DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

Case summaries are another written analytical aid suggested by Miles and Huberman
that are employed in the current methodology. They are short summaries of each
individual interview or data-collection event, written either directly after the interview
itself, or directly after transcribing the interview. They provide a useful short gestalt
of each participant’s narrative, and like memos provide an insight into the early
hermeneutic processes of the researcher.
Developing Codes/Themes
The development of codes/themes is the foundation of analysis in the
composite, following both the Interactive Model and IPA. Miles and Huberman
describe codes as “tags or labels for assigning units of meaning to the descriptive or
inferential information compiled during a study.” (1994, p.56). The text that informs
the theme can be a phrase, sentence or whole paragraph, and should be supported at
all times by relevant textual segments. Themes are combined into lists that are
revised and clarified in a continuous process.
In order to provide a very general a-priori framework for data-led coding,
general domains for codes are an option within the composite methodology used here.
These are non-content-specific high-level categories that provide an initial way of
categorising codes:
“A second main coding alternative, partway between the a priori and inductive
approaches, is that of creating a general accounting scheme for codes that is not
content specific, but points to the general domains in which codes can be developed
inductively.” (Miles and Huberman, 1994, p.61)
In the composite, a-priori general domains are an option that can be used to aid early
analysis, but can equally be avoided if the research aims to avoid being shaped by
existing theoretical categories. IPA, being a case-focused and phenomenological
form of analysis, is sensitive to the possibility of imposing inappropriate themes from
prior theory or assumptions on an individual case, and so cautions at all stages that
existing theory can get in the way of an empathic and honest connection with a
participant’s narrative and experience. This caution is heeded in the composite
model, but the option of using a-priori theory to shape early analysis is also an option.
The choice provides an added point of flexibility.
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