For me, qualitative data is like seeing the world through someone else's eyes. When I first read the transcripts, I have no desire to analyze, understand or explain... I just allow myself to "see" the interview through the interviewee's responses. I think students, and those new to the process of qualitative analysis, know that they must do something with the responses, and they rush to define what was said, rather than listening to what was said and what was left unsaid. It is rather like reading poetry. Either one can listen for the words, the cadence, and the tone; or one can try to identify the iambic pentameter, rhymes, etc.
Qualitative analysis demands that the researcher “hear” what the subjects are saying. Several subjects may use the word “slow” in relationship to a Dr. visit. If the researcher simply is counting words or looking for similar words, He/she would miss the fact that slow for one subject is a positive: “the Dr never rushes, he is slow and deliberate” and another subject sees slow as a negative: “he never starts on time, he is always slow to his appointments with me”.
I hope students and others can see qualitative research as seeing the shared experience of the subjects. It is about experience, not numbers or quantity. I love experiencing the world through someone else’s eyes, learning how they see something inspires me to take an extra step during the day to stretch my way of knowing the world.
MG