ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the differences between qualitative and quantitative research and explains various research approaches to the analysis of qualitative data. To understand qualitative data analysis it is necessary to understand qualitative research. Qualitative research is discovery oriented, with analysts using the data collected to generate ideas and theories, and it is therefore based on inductive reasoning. The specific steps in qualitative research include data collection, data reduction, data display, drawing conclusions, and verification of findings. The chapter focuses on the objective of qualitative data analysis, which is used to identify, examine, compare, and interpret patterns and themes. When qualitative data are collected, they need to be organized and reduced. Data reduction involves selecting, simplifying, and transforming the data to make them more manageable and understandable. Initial decisions are guided by the predetermined research purpose and questions, but the analyst continually looks for new meanings and relationships. In international contexts, qualitative data collection and analysis may present special challenges.
