Working with Longitudinal Qualitative Data: Using NVivo as an Analytic Tool

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Working with Longitudinal Qualitative Data Using
NVivo as an Analytic Tool

• Roger J. VallanceThe University of Notre Dame
  Australia
• Paper presented at the 6th International
  conference of Qualitative Research Conference,
  21-23 Sept 2005 Durham.

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Longitudinal Qualitative research

• Research question
• Longitudinal qualitative research occurs when a
  research question investigating a development
  over time or causal perspective is conducted in a
  qualitative methodology
• Research sample
• Research methodology

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Sampling

• Repeated cross-sectional samples
• Same questions asked of different samples over
  time.
• Panel study (different styles of panels explored
  below)
• Same individuals are interviewed repeatedly over
  time.
• Indefinite life panel without replacement
• Once a group of participants are enlisted, the
  group participants are re-contacted for each
  iteration of the research.
• Indefinite life panel with replacement
• As above
• Rotating panel
• Sample strategies calls for the research to last
  longer than average participation. Participants
  might be included for 3 or 4 iterations and then
  replaced according to the same sample choices as
  original sample selection.
• Overlapping panel
• Use of several rotating panel structures so that
  groups are out of phase in their replacement
  cycles.

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LQR methodologies

• Not restricted to specific methodologies
• That said, LQR does not happen by accident
• Distinction between longitudinal and
  meta-analysis
• Research question
• Sample
• maybe not approach to analysis and synthesis

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Organising the Data

• Attributes
• Information that is relatively unchanging,
• That might form a table of values organised in
  columns for each participant (row)
• Sets
• Used for more ad hoc or volatile information
• Overlapping data sets
• Cases
• Cases nodes for testing emergent ideas

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Attributes in longitudinal analysis
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Sets in longitudinal analysis
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Cases in longitudinal analysis
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Three useful distinctions

• Theme
• Manifest statements of individual participants
• Participant perspective
• Pattern
• Findings of the research, possibly pro term
• Researcher perspective
• Topic
• Summary of contributions and discussions with
  participants.
• cf Luborsky 1994 The Identification and Analysis
  of Themese and Patterns, in J.F. Gubrium A.
  Sankar Qualitative Methods in Aging Research.
  Sage.

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Longitudinal Analysis

• Ideally, unit of analysis is the individual
• Analysing each wave
• At this point in time What is the qual analysis ?
• Connecting between the waves
• What has changed and how have these changes
  occurred
• Retrospection
• How did we come to this?
• Participant validation
• At end of research, chance to validate their
  stories

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Sets scope searches
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Connecting between the waves
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Bringing it together

• Retrospection
• Looking back over ones shoulder
• Epiphanies
• Turning points
• Dead ends and discontinuities
• Participant validation
• Not always possible
• And what does one validate?
• Individual analysis
• More global views

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One view of Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis

• What has changed?
• How has it changed?
• For whom has it changed?
• Why has it changed?
• How have they changed?
• Where /who are they now?

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A second view of Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis

• What has changed for these participants? subQ
  for this person
• Analyse topics and individual accounts
• What has caused these observed changes?
• Analyse themes with field notes
• To what extent are these changes global?
• Analyse patterns with field notes and memos

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New horizons

• Qualitative data is growing in volume, richness,
  number, extent to which we can cope with large
  data collections
• Historical inspections of similar projects
  possible
• Warehousing of data may yield resource of great
  value
• Might interoperation of CAQDAS be another step?