Institut Münster

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.1.3389

Keywords:

qualitative content analysis, grounded theory methodology, comparison of methods, coding

Abstract

In qualitative research projects, the choice between different methods of analysis is often cumbersome, especially for novices writing their theses. In particular, the decision for a specific coding method poses a challenge for many researchers because the scientific discourse mainly focuses on the general differences between methods and less on their merits for specific types of research projects. Taking into account the growing differentiation of methods into diverging variants, this problem becomes even more urgent. In the present article, I discuss this issue with regard to some of the most central variants of grounded theory methodology and qualitative content analysis. First, I present the key analytic features of these variants. Second, I compare them with regard to the following aspects: how a priori knowledge is handled and how categories are constructed; how the resulting codings are further analyzed; and the type of results that the different variants generate. Finally, I discuss each variant's specific characteristics and merits for realizing different research interests.

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Author Biography

Nicola Bücker, Comenius-Institut Münster

Dr. Nicola BÜCKER ist Sozialwissenschaftlerin und wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Comenius-Institut in Münster. Zu ihren Forschungsschwerpunkten gehören die empirische Bildungsforschung, die politische Kulturforschung sowie kodierende Verfahren in der qualitativen Datenanalyse. Ein Arbeitsschwerpunkt besteht in der methodischen Begleitung empirischer Forschungsprojekte und Qualifikationsarbeiten, u.a. an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität in Münster und am Institut für Diakoniewissenschaft und Diakoniemanagement der Kirchlichen Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel.

Published

2020-01-28

How to Cite

Bücker, N. (2020). How to Code Your Qualitative Data—A Comparison Between Grounded Theory Methodology and Qualitative Content Analysis. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.1.3389

Issue

Section

Relationships Between Qualitative Content Analysis and Other Methods