RP07
18/10/00 11:16 am
Page 264
264 YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT
Memo
Interim summary
Generating pattern codes is surprisingly easy as it is the way by which we habitually process information. However, it is important not to cling uncritically onto initially developed patterns, but to test and develop, and if necessary reject, them as your understanding of the data develops, and as new waves of data are produced. To develop a greater understanding of events and make more sense of the relationships between codes, short analytical descriptions can be compiled based on the developing ideas of the researcher reacting to the data and development of codes and pattern codes. Compiling memos is a good way to explore links between data and to record and develop intuitions and ideas. This can be done at any time – but is best done when the idea is fresh! Remember that memos are written for yourself, and so the length and style are not important, but it is necessary to label them so that they can be easily sorted and retrieved. The activity of memoing should continue throughout the research project; you will find that the ideas become more stable with time until a ‘saturation’ point is achieved, i.e. the point where you are satisfied with your understanding and explanation of the data. Data collection in qualitative research is inherently more flexible and less predictable than with quantitative research. Therefore it is essential, at probably about one-third way through the data collection, to seek to reassure yourself and your supervisors/sponsors by checking the quantity and quality of what you have found out so far, your confidence in the reliability of the data, and the presence and nature of any gaps or puzzles that have been revealed, and to review what still needs to be collected in relation to your time available. This exercise will result in the production of an interim summary, that is a provisional report (10–25 pages are usually sufficient). This report will be the first time that everything you know about a case will be summarized, and presents the first opportunity to make cross-case analyses in multi-case studies and to review emergent explanatory variables. Remember however that the summary is provisional, and perhaps will be sketchy and incomplete. It should be seen as a useful tool for reflecting on the work done, for discussion with your colleagues and supervisors, and for indicating any changes that might be needed in the coding and in the subsequent data collection work. In order to check on the amount of data collected about each research question, a data accounting sheet can usefully be compiled. This is a table that sets out the research questions and the amount of data collected from the different informants, settings, situations etc. Shortcomings can thereby easily be identified. Three other useful techniques for analysis during the data collection period are described by Miles and Huberman (1994, pp. 81–9). These are vignettes, prestructured case analysis and sequential analysis. Some very brief remarks about these will be useful. A vignette is a short, contextually rich narrative story that is used to encapsulate a typical event or attitude in a straightforward, direct way. It results in a vivid, compelling and persuasive interpretation of an issue, an abstraction rather than a representation of an original event. It can be used