Qualitative analyses of interview data
Lecturer: Jolanta Drzewiecka
Modality: In presence
Week 2: 17-21 August 2026
Workshop contents and objectives
The workshop focuses on main types of qualitative analyses of data from in-depth interviews, including grounded theory, qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, narrative analysis, discourse critical analysis, and affective-discursive analysis. We will differentiate these analyses in terms of the philosophical world views that inform them (e.g., social constructivist, realist, postmodernist, materialist) and discuss their appropriateness for different types of theoretical frameworks and research questions. We will also address suitability and limits of interview data as well as issues of validity and reliability.
The main part of the workshop will focus on
- practical steps for processing the data, iteration and progression
- developing depth of interpretation to build insight and aggregating findings
- connecting interpretation to theoretical concepts and questions to provide insight and advance theory
- presenting findings in a persuasive manner
We will discuss structured approaches that use coding schemes developed from theory or previous studies, inductive approaches that derive coding from the data, abductive approaches, and deconstructive approaches that focus on unmasking underlying ideologies and power operations. The participants will read examples of different analyses, do exercises on various data sets, and work with their own data, individually or in teams when possible. They will receive individual feedback from other participants and the professor.
The workshop will focus on conceptual understanding of practical steps and decisions that have to be made at various junctures in the processing of qualitative data, whether aided by software or not. We will not be learning any specific software as the focus is on conceptual understanding and processing of the data independent of any software. However, you will be able to use your own software to code your data set or an example set. You should know how to use your software, so if you do not, please watch training videos. We will discuss implications, uses and limits of AI assisted analysis.
Workshop design
The workshops will include lectures on frameworks and approaches, discussion of reading materials, practical examples, and individual and team coding (of one’s own data or other data).
The participants will need to read assigned materials prior to the workshop.
Detailed lecture plan (daily schedule)
| Day 1 | Introduction to qualitative analyses What are the paradigms Fit between paradigm, theory, research questions and analytical method Importance of research questions to analysis Interview data, what can we learn from it? Deductive, inductive and abductive approaches Codes and categories Coding software, AI assisted coding Content analysis: different approaches Differences between inductive content analysis and inductive qualitative coding |
| Day 2 | Grounded theory based coding procedures Coding schemas Analytical imagination Thematic analysis What is my coding schema? Coding (individual and/or in teams) |
| Day 3 | Narrative analysis Developing depth of interpretation Interpreting hidden meaning Coding (individual and/or in teams) Progress presentations/discussion |
| Day 4 | Critical Analyses Affective-discursive analysis Importance of the audit trail Current issues in qualitative research Coding (individual and/or in teams) Progress presentations/discussions |
| Day 5 | Catch-up and recap Evaluation criteria for qualitative research How to write up analyses Coding progress presentations Final questions and answers |
Class materials
Readings and other materials will be posted on iCorsi or made available in class.
Prerequisites
The participants should have a basic understanding of qualitative research design. It will be helpful to have your own data to analyze.
Recommended readings or preliminary material
Below you will find an ‘initial’ reading list. Further texts will be sent to the participants before the workshop.
- Denzin, N. (1994). The art and politics of interpretation. In Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, (pp. 500-515). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.;
- Edwards, R. & Holland, J (2020). Reviewing challenges and the future for qualitative interviewing. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23, 581-592.
- Hughes, J., Hughes, K. Sykes, G. Wright, K. (2020). Beyond performative talk: critical observations on the radical critique of reading interview data. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23, 547-563.
- Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
- Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of Qualitative Research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. London: Sage.
What our participants appreciated most
"Jolantas workshop was engaging, well prepared, interesting and | was ableto profit from it immensely. The passion and deep knowledge Jolanta has for qualitative methods is impressive. It equipped me to be more confident in the constructivist paradigm and really stand up for its underlaying principles (no more mixing with . post positive ideas!). Jolanta is a very skilled lecturer and able to hold ones attention."
"It has been a very insightful week providing me with useful tools. The teacher has been amazing in both delivering valuable teaching and answering questions - extremely engaged in our work and present during the workshop."
Jolanta Drzewiecka
Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland
Jolanta Drzewiecka (PhD, Arizona State University, USA) researches discursive constructions of cultural, racial, and national differences and identities to advance a critical intercultural communication framework. She focuses on two areas: immigrant identity and public memories. In the first, she examines how immigrant identities are negotiated and represented in personal and media narratives. Here, she develops a theory as to how immigrants are racially incorporated through intercultural translation in ways that sustain structures of inequality. The latter area explores how public memories are shaped by and shape nationalism. She is particularly interested in how memories of ethnic violence are discursively disabled and blocked and victims rendered unrecognisable to protect fictions of the national self. Here, she combines discourse and rhetorical analyses with psychoanalytic theories.
She has published her research in journals such Communication Theory, Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Media Studies in Communication, and Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies.