Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 1
One
An Introduction to Codes and Coding
Any researcher who wishes to become proficient at doing qualitative analysis must
learn to code well and easily.The excellence of the research rests in large part on
the excellence of the coding.
(Anselm L. Strauss, Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists, 1987, p. 27)
Purposes of the Manual
The three primary purposes of The Coding Manual for Qualitative
Researchers are:
• to briefly discuss the functions of codes, coding, and analytic memo writ-
ing during the qualitative data collection and analytic processes
• to profile a selected yet diverse repertoire of coding methods generally
applied in qualitative data analysis, and
• to provide readers sources, descriptions, examples, recommended applica-
tions, and exercises for coding and further analyzing qualitative data.
This manual does not address such matters as qualitative research design or how
to conduct interviews or participant observation fieldwork. These topics are
already masterfully discussed in other textbooks. The Coding Manual for
Qualitative Researchers is intended as a reference to supplement those existing
works.This manual focuses exclusively on codes and coding and how they play
a role in the qualitative data analytic process. For newcomers to qualitative
inquiry it presents a repertoire of coding methods in broad brushstrokes.
Additional information and extended discussion of the methods can be found
in most of the cited sources. Grounded theory (discussed in Chapter Two), for
example, is elegantly profiled, streamlined, and re-envisioned in Kathy
Charmaz’s (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through
Qualitative Analysis; while Graham R. Gibbs’ (2007) Analyzing Qualitative Data
provides an elegant survey of basic analytic processes.
,Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 2
2 THE CODING MANUAL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCHERS
The Coding Manual does not maintain allegiance to any one specific
research genre or methodology. Throughout this book you’ll read a breadth
of perspectives on codes and coding, sometimes purposely juxtaposed to
illustrate and highlight the diverse opinions among scholars in the field. No
one, including myself, can claim final authority on the “best” way to code
qualitative data. In fact, there are a few instances where I take moderate lib-
erty with adapting and even renaming prescribed coding methods for clarity
or flexibility’s sake. This is not intended to standardize terminology within
the field, but simply to employ consistency throughout this particular man-
ual. My perspective acknowledges and promotes the pragmatist paradigm
(Patton, 2002), which chooses “the right tool for the right job” since all
research questions, methodologies, conceptual frameworks, and fieldwork
parameters are context-specific.
I also wrote this manual because I find it problematic (but not difficult) to
teach coding in my own qualitative research methods course. I provide students
with an array of readings about the process from multiple sources because I
have yet to find that single satisfactory book (to me) that focuses exclusively
on the topic. General introductory texts in qualitative inquiry are so numerous
and well-written that it becomes difficult not to find the best one to use, but
which one of such quality works to select as the primary textbook.This man-
ual supplements introductory works in the subject because most limit their dis-
cussions about coding to the writer’s prescribed, preferred, or signature
methods. I wanted to provide in a single resource a selected collection of var-
ious coding methods developed by other researchers (and myself) that provides
students and colleagues a handy reference for classroom exercises and assign-
ments, and for their own independent research for thesis and dissertation field-
work and future qualitative studies. But by no means is it an exhaustive
resource. I deliberately exclude such discipline-specific methods as Behavior
Coding (which notes problematic respondent and interviewer behaviors dur-
ing survey interviews [Singleton & Straits, 2002, p. 65]) and such signature
methods as the Davis Observation Code system (for medical interviews [Zoppi
& Epstein, 2002, p. 375]). If you need additional information and explanation
about the coding methods, check the References.
The Coding Manual is intended primarily as a reference work. It is not nec-
essarily meant to be read cover-to-cover, but it certainly can be if you wish to
acquaint yourself with all 29 coding methods profiles and their analytic possi-
bilities. There are, in fact, several principles related to coding matters not dis-
cussed in the first two chapters that are unique to some of the profiles. If you
choose to review all the contents, read selected sections at a time, not all of them
in one sitting, otherwise it can overwhelm you. If you’re scanning the manual to
see which coding method(s) might be appropriate for your particular study,
,Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 3
AN INTRODUCTION TO CODES AND CODING 3
read the profiles’ Description and Applications sections to see if further reading
of the profile is merited. It’s doubtful you’ll use every coding method included
in this manual for your particular research endeavors throughout your career,
but they are available here on an “as needed” basis for your unique projects.
Like an academic curriculum, the sequential order of the profiles has been
carefully considered. They don’t necessarily progress in a linear manner from
simple to complex, but are clustered generally from the fundamental to the
intermediate to the advanced.
What is a Code?
A code in qualitative inquiry is most often a word or short phrase that symbolically
assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute
for a portion of language-based or visual data.The data can consist of inter-
view transcripts, participant observation field notes, journals, documents, lit-
erature, artifacts, photographs, video, websites, e-mail correspondence, and
so on. The portion of data to be coded during First Cycle coding processes
can range in magnitude from a single word to a full sentence to an entire
page of text to a stream of moving images. In Second Cycle coding
processes, the portions coded can be the exact same units, longer passages of
text, and even a reconfiguration of the codes themselves developed thus far.
Just as a title represents and captures a book or film or poem’s primary con-
tent and essence, so does a code represent and capture a datum’s primary
content and essence.
Coding examples
An example of a coded datum, as it is presented in this manual, looks like this
when taken from a set of field notes about an inner city neighborhood. The
one-word capitalized code in the right column is called a Descriptive Code,
which summarizes the primary topic of the excerpt:
1 1
I notice that the grand majority of homes have chain SECURITY
link fences in front of them. There are many dogs
(mostly German shepherds) with signs on fences that
say “Beware of the Dog.”
Here is an example of several codes applied to data from an interview tran-
script in which a high school senior describes his favorite teacher. The codes
are based on what outcomes the student receives from his mentor. Note that
one of the codes is taken directly from what the participant himself says and is
placed in quotation marks – this is called an In Vivo Code:
, Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 4
4 THE CODING MANUAL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCHERS
1 1
He cares about me. He has never SENSE OFSELF-WORTH
told me but he does. 2 He’s always 2
STABILITY
been there for me, even when my parents
were not. He’s one of the few things that
I hold as a constant in my life. So it’s nice.
3 3
I really feel comfortable around him. “COMFORTABLE”
Did you agree with the codes? Did other words or phrases run through your
mind as you read the data? It’s all right if your choices differed from mine.
Coding is not a precise science; it’s primarily an interpretive act.
Also be aware that a code can sometimes summarize or condense data, not sim-
ply reduce it.The introductory examples above were kept purposely simple and
direct. But depending on the researcher’s academic discipline, ontological and
epistemological orientations, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and even
the choice of coding method itself, some codes can attribute more evocative
meanings to data. In the excerpt below, a mother describes her teenage son’s
troubled school years.The codes emerge from the perspective of middle- and
junior high school years as a difficult period for most youth.They are not spe-
cific types of codes; they are “first impression” phrases derived from an open-
ended process called Initial Coding:
1 1
My son, Barry, went through a really MIDDLE-SCHOOL HELL
tough time about, probably started the end
of fifth grade and went into sixth grade.
2 2
When he was growing up young in TEACHER’S PET
school he was a people-pleaser and
his teachers loved him to death.
3 3
Two boys in particular that he chose to BAD INFLUENCES
try to emulate, wouldn’t, were not very
good for him. 4 They were very critical of 4
TWEEN ANGST
him, they put him down all the time,
and he kind of just took that and really
kind of internalized it, I think, for a
long time. 5 In that time period, in the 5
THE LOST BOY
fifth grade, early sixth grade, they really
just kind of shunned him all together, and
so his network as he knew it was gone.
Note that when we reflect on a passage of data to decipher its core mean-
ing, we are decoding; when we determine its appropriate code and label it, we
are encoding. For ease of reference throughout this manual, coding will be the
sole term used. Simply understand that coding is the transitional process
between data collection and more extensive data analysis.
One
An Introduction to Codes and Coding
Any researcher who wishes to become proficient at doing qualitative analysis must
learn to code well and easily.The excellence of the research rests in large part on
the excellence of the coding.
(Anselm L. Strauss, Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists, 1987, p. 27)
Purposes of the Manual
The three primary purposes of The Coding Manual for Qualitative
Researchers are:
• to briefly discuss the functions of codes, coding, and analytic memo writ-
ing during the qualitative data collection and analytic processes
• to profile a selected yet diverse repertoire of coding methods generally
applied in qualitative data analysis, and
• to provide readers sources, descriptions, examples, recommended applica-
tions, and exercises for coding and further analyzing qualitative data.
This manual does not address such matters as qualitative research design or how
to conduct interviews or participant observation fieldwork. These topics are
already masterfully discussed in other textbooks. The Coding Manual for
Qualitative Researchers is intended as a reference to supplement those existing
works.This manual focuses exclusively on codes and coding and how they play
a role in the qualitative data analytic process. For newcomers to qualitative
inquiry it presents a repertoire of coding methods in broad brushstrokes.
Additional information and extended discussion of the methods can be found
in most of the cited sources. Grounded theory (discussed in Chapter Two), for
example, is elegantly profiled, streamlined, and re-envisioned in Kathy
Charmaz’s (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through
Qualitative Analysis; while Graham R. Gibbs’ (2007) Analyzing Qualitative Data
provides an elegant survey of basic analytic processes.
,Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 2
2 THE CODING MANUAL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCHERS
The Coding Manual does not maintain allegiance to any one specific
research genre or methodology. Throughout this book you’ll read a breadth
of perspectives on codes and coding, sometimes purposely juxtaposed to
illustrate and highlight the diverse opinions among scholars in the field. No
one, including myself, can claim final authority on the “best” way to code
qualitative data. In fact, there are a few instances where I take moderate lib-
erty with adapting and even renaming prescribed coding methods for clarity
or flexibility’s sake. This is not intended to standardize terminology within
the field, but simply to employ consistency throughout this particular man-
ual. My perspective acknowledges and promotes the pragmatist paradigm
(Patton, 2002), which chooses “the right tool for the right job” since all
research questions, methodologies, conceptual frameworks, and fieldwork
parameters are context-specific.
I also wrote this manual because I find it problematic (but not difficult) to
teach coding in my own qualitative research methods course. I provide students
with an array of readings about the process from multiple sources because I
have yet to find that single satisfactory book (to me) that focuses exclusively
on the topic. General introductory texts in qualitative inquiry are so numerous
and well-written that it becomes difficult not to find the best one to use, but
which one of such quality works to select as the primary textbook.This man-
ual supplements introductory works in the subject because most limit their dis-
cussions about coding to the writer’s prescribed, preferred, or signature
methods. I wanted to provide in a single resource a selected collection of var-
ious coding methods developed by other researchers (and myself) that provides
students and colleagues a handy reference for classroom exercises and assign-
ments, and for their own independent research for thesis and dissertation field-
work and future qualitative studies. But by no means is it an exhaustive
resource. I deliberately exclude such discipline-specific methods as Behavior
Coding (which notes problematic respondent and interviewer behaviors dur-
ing survey interviews [Singleton & Straits, 2002, p. 65]) and such signature
methods as the Davis Observation Code system (for medical interviews [Zoppi
& Epstein, 2002, p. 375]). If you need additional information and explanation
about the coding methods, check the References.
The Coding Manual is intended primarily as a reference work. It is not nec-
essarily meant to be read cover-to-cover, but it certainly can be if you wish to
acquaint yourself with all 29 coding methods profiles and their analytic possi-
bilities. There are, in fact, several principles related to coding matters not dis-
cussed in the first two chapters that are unique to some of the profiles. If you
choose to review all the contents, read selected sections at a time, not all of them
in one sitting, otherwise it can overwhelm you. If you’re scanning the manual to
see which coding method(s) might be appropriate for your particular study,
,Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 3
AN INTRODUCTION TO CODES AND CODING 3
read the profiles’ Description and Applications sections to see if further reading
of the profile is merited. It’s doubtful you’ll use every coding method included
in this manual for your particular research endeavors throughout your career,
but they are available here on an “as needed” basis for your unique projects.
Like an academic curriculum, the sequential order of the profiles has been
carefully considered. They don’t necessarily progress in a linear manner from
simple to complex, but are clustered generally from the fundamental to the
intermediate to the advanced.
What is a Code?
A code in qualitative inquiry is most often a word or short phrase that symbolically
assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute
for a portion of language-based or visual data.The data can consist of inter-
view transcripts, participant observation field notes, journals, documents, lit-
erature, artifacts, photographs, video, websites, e-mail correspondence, and
so on. The portion of data to be coded during First Cycle coding processes
can range in magnitude from a single word to a full sentence to an entire
page of text to a stream of moving images. In Second Cycle coding
processes, the portions coded can be the exact same units, longer passages of
text, and even a reconfiguration of the codes themselves developed thus far.
Just as a title represents and captures a book or film or poem’s primary con-
tent and essence, so does a code represent and capture a datum’s primary
content and essence.
Coding examples
An example of a coded datum, as it is presented in this manual, looks like this
when taken from a set of field notes about an inner city neighborhood. The
one-word capitalized code in the right column is called a Descriptive Code,
which summarizes the primary topic of the excerpt:
1 1
I notice that the grand majority of homes have chain SECURITY
link fences in front of them. There are many dogs
(mostly German shepherds) with signs on fences that
say “Beware of the Dog.”
Here is an example of several codes applied to data from an interview tran-
script in which a high school senior describes his favorite teacher. The codes
are based on what outcomes the student receives from his mentor. Note that
one of the codes is taken directly from what the participant himself says and is
placed in quotation marks – this is called an In Vivo Code:
, Saldana-3784-Ch-01:Saldana-3784-Ch-01.qxp 9/26/2008 7:10 PM Page 4
4 THE CODING MANUAL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCHERS
1 1
He cares about me. He has never SENSE OFSELF-WORTH
told me but he does. 2 He’s always 2
STABILITY
been there for me, even when my parents
were not. He’s one of the few things that
I hold as a constant in my life. So it’s nice.
3 3
I really feel comfortable around him. “COMFORTABLE”
Did you agree with the codes? Did other words or phrases run through your
mind as you read the data? It’s all right if your choices differed from mine.
Coding is not a precise science; it’s primarily an interpretive act.
Also be aware that a code can sometimes summarize or condense data, not sim-
ply reduce it.The introductory examples above were kept purposely simple and
direct. But depending on the researcher’s academic discipline, ontological and
epistemological orientations, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and even
the choice of coding method itself, some codes can attribute more evocative
meanings to data. In the excerpt below, a mother describes her teenage son’s
troubled school years.The codes emerge from the perspective of middle- and
junior high school years as a difficult period for most youth.They are not spe-
cific types of codes; they are “first impression” phrases derived from an open-
ended process called Initial Coding:
1 1
My son, Barry, went through a really MIDDLE-SCHOOL HELL
tough time about, probably started the end
of fifth grade and went into sixth grade.
2 2
When he was growing up young in TEACHER’S PET
school he was a people-pleaser and
his teachers loved him to death.
3 3
Two boys in particular that he chose to BAD INFLUENCES
try to emulate, wouldn’t, were not very
good for him. 4 They were very critical of 4
TWEEN ANGST
him, they put him down all the time,
and he kind of just took that and really
kind of internalized it, I think, for a
long time. 5 In that time period, in the 5
THE LOST BOY
fifth grade, early sixth grade, they really
just kind of shunned him all together, and
so his network as he knew it was gone.
Note that when we reflect on a passage of data to decipher its core mean-
ing, we are decoding; when we determine its appropriate code and label it, we
are encoding. For ease of reference throughout this manual, coding will be the
sole term used. Simply understand that coding is the transitional process
between data collection and more extensive data analysis.
