• Make copies of any information (e.g., notes, interviews, journals). Keep the originals and use the copies for note making, cutting, sorting, etc.
• Check that you have identified your documents (field notes, date; interview, date, who with). Some people use different colours to distinguish sources. (Run a coloured highlighter down the edge of the page or use different colours of fonts, e.g., blue for first interview, green for second interview, etc.).
• Decide how you will organize information as you sort it (e.g., file boxes or folders, paper clips, envelopes).
• Prepare to be confused for a while and to "trust the process."

Getting started

• Re-read your proposal. Your research process may have led you away from your original question. However, the question shaped your research and you will need to address it in your write-up (Merriam, 1988), even if it's mainly to acknowledge the shift in direction.
• Immerse yourself in your data. Read through what you have collected. Listen to tapes of interviews. (Have a look at the related literature too, if you have been referring to literature.)
• As you review all the data, keep notes about:
  • questions and comments related to the data (You could jot these in the margins);
  • major ideas that seem to cross the various sources;
  • themes that seem to come up (e.g., repetition or similar words or phrases that people use to describe their feelings or explain situations). You can come back to these notes as you do more detailed analysis.

Looking for patterns

Looking for patterns in your data is one way to organize and make sense of it. In the approach described here, you identify "units" of information, separate these units, then sort them into categories.

Identify units. Read through your data and identify "units" (underline or highlight them). A unit can be a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph that meets two criteria (Lincoln and Guba, 1985):

• It can help you find meaning related to your research and help you think beyond the particular bit of information (e.g., it will help you identify patterns and themes).
• It should be the smallest bit of information that can stand by itself and make sense on its own. You should be able to interpret it without other information, other than an understanding of the context of your research.