Deductive and Inductive Approaches to Qualitative Data Analysis: The Five-Cycle Process

• In Event: Challenging the Paradigmatic and Methodological Norms Within Qualitative Research

Abstract

In this paper, I outline a five-cycle process of qualitative analysis that uses both deductive (codes developed a priori) and inductive (codes developed in the course of the analysis) strategies. I argue that using deductive and inductive analytic practices iteratively provides qualitative researchers with the deductive tools to organize the data and bound the inquiry, the inductive tools to allow themes and findings to emerge, and the understanding to apply existing knowledge and theory to interpret and explain findings. I demonstrate the five-cycle analysis process using a qualitative case study to illustrate how codes were created and applied and how that coding process helped me to develop findings and apply theory to explain those findings.

Author

• Andrea J. Bingham, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs