Combining Approaches to Qualitative Data Analysis: Synthesising the Mechanical (CAQDAS) with the Thematic (A Voice-Centred Relational Approach)

In this article I discuss the challenges of managing and analysing qualitative data produced from in-depth interviews. I detail how two methods of data analysis have been combined to explore older women's (over 35yrs) accounts of early pregnancy loss – which formed the data for the author's PhD research. A computer assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) package, in this case NUDIST4, was a useful tool for managing the breadth of data, and permitted the initial coding in line with the objectives of a larger qualitative study. However, pertinent themes were obscured by the sheer volume of data that had been collected. In contrast, the voice relational method was of value in exploring the depth of the data, and the ways in which these women contextualised their experiences in relation to other aspects of their lived biography. Researchers new to qualitative data analysis are often concerned that CAQDAS techniques will in some way dictate how the data will be analysed. In this article I suggest that this anxiety is unfounded – as the analysis technique depends upon the researcher(s) and the theoretical perspective(s) that inform(s) the research process. I propose that CAQDAS packages are effective tools for data management, but a more theoretically informed means, such as the voice relational method, can augment the process of analysis. I suggest that it is essential that, whichever means we employ, as researchers we are explicit about how we actually do data analysis.