Manage and Organize Qualitative Data. Lecompte (2000)

¶ … manage and organize qualitative data. LeCompte (2000) notes that data can be organized using traditional organization techniques like creating files, cataloging, labeling, and creating indices. These techniques are often applied to qualitative data that comes in the form of field notes or other written information. Today, the information might be stored in a database on the computer. Often the data might be recorded on a smartphone or tablet, which will make it even easier to transfer to a computer. However, the techniques of indexing, cataloging and labeling are still used to manage large amounts of qualitative data.

It is important that the research is able to make sense of the data, but it should also be remembered that one of the most valuable traits of qualitative research is that it has a lot of flexibility with respect to how that data can be analyzed and presented. As such, it is important that the researcher is able to manage the data, and present it well. By finding new paradigms for analysis and presentation, qualitative analysis lends value to the academic process (Bansal & Corley, 2011). Further, in order to find new paradigms, the researcher needs to be creative with respect to organizing and managing the qualitative data. It is insufficient to simply follow a basic pattern of organization -- the researcher must determine his or her own patterns and methods.

The researcher is also likely to utilize selection to parse through large amounts of material, to find certain things. This can lead to selection bias, and in some cases the researcher needs to take great care that no selection bias occurs. However, there must be some natural method of seeking out the material that one needs, even from studies that deliver large volumes of material.

2. Data saturation in qualitative research is to get enough research that the findings are valuable. It is essentially the qualitative equivalent of having enough respondents for the results to be statistically significant, in quantitative research. At this point, no new information or themes are observed in the data (Guest, Bunce & Johnson, 2006). These authors note that the concept of saturation, while valuable conceptually, "provides little practical guidance for estimating sample sizes, prior to data collection, necessary for conducting quality research."

Morse et al. (2002) notes that the participants should have knowledge of the research topic, and this will ensure efficient and effective saturation of categories. The result will be that sufficient data is available to account "for all aspects of the phenomenon." These authors describe the concept thus. Again, they readily admit that there are no hard and fast rules about the concept of saturation. However, there is a recognition that saturation is a key element of validity in a qualitative study.

One aspect that remains part of the discussion is with respect to qualitative validity is the ability of the researcher to understand when saturation has occurred. If saturation can only be understood once the research is underway, then the researcher must still be able to recognize when the right amount of research has been conducted. This can be made more difficult when the qualitative data is vague in nature. Where responses are specific, they can be translated into numerals anyway, but when the responses are open-ended, it can be difficult determine the saturation point, knowing that every individual is going to give a slightly different answer. At that point, conveying saturation to the audience becomes a significant challenge.