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Dictionary

Plain-language meanings of the concepts used in qualitative analysis and in Byleron QDA. Each entry links to the questions that explain how to use it.

95 terms

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Case–code network

Analysis and figures

Also called: case-theme network

A network that joins each case to the codes used in it. It shows which cases share ideas and which ideas stand alone.

Cluster tree

Analysis and figures

Also called: dendrogram, hierarchical clustering

A branching diagram that groups codes or documents by how similarly they are coded. Items on the same small branch are coded alike. The grouping depends on the settings you choose, so read it as a suggestion.

Code discovery curve

Quality and rigour

Also called: saturation curve

A line showing how many new codes appear as you work through the documents in order. If it flattens, new documents are adding few new codes. That is a useful signal, not proof that nothing more can be found.

Code hierarchy

Coding and the codebook

Also called: code tree, coding frame

The layered structure of codes: broad codes at the top, more specific subcodes beneath. A hierarchy helps you see how ideas group into larger themes. Byleron QDA allows up to ten levels.

Cohen's kappa

Quality and rigour

Also called: kappa

A measure of agreement between two coders that corrects for the agreement expected by chance. A value near 1 means strong agreement; a value near 0 means agreement no better than chance. What counts as acceptable depends on the study.

Comparative patterns

Analysis and figures

Also called: group comparison, cross-tabulation

A comparison of how codes are used across groups defined by a variable, for example teachers and students. With small groups, differences may be due to chance, so treat them as leads to check in the text.

Content analysis

Qualitative research

Also called: qualitative content analysis

A method that sorts material into categories according to explicit rules and, in some forms, counts how often each category occurs. It suits questions about what is said and how often, and it depends on clear code definitions.

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Intercoder agreement

Quality and rigour

Also called: inter-rater reliability, intercoder reliability, coder agreement

How closely two or more coders apply the same codes to the same material. It is used to check that a codebook is clear enough to be applied consistently. Not every qualitative approach uses it.

J

Jaccard index

Analysis and figures

Also called: Jaccard, Dice coefficient, Dice

A way to express how much two codes overlap, as the share of documents that contain both out of those that contain either. Dice is a close relative that weights the overlap more heavily. Both range from 0 to 1.

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Map

Analysis and figures

Also called: concept map, network

A drawing of codes and cases as nodes joined by lines, for example the code hierarchy or the codes one case uses. A map is a way to look at structure and links; it is not a finding in itself.

Memo category

Qualitative research

Also called: analytic memo, theoretical memo, methodological memo

A label for the kind of thinking in a memo: analytic, theoretical, methodological, reflexive, codebook, or question. You can add your own categories.

Memo network

Analysis and figures

Also called: memo-centered concept network

A network with memos as nodes, joined to the codes they are about. It shows where your own thinking has gathered and which codes have none.

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Negative case

Quality and rigour

Also called: outlier, deviant case, disconfirming case

A case that does not fit the pattern you are describing. Looking for and reporting negative cases tests an interpretation and often refines it.

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Portrait

Analysis and figures

Also called: case portrait, coding profile

A compact profile of coding across documents or cases, so you can see at a glance what each case is mostly about.

Prominence and dispersion

Analysis and figures

Also called: prominence, dispersion

Prominence describes how much of the data a code takes up; dispersion describes how widely it is spread. Together they separate ideas that are large and widespread from ones that are large but concentrated in a few sources.

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Qualitative data analysis

Qualitative research

Also called: QDA, CAQDAS

The systematic study of non-numerical material, such as interviews, documents, images and recordings, to understand meaning and patterns. Software that supports this work is often called CAQDAS (computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software). The software organises and retrieves; the interpretation stays with the researcher.

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Reflexivity

Qualitative research

Also called: reflexive

The researcher's ongoing reflection on how their background, assumptions and choices shape what they see in the data and how they interpret it. Reflexive memos are a common way to record it.

Research ethics review

Qualitative research

Also called: ethics approval, institutional review, IRB, ethics committee

The approval and oversight process that a university or institution applies to research involving people. Check what your review body requires before you upload participant data or use AI on it.

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Saturation

Quality and rigour

Also called: code saturation, thematic saturation

The point at which further data stop producing new codes or new insight. It is debated as a stopping rule, so justify any claim of saturation with your reasoning and not with a number alone.

Segment length

Analysis and figures

Also called: length distribution

How long the coded passages are. Very short or very long passages can signal inconsistent coding, or a code that is applied to different kinds of things.

Split a code

Coding and the codebook

Also called: splitting

Dividing an overloaded code into more specific ones. You create the new codes, usually as subcodes of the original, and decide which evidence belongs to each. The original code is never deleted.

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Word cloud

Analysis and figures

Also called: clouds

A picture in which words are sized by how often they occur. It describes vocabulary, not meaning, so use it to explore language and check it against the coded evidence.