DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

Use of
diagrams
and matrices
to aid
synthesis
Insights and
Memos
Importance
of moving
past
description
to
explanation
other hand, denotes the action /
interaction over time of persons,
organizations, and communities in
response to certain problems and
issues…If one studies structure only,
then one learns why but not how
certain events occur. If one studies
process only, then one understands
how persons act / interact but not
why. One must study both structure
and process to capture the dynamic
and evolving nature of events.”
(1998, p.127)
“There are times when, either through
preference or because the analyst is
more of a visual person, diagrams are
more useful than storytelling for
sorting out the relationships among
concepts.” p.153
“Diagrams can be valuable tools to
integration.” p.153
“Through these alternating processes
of data collection and analysis,
meanings that often are illusive at
first become clearer. Immersion in
the analysis leads to those sudden
insights, “aha” experiences so
familiar to those of us who do
qualitative research.” p.47
“Also important for analysts to
remember is that insights about how
concepts relate can come at any time
and place – in the middle of the night,
while reading a newspaper, or while
talking with colleagues. Keep a
pencil and paper handy, jot down
these “aha” experiences,” and bring
them into the analysis.” p.142
“Memos are a running log of analytic
sessions. They are a storehouse of
ideas…They also contain the clues to
integration, especially if the analyst
has systematically identified the
properties of concepts along with
their dimensions.” p.153
“Theorizing is the act of constructing
( we emphasize this verb as well)
from data an explanatory scheme that
systematically integrates various
concepts through statements of
relationship. A theory does more
to setting, sequence, and the passage of
time. Clearly, both stances will be
needed at different points in a study. The
issue is being aware of your analytic
assumptions and acting on them
appropriately, moving back and forth
between story and concept modes to
deepen each.” p.147
“The displays discussed in this book
include many types of matrices, graphs,
charts and networks. All are designed to
assemble organized information into an
immediately accessible, compact form so
that the analyst can see what is happening
and either draw justified conclusions or
move on to the next step of analysis the
display suggests might be useful.” p.11
“As qualitative researchers we work to
some extent by insight and intuition. We
have moments of illumination. Things
“come together.” p.254
“Always give priority to memoing. When
an idea strikes, STOP whatever else you
are doing and write the memo. Your
audience is yourself. Get it down; don’t
worry about prose elegance or even
grammar. Include your musings of all
sorts, even the fuzzy and foggy ones.
Give yourself the freedom to think. Don’t
self-censor.” p.74
“Memoing contributes strongly to the
development/revision of the coding
system.” p.74
“Memo writing is fun. And it often
provides sharp, sunlit moments of clarity
or insight – little conceptual epiphanies.”
p.74
“Multiple cases are extraordinarily
helpful in both generating explanations,
and testing them systematically. In a real
sense, they are our best resource for
advancing our theories about the way the
world works.” (1994, p.207)
265