Atlas ti code#

Codes can be easily grouped in the Code Manager and Code Group Manager. Code groups, in particular, are useful when arranging codes that may otherwise belong to different parts of your coding hierarchy. Several elements in ATLAS.ti, such as category codes, code colors, and code groups, can provide the necessary organization for your project to identify and parse out overarching patterns and themes. Identifying prevailing themes is a key objective of qualitative research. How do you use code groups and categories in ATLAS.ti? On the other hand, if you want to inductively create codes based on your data, you can simply click on the coding button or keyboard shortcut while reading through your data and create or add codes easily. If you already have a predefined list of codes that you created from existing theory, you can add these codes into ATLAS.ti by creating codes in the Code Manager or by importing your codebook from Excel. Whatever the research inquiry, ATLAS.ti can be used to code qualitative data. In that case, structural coding allows you to identify the discrete parts of textual data to understand common patterns in a genre or practice. Consider how a recipe is often broken down into different parts or that a story follows a process from setting to conflict to resolution. If you are engaged in research like dialogic analysis or narrative analysis, then you might be less focused on the meaning of the data and more concerned with how the data is formed. Both inductive and deductive coding strategies can be applied to allow an exploratory analysis that can evolve flexibly and build on existing theory. Whereas an inductive code arises exclusively from the data, a deductive code comes from pre-existing concepts developed in established theory. On the other hand, if you have preconceived ideas based on existing theory about what to assess in your data, then you can implement deductive coding. In this case, you are developing the coding system as you process and organize the data. Create codes based on what meaning you glean as you read the data in-depth. If you simply do not know where to begin in making sense of your data, you can employ descriptive coding or inductive coding.

Steps for coding qualitative dataĪs there are many types of coding in qualitative research, determining which strategy is best for assigning codes to your data depends on your research inquiry. Given the unstructured nature of qualitative data, qualitative researchers have extensively discussed the methodology of coding, and over the years, a consensus regarding useful practices for coding has emerged. The goal is to condense the data into a form that is easier to analyze. Codes represent the broader meaning of selected segments in your data.