ABSTRACT
Coding is a method for systematically organizing non-numerical information contained in written, oral, and visual documents to help us think about and organize that information. This chapter discusses coding more generally, the way it is used in qualitative research, and some principles of good coding practice. The codes are meant to capture the essence of a textual passage, what is sometimes called a unit of meaning. Units of meaning can be ideas, beliefs, types of actions or behaviors, processes, or outcomes. Once we have created the codes, the next step is to begin to systematize the information by organizing the codes into categories. A key advantage of CAQDAS packages is that they aid in organizing, interpreting, and analyzing codable data.
