Hiya
Having collected and transcribed 17 narrative interviews, im trying to get going on my qualitative analysis (discourse analysis)....and am just finding it so difficult! I always thought this stage would be exciting and 'relatively' easy, but everyday i procrastinate, do some coding, hate every second, feel like im achieving nothing, feel terrifed...is this normal? Any other experiences and/or tips out there?

Yeah I know what you mean. I've got two pilot focus group sessions that I need to start analyising and just can't really get stuck in yet!

Hi Zelda,

I am going to do focus groups and as such not touched the analysing bit yet. Understand that it is quite hard. Have you got specific software?

hehe, things could always more hard than expected

Hi there. I'm new to this forum but was wondering, since discourse analysis is a very broad description, what particular theorist or approach you are using?
In terms of analysis, as a first pass I would suggest a lot of low key familiarity with the transcripts first, just reading them and listening at the same time and getting a feel for the flow and content and 'wholeness' of the data. There is no substitue for a thorough familiarity with the data before you start chopping it up and it may help reduce the anxiety you have expressed at getting started on analysis which can be really daunting. Good luck with it.

Zelda,

What you are feeling is completely normal. The PhD doesn't get easier, it actually gets harder the further down the road you go (although once you hit the 'home straight', you can - at least - finally see how things are going to fall into place).

The only advice I can give is ... get on with it!!! The sooner you finish your analysis, the sooner you can start writing up ... and that means being that bit closer to completing! No-one can force you to sit down and do the work, but I'm still going to say ... GET ON WITH IT! Some people are still dreading collecting their data, so you've managed to get beyond that point.

JUST DO IT!

Thanks for your thoughts....yes, i am using NVivo7, which im finding really helpful in organising my data. Regarding 'type' of Discourse Analysis, im adopting a kind of critical realist approach, using stuff like Parker and Willig - i guess you could call it Foucauldian discourse analysis. Although its a struggle as there's not particular 'guide' to it, so its pretty much by instinct and hunch...

hey there,
i did a kind of pilot study thing and applied some discourse analysis to some documents.
i was surprised at how useful the 'simple' exercise of collecting objects and subjects was. i had thought this was going to be a boring step of the analysis but it proved to be quite enlightening. especially as it is not just about making a long list of objects and subjects, but you need to categorize them in some way to make sense of it all.
so my advice to you, based solely on this very limited experience, would be to start with a limited amount of material, and code initially just for objects and subjects. btw, took me loooots longer than i had thought. then make sense of that. that's a clearcut, bitesize chunk of work which is so doable and might give you cool results, and in any case a useful inroad into starting your analysis!

Hi,
I'm in the same situation as you trying to get going with my analysis. I'm using AtlasTI which is great i think the trick is to start off with only a few codes and slowely build them up. Also its important to reguarly go back over your codes to make sure you are not duplicating them. I find the Note and memo functions particuarly helpful so i can keep an eye on my thought processes.

CAQDAS network project at Surrey university offers some very helpful courses.