Qualitative data analysis

by Matthew B. Miles, A. Michael Huberman, Johnny Saldaña

"This is not a book about how to collect qualitative data but rather what to do with qualitative data that have been collected. . . . For evaluators who work with qualitative data, this book provides a wealth of ideas on organizing, analyzing, and presenting such data. It is. . . a set of resources for practicing teachers. It is well-organized, clearly written, and practical. I have recommended the book to graduate students seeking advice on ways to treat the data from their field studies, and they too have found it helpful."

--Thomas A. Schwandt in Evaluation and Program Planning

"Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman maintain a high degree of integrity in what they propose and how they present their material. . . . The authors also offer a thorough presentation of issues in qualitative research. The book progresses logically and will be of great assistance to anyone engaged in qualitative research. . . . An excellent addition to any researcher’s library."

--Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation

"The book offers communication researchers some of the best recent work on qualitative inquiry in the human disciplines. . . . Published by Sage, the leading publisher of qualitative research in the social sciences today. . . . Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman offer a ''must-own'' text, in the revisions of their highly influential sourcebook on qualitative data analysis. . . . This second edition updates the 1984 edition, outlining a complex and comprehensive model for a causal, grounded theory and variable approach to the management, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative data. A valuable appendix reviews over 200 computer-assisted models of qualitative data analysis. . . . This work brings the communication scholar up-to-date on where qualitative methods are in current sociological and educational discourse."

--Norman K. Denzin in Journal of Communication

"The first edition of this book was terrific, and the second edition sets even higher standards. Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman simply demystify qualitative data analysis, offering practical advice on how to code text and how to compare cases systematically. Most important, they bring the conceptual power of matrix analysis to qualitative research. This book is not just for qualitative social scientists, though. It’s a must-have book for anyone who teaches social research methods."

--H. Russell Bernard, University of Florida

"The second edition of Qualitative Data Analysis is a stunning accomplishment, a major advance beyond their first edition. Thoroughly comprehensive in scope, well-written, and easily accessible, Qualitative Data Analysis provides the best developed and most rigorous set of analytic procedures now available in the social sciences. Qualitative researchers have, with this new edition, a revised and expanded version of their Bible. Its virtues are many: guidelines for reducing and displaying qualitative data; how to build a grounded, conceptual framework; advice on sampling and coding strategies; how to do within and cross-case designs and matrix displays; a thorough review of the ethical issues in qualitative analysis; and strategies for writing and presenting the final report. I recommend that this book be on the shelf of every qualitative researcher. No significant work can be done in this area without reference to Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman’s new book."

--Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois,

Urbana-Champaign

"I think this is a terrific book, and a definite improvement over the first edition. The additions to Chapters 1 and 2 and the new Chapter 3, address issues that have become increasingly important since the first edition was published, and will make the book more useful and influential. The additions to Chapters 4 and 5 are also useful, as is the reorganization of Chapter 5 to make it more coherent. It’s also more user-friendly."

--Joseph Maxwell, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

"It is a goldmine of ideas, sources, tactics, recipes, warnings, aphorisms, examples, and questions. A wondrous collection."

--Harry F. Wolcott, University of Oregon

In 1984, the First Edition of Qualitative Data Analysis addressed a critical need faced by researchers in all fields of the human sciences-how to draw valid meaning from qualitative data. It provided methods of analysis that were practical, credible, and reliable. This groundbreaking book has now been revised to take up where the first edition left off and account for the phenomenal expansion of qualitative inquiry since then. In the Second Edition, Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman bring the art of qualitative data analysis up-to-date, adding hundreds of new techniques, ideas, and references that draw on the experience of the authors and many colleagues in the design, testi...

Genres: Research, Nonfiction, Research Methods, Qualitative Research, Academic, Reference, Business

Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 1984

Reviews

[Khairul Shafee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books helps me a lot in understanding qualitative data analysis. Good book. Highly recommended for beginners.

[Lawrence Linnen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miles and Huberman address the question of how to draw meaning from qualitative data by examining and discussing varieties of qualitative research and analysis of qualitative data. They discuss focusing and bounding the collection of data, early steps in analysis, within-case displays, cross-case displays, matrix displays, drawing and verifying conclusions, and ethical issues in analysis. They suggest qualitative research designs do exist, although some are more deliberate than others.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

they've done lots of impressive work, though i'm finding it a real chore to get through this

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to get your head around but I finally got the idea of stacked tables and truth tables

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the bible’s of qualitative research. It is referred to in most other qualitative research texts. It lives up to it’s title and subtitle as a fairly comprehensive sourcebook on the many issues confronting qualitative researchers, in particular the issue of analyzing qualitative data. This is not a book for beginners however.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will remain a resource for several years to come, I am certain!

[Scott Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professionally, I work a lot with quantitative data, through mathematics/biostatistics, building software, and research design. The world of words has long been a domain that has enchanted me even though symbols have comprised my main language. Recently, my wife has started graduate work using qualitative methods. I decided to fill my deficits in this world by reading this book. I am by no means expert or even experienced in it, but I merely have an interest.

This book seems to be the seminal work in its field. The authors share their wisdom and experiences in this accessible textbook, now in a fourth edition. They cover the entire process from design and data collection to building a theory. They talk at length about coding as well as how to present your data. They even have a chapter on writing, with many encouragements to not be boring!

The graphics and illustrations in this book are excellent and inspirational. I am always interested in creating visualizations to communicate research data effectively, and this book provided many muses in that regard. They talked about converting written accounts into concept maps and linking those to address “influences and affects” of a weak sort of causality. This book helped slow my mind down about the many moving parts in qualitative research so that I can focus more on a work’s reality and substance.

This book is obviously geared towards researchers, whether new or old. The writing and presentation are accessible enough so that graduate students would be well-served by reading this work. Practitioners, of course, can benefit as well, but they likely would have read one of the prior three editions of this book. Those who, like me, are involved in other parts of the research enterprise can learn about their colleagues’ work, too. Finally, those who spend significant time building visuals to communicate concepts can learn from these authors’ analytical techniques.

After finishing this work, I’m inspired about the myriad of ways non-quantitative data can be analyzed and concisely communicated to readers – especially in ways that aren’t written prose. Poetry, artful presentations, summarizing graphics, and matrix-tables together can create a mosaic to comport meaningful and accurate understanding to readers. My personal bar has been raised, and I suspect many other readers’ bars will be, too.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read parts of this book for an introductory graduate class in qualitative research methods. I read the rest of the book because I thought it would be beneficial. While reading the whole thing felt like a slog at moments, it was definitely beneficial.

It felt like a slog at times because the book is thorough and very detailed about so many aspects of the process of qualitative research. Also, I found it challenging to grasp many of the ideas because I have so little experience in research. I found that I understood the concepts in the book better as I worked on my class project and gained experience. That makes me think that this book should be revisited often as I continue to develop as a researcher so that I can incorporate more of the wisdom in this book.

I think that the authors summed it up so well in their "final thoughts":
"We believe that methodological quagmires, mazes, and dead ends are not necessarily a product of researcher incapacity but of qualitative data themselves. Like the phenomena they mirror, they are usually complex, ambiguous, and sometimes downright contradictory. Doing qualitative analysis means living for as long as possible with that complexity and ambiguity, coming to terms with it, and passing on your conclusions to the reader in a form that clarifies and deepens understanding. It’s not surprising that the mechanics of analysis seem formidable or elusive even to experienced analysts—and that researchers have often shied away from making them fully explicit."

It's not easy and it never will be. But we can get better at it.

[Bethany Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am primarily a quantitative researcher and almost all of my methods training in grad school was in statistics and survey research. In recent times, my job has required more and more qualitative work so I thought it was time to actually learn how to do that work well, rather than just trying to figure it out as I go. This book has been extremely helpful for that purpose. I am by no means now suddenly a qualitative research expert, but I at least know what I am doing, understand best practices in the field, and am familiar with a broad range of qualitative analytical techniques. I also have a thorough reference book to go back to when I need a refresher on any particular point. This book was well-written and easy to understand for someone familiar with social science research in general but a newcomer to qualitative research specifically.

[Venkatesh-Prasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new comer to qualitative research, I really liked part 1 of the book. I was looking for quick intro to coding and found chapter 4 to be a great intro. Besides that, it provides a good high-level overview of and aspects to considered in qualitative research. As for part 2 and 3, I started reading them and then started to skim thru them as I figured they structured more like catalogs -- come back to them when you are looking for a solution that meets the requirements. My only gripe about the book was the examples used in the book seemed a bit distant; probably, there wasn't much context provided for them or I missed them :-O

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book immensely helpful in strategizing my data analysis techniques. Thinking through desired outcomes and reporting strategies helped me to design my data collection process to ensure that I obtain what I need up-front to do the reporting analysis I would like to incorporate. Working through the book while planning my research project worked well. I don't know how the book would read stand-alone. I suspect that it would be pretty dry as the immediate application would not be possible.

[Aimee Dars · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute must for anyone undertaking qualitative research and is equally important for anyone who is reading or reviewing such research. It is a practical guide to organizing a study, collecting data, tabulating it, and making sense of it. I can't imagine conducting qualitative research without consulting this text.

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another must have for qualitative studies preparation. I actually really enjoyed this book and it gave me some great practical steps as I prepare to do my own study such as first and second coding, and various programs and tips to take it all one step at a time. Much needed and highly recommended.

[Shana Karnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blech. A dry topic, but a valiant effort to make it less so. Data analysis seemed intuitive to me, since I do it on a regular basis through conferencing, and this book served to confirm some of my existing practices.

[Dave]

Elham/TIDAL had it - 7.23.15 -> returned

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great explanations with summaries, graphs, and charts which make it easy to understand.

[Hieu Le · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice tour around the city of texts and meanings!

[Jeanie Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and helpful, a useful primer on data analysis

[Jilane · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much to think about

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy to read overall reference book for social science researchers.

[Ryan Schmidt]

Reference material.

[Lisa Rapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this text for anyone doing qualitative or mixed method research. It was vitally helpful!!