New to Qualitative Analysis Start Here (Interview Coding in MAXQDA) 

New to qualitative analysis and not sure how to start coding interviews.

You are in the right place.

In this article, I’ll show you the very first step of qualitative analysis using MAXQDA, which is how to code interview data.

We are going to go from raw transcripts such as this.

To well-developed codes like this.

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to start your analysis without feeling overwhelmed.

My name is Bernard Mugo. I like to refer to myself simply as an academic.

 In the past four years, I’ve helped more than 600 PhD students analyze qualitative data and finally complete their thesis or dissertations.

 In the course of helping such a large number of students, I’ve gained invaluable experience in the best practices that you can use to perform analysis of your interviews and be able to retrieve quality findings.

This article is going to be a practical lesson on how to code using MAXQDA.

 The first thing that I will do is give you an example of codes that I developed before, I coded them in a basic Word document.

Then define what a code is, and then we go and do some coding inside MAXQDA on two sample transcripts that I got from a website called Fig Share.

There is an interviewee who is asking, so how would you place the economic or the financial standard of your family?

Then the response, we are going to read the whole paragraph here.

It’s very hard now, 20 years of marriage. It’s hard.

So I’m the one paying my children’s school fees, honestly speaking. I’m the one paying.

 I’ve been paying the school fees and God is helping me with the little amount of money they pay me for my salary as a classroom teacher, I was able to pay their school fees, and that is why I register them in that public school because if I have good money, they would go to a good school because this, my daughter, she likes education, but since I don’t have the money, so I said I should help her, I do research and help her to read. I also pay for extra lesson so that she will gain more knowledge.

 I coded two quotes from that extract.

 So the first code is:

 Honestly speaking, I’m the one paying, I’ve been paying the school fees and God is helping me with the little amount of money they pay me for my salary as a classroom teacher.

What this shows is that they have prominent financial challenges that this person is experiencing.

 And then the next code I made relates to the sentence, I was able to pay their school fees and that is why I register them in a public school because if I have good money, they would go to good schools because this is my daughter and she likes education, so she lacks the funds, enroll her daughter in a better school.

So lacks the funds to enroll daughter in a better school is another code.

Let me give you an example of another code.

Let’s read this question and this response.

What I mean is, do you think that the IFOMSSA scholarship, the selection process and even selecting the winners, do you think it’s based on merit or not?

So the response they give is, I don’t think they select people for that. That is, it’s based on marriage, the students that merited it will go for it because when my daughter was preparing for it, she was preparing, since she was in junior class, she was preparing for it.

We were looking for to write the exam.

Even I always encourage her so they don’t select people. Just those brilliant people, at least from first end position, they will select people that will write the exams.

Yes.

  If you look at that, you can see that the scholarship is awarded based on merit, so they are saying that this scholarship can only be awarded based on merit.

And that’s the code that I developed for that.

Let’s continue and see another question responses and the code that I have there.

 How did you feel when your child was told that she had a chance to participate in I-F-O-M-S-A award?

I feel so happy. It’s like a dream come true because I was praying for that. I pray honestly for that ‘ cause I know I don’t have money now and I don’t know what my child will be able to go to a higher institution.

So I prayed honestly for that.

So they were overjoyed, that’s the code that I had there.

Overjoyed.

This are some examples of codes that I managed to develop for an interview that is not that clear, but I still manage to get some codes.

With these examples of codes, we can define a code.

 So a code is a label or an interpretive statement to any information that’s important to our research question or objectives.

I want you to remember that as we work with MAXQDA.

I am going to open MAXQDA, and develop some codes across two transcripts.

I click on new in MAXQDA because I want to have a new project.

Then I name the new project.

 First let us look at the research questions.

The first question is: How do Filipino migrant teachers with prior school leadership experience in the Philippines apply their leadership skills in classroom settings within a foreign academic environment?

And research question two is what factors influence how Filipino migrant teachers apply their leadership skills in classroom settings within a foreign  academic environment?

 So in MAXQDA, we have at least five main sections. 

We have the main menu.

The top menu.

We have a section where I will import my transcripts.

Here, I’ll create my codes.

 And then here is where we are gonna observe the transcript as we code it.

Before we begin, I just want to open one of the transcripts from the participants and label the questions with colours.

For example, the first question, I want to label it as red.

The second question, I want to label it as yellow.

The third one, I want to give it the color green.

The fourth one,  can be dark blue.

 Another one, color purple.

And the last question I mark it as black.

I have now marked all the questions with colours.

 Why?

 Because when we are coding, we will get so many codes from each question and I need to know which questions these codes came from.

That is why I use colors to tag them.

The next point will be importing the transcripts into MAXQDA.

So I go to transcripts without timestamps.

 I locate the two transcripts that I want to code.

Then click on open.

Here we have transcript A and B.

Then I’m going to go through them one by one.

So let’s do some coding.

 Remember, before we begin coding, it’s important to learn the different strategies of conducting thematic analysis.

Before you get to coding, you have to clarify which approach you are using to conduct the whole thematic analysis process.

One of the methods is the Braun and Clarke approach.

We also have another method called the Saldana approach.

 You can go and read my other article where I discuss these approaches in depth.

 I will write another article about developing themes in MAXQDA, but first let’s explore developing codes.

So two scholars, one called Virginia Braun, and another called Clarke developed a guide on how we can conduct thematic analysis.

This guide is made up of six steps that they recommend for researchers, especially beginners to follow when conducting thematic analysis.

The steps include one:

•   Familiarizing with the data.
• Two generating initial codes.
• Three developing themes.
• Four reviewing themes.
• Five defining and naming themes.
• Six writing the report.

With familiarizing with the data, one should immerse their-self in the data and understand the data deeply.

Then the second approach would be generating codes which would involve creating preliminary codes to categorize data segments.

 Then after that, you have to go and develop themes, review them, define and name them, and write the report.

Remember we previously defined codes as labels or interpretive statements to any information that is important to your research questions.

We have to notice that coding is the foundation of thematic analysis.

Once we get good codes, we can proceed.

 If we don’t get good codes, we are going to have a lot of problems.

Now let’s go and do some coding in MAXQDA.

 To code, we first read the question, then we read the responses fully, and then we label this or interpret what the participants are saying.

Let’s do this.

To open a transcript, I just double click on it and then we begin coding.

 So how did your previous leadership experience in the Philippines shape your approach to classroom management and instruction in your current school?

I know that different learners learn in different styles and in different pacing. So more or less, I know how to differentiate my instruction.

This responder is saying their experience help them to adopt to different learning styles and different pacing of learners.

So I can interpret that.

I  go to with new code to develop a code.

And say, previous teaching experience helped them adopt different learning styles and pacing.

 You can see that code is a bit long, but remember, when we are coding we just have to focus on getting the most accurate code.

We can always minimize our codes, make them more concise or rename them.

Remember to mark this code as bright red.

Then click okay, check where the code goes, it goes to the code section in MAXQDA.

Let’s keep developing codes.

So what leadership strategies or techniques from your experience have you found most effective in your foreign classroom setting?

Walk the talk. Being a model in the classroom now, the kids learn better and more effective.

 So this one is modeling behavior.

 And I can go to properties if I want to edit code based on which code sounds better.

Modeling behavior, that is what they said.

Then how do you adapt your leadership style to fit?

Since I was and still am a perfectionist, I go out of my way to really help my students learn. This has shown result because for 4 consecutive years, I always get an award from the school after every school year: Highest Student growth, Highest Performance in Reading 1st Grade, Highest performance in Math 1st Grade, Highest Performance again in Reading.

 They are being asked, how do you adapt your leadership style to fit the cultural expectations, policies, and teaching methodologies of your new academic environments?

And they said that they go out of their way to help students.

I want to highlight this first section, right click with new code.

And say going above expectations to help students learn.

Then if you look at this code, I put light green here just to mark that code.

Iam using the colors to help differentiate where the codes, are coming from across different questions.

Let’s keep going.

What challenges have you faced in applying your leadership skills in a foreign school, and how have you addressed them?

Since I really believe that teachers should act like the second parents in the school I try to be nice to my students. But this has a different result during my first year of teaching. I learned it the hard way. So I adjusted my classroom management to better suit the students in the US.

At first they are saying they were trying to be like parents with the students then they had to adjust.

Let’s highlight that part and code it as previously faced a challenge relating to students.

The color for that is blue click okay.

Then adjusted strategies to relate to students to better fit the us as another code.

This is also blue color.

Those codes are kind of similar.

Let’s keep coding how do you use your leadership experience to foster student engagement, motivation in academic success in your classroom?

My students readily follow my expectations because of clarity. At the beginning of the school year, expectations are presented. I also make sure to really prepare my lesson, give engaging activities, and practice the reward system.

So how does your leadership experience foster student engagement, motivation?

They’re saying providing clear instructions.

 I also make sure I prepare for my lessons and give engaging activities and practice the reward system.

So.

 Making the lessons more engaging through preparation.

And also practicing the reward system.

so with new code and say practicing the reward system.

 Perfect.

And that is just an example of how we code a transcript.

Let’s go and open a different transcript and let’s code again.

How did your previous leadership experience in Philippines shape your approach to classroom management and instruction in your current school?

So this person replies with to always keep in mind about what is my role in the classroom and what rules and regulations I want the class to follow.

So their previous experience I would say helps them set expectations.

Remember the first question was labelled as red in color.

I’ve said to always keep in mind what my role is in the classroom and what rules and regulations I want the class to follow.

So I code that statement as setting expectations of the class as the teacher.

Click okay.

You see that code is red and a previous code that we got from a similar question from a past participant is red.

Let’s keep going.

What leadership strategies or techniques from your experience have you found most effective in your foreign classroom setting?

So critical thinking.

I want to code that alone.

Remember question number two we marked it as yellow.

So encouraging critical thinking.

 Then communicate effectively.

I want to go with new code, another yellow code, communicating effectively.

 then being authentic.

Then encouraging collaboration.

That’s another code encouraging collaboration.

 Good.

Let’s just have another question.

How do you adapt your leadership style to fit cultural expectations, policies, and teaching methodologies of your new academic environment?

Assess needs, built rapport, embrace change and encourage innovation.

You remember question 1.3 is labeled as green.

So this person says, how do you adapt your leadership style?

And they say they assess needs, so assessing needs.

 That’s green.

Building rapport.

That’s another green code building rapport.

 Embracing change.

 So that’s how we code.

What have we seen so far relating to coding using MAXQDA?

We have seen that codes are labels or interpretive statements to any information that’s important to our research questions.

That means that we are labelling codes

So that’s how we develop codes using MAXQDA.

In my next lesson, we are going to learn how to move from codes to themes.