Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology

16
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Introduction to Qualitative and
Quantitative Analysis
This is the first of six chapters about analyzing data. In this chapter, we
begin with the basics—what analysis is; how to store and manage data;
and how to use matrices, tables, and flow charts to present the results of data
analysis. Then we move on, in chapters 17 and 18 to methods for analyzing
qualitative data, and in chapters 19, 20, and 21 to methods for analyzing quantitative
data.
Qualitative, Quantitative
By a quirk of English grammar, the phrase ‘‘qualitative data analysis’’ is
delightfully ambiguous. Unless someone spells it out in lots of words, you
never know if the phrase means ‘‘the qualitative analysis of data’’ or the ‘‘analysis
of qualitative data.’’ And, of course, the same goes for ‘‘quantitative data
analysis.’’ Table 16.1 lays out the possibilities.
Cell a is the qualitative analysis of qualitative data. Interpretive studies of
texts are of this kind. You focus on and name themes in texts. You tell the
story, as you see it, of how the themes are related to one another and how
characteristics of the speaker or speakers account for the existence of certain
themes and the absence of others. You may deconstruct the text, look for hidden
subtexts, and, in general, try to let your audience know—using the power
of good rhetoric—the deeper meaning or the multiple meanings of the text.
Looking diagonally from cell a, cell d refers to numerical or statistical analysis
of numerical data. Lots of useful data about human behavior come to us
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