Coding data

Any researcher who wishes to become an expert in qualitative analysis should learn how to generate the process of coding appropriately (Strauss, 1987).

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Coding is “the pivotal link between collecting data and developing an emergent theory to explain these data. Through coding, you define what is happening in the data and begin to grapple with what it means” (Charmaz, 2116: 46). Coding was also defined by Glesne and Peshkin (1992) as a progression of organizing and defining collected data, such as observation notes and interview transcripts, that are appropriate to the research purpose. A microanalytic coding procedure was used to code word-by-word giving the precise meaning of words and sentences. However, Allan (2003: 2) argued that the microanalysis of data has disadvantages. It takes time because the interview transcription contains a lot of data and picking over words individually might lead to confusion. The three types of coding used in this study are initial, axial and selective coding:

Initial coding

Initial coding is the “process through which concepts are identified and their properties and dimensions are discovered in data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990:101). This process of coding started after transcribing and managing the observed data. The transcriptions were read carefully line by line several times to develop a complete understanding of the data and to create categories. The data were broken down and then grouped together. Initial coding took the form of naming a segment or line of data, using, where possible, words that reflect action gerunds (Glaser, 1978) (see Appendix E). This procedure was adopted to be able to focus on the processes inherent in the data instead of regular nouns, the use of which may lead to the researcher making too-early “conceptual leaps” (Charmaz, 2006:48). The process of open coding examined the data without any restrictions in its scope. Thus all data were accepted and none were excluded, which allowed for patterns to be found. This led to identification of common techniques or strategies of teaching English grammar employed by EFL Libyan teachers at secondary schools.

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When the initial coding was completed for the twenty-four classroom observation sessions and eight semi-structured interview transcripts, a long list was compiled consisting of all initial codes (see appendix E)

Axial coding

Axial coding is the “process of relating categories to their sub-categories, termed ‘axial’ because coding occurs around the axis of a category, linking categories at the level of properties and dimensions” (Strauss & Corbin, 1991: 123). This stage involved filtering and refining the list of open codes by deleting or combining some categories, followed by making connections between the categories and defining their properties. As a result of this, core categories began to emerge which highlighted areas such as what techniques or strategies EFL Libyan teachers employed in teaching grammar and what they knew about these techniques (see appendix F).

Selective coding process

Selective coding is the “process of integrating and refining the theory derived” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990:143). This stage is the last stage in identifying the central categories. These categories were reviewed continually in order to establish the appropriate conceptual framework for the study. Six themes were developed during the analysis of observation data and six more themes were developed during the analysis of the semi-structured interviews (appendix G).

Theoretical coding

Theoretical coding is the stage where the researcher reaches a point of saturation. “Categories are saturated when gathering fresh data no longer sparks new theoretical insights, nor reveals new properties of your theoretical categories” (Charmaz, 2116:113). This stage is considered to be both a strength and peculiarity of grounded theory (Mertens, 1998). Theoretical coding explores these saturated categories and provides analytical criteria which are useful in the development of conceptual relationships between categories and their relevance

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to the literature (Glaser 1978, 1992). In the present study, theoretical coding was saturated after analysis of the twenty-four observation sessions and eight semi- structured interviews, and therefore it was decided that no further data were needed.

Memo writing

Writing memos was used to record the verbal and nonverbal behaviour of teachers and students in class, and these were then used in the analysis of the data. “Memo-writing constitutes a crucial method in grounded theory because it promotes you to analyse your data and codes early in the research” (Charmaz, 2006: 72). These memos allowed the collection of richer data than would otherwise have been the case. I also wrote memos during the analysis of data. These memos help me to be on the track of my analysis procedures.

5.11.3.2.1. Issues with the coding of data

Using grounded theory to analyse the data was a further challenge, since I did not in practice collect the data with a mind as empty ‘as a blank sheet’. I had learned much from the literature and did have concepts in which I was interested. However, the proposal of grounded theory is that theories should be born entirely out of the data and, as such, no literature review should be performed (Strauss & Corbin, 1990); this was not so in this study where the principles of the theory were used but I had read the literature widely (Charmaz, 2006). The principles of grounded theory were considered to be appropriate because I wished to highlight particular aspects of my research topic. Various different issues were addressed when coding the observation and interview transcripts using a consistent procedure. These issues were very complex, particularly in cases where data were very similar with only slight differences. This resulted in long lists of codes.

One of the issues encountered concerned moving from one case to another to integrate codes so as to classify them under one label. However, further reading of other transcripts then led to fresh understanding (Marshall & Rossman, 2006),

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which helped to produce new codes and refine the old ones. Designing an analytic framework was the solution found to reduce most of these problems related particularly when integrating codes, and the framework was considered as “simply the current version of the researcher's map of the territory being investigated” (Miles & Huberman, 1994: 21). The use of the analytic framework also helped in managing and integrating the findings so as to understand the relationships between categories, labels and themes (Borg, 2006). Thus, the data from each teacher was examined and analysed individually, as well as connections being made to other cases.

More specifically, the initial coding involved two main processes of conceptualizing and categorizing (Richards, 2005). Conceptualizing involved descriptions which summarised the events and labeled all chunks of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs which I believed to be key incidents, ideas, or events. These were then examined to identify similarities or differences. The conceptualization process was used to group similar items, to define properties and to give these items a label which represented a frequent link. This reduced the volume of data so as to be more manageable. The categorizing process then used the initial categories from the starting list (Gibbs, 2007). During this operation I faced various problems, especially when comparing events or categories which had been allocated the same label. However, this was a useful process because “comparing incidents of the same order between data spurs you to think analytically about them” (Charmaz, 2116:49). The categories which emerged had the potential to suggest explanations and therefore had more analytical power.

Working bottom-up was a difficult process when the concepts were gradually developed (see section 5.11.2). Thus, a mechanism was created to move from one category to another to develop the final list of categories. During selective coding I integrated and reviewed the categories in order to develop the theory from the coding process and check internal reliability (Abdul-Rahman, 2011).

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This helped in checking the patterns of connections and relationships and classifying and linking them in order to develop explanations (Gibbs, 2007). However, it was difficult to integrate memos and categories from closely similar situations during the writing-up the analysis. The conclusions and explanations were grounded in order to make the reporting stage more valid and reliable, and Charmaz (2116:162) argued that grounded theory gives the researcher “a decided advantage when developing a completed report”. Therefore, I did my utmost to render the reported findings more coherent and to be connected in the form of a comprehensive account during the analysis.

5.12. SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER

This chapter described in detail the methodological framework of research design. It has presented the research questions, and evaluated the research design and epistemological framework used. Then, the methods of data collection employed were detailed and justified for their rate investigating the EFL teachers' practices and their knowledge regarding the teaching and learning of English grammar. Issues of the validity and reliability of the study were discussed. A description of the study sample followed. A discussion of ethical considerations was then presented, and the processes of data analysis were detailed and justified.

The next chapter analyses the findings concerning the teachers’ classroom practice and their knowledge about the teaching and learning of English grammar.

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CHAPTER SIX: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 6.1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an overview of the results gained from the participants, and integrates the data gathered in the whole study. The data accumulated from twenty-four sessions of observation of the teachers and eight individual interviews is then analysed to answer the research questions in this study (see sections 1.3 and 5.4). "Data analysis involves organizing what you have seen, heard, and read so that you can make sense of what you have learned" (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992:127). The analysis is used “to help the account ‘live’ and communicate to the reader through the telling quotation or apt example” (Robson, 2002:456). Hence, data obtained from the observations and interviews are used to “form explanations and theories that are grounded in the details, evidence, and examples” (Rubin et al., 1995:4).

As the quality of data analysis is a basic factor in the success of any research, various methods such as content analysis, discourse analysis, text analysis, conversation analysis and grounded theory could all potentially be used. However, grounded theory was chosen as the most appropriate for this study, for several reasons as explained earlier (see section 5.11). Dawson (2002) argued that a literature review helps to explain emerging results and there is sufficient flexibility in qualitative data analysis for the researcher to select the method most appropriate for the research. Therefore the conceptual framework used to design the data analysis is explained here. Summaries relevant to each issue and the whole chapter are then given.

From the data, merged categories were generated which were revised and refined by discarding repetition and combining related data. The coding used for the analysis allowed the classification of data into categories directly related to teachers’ use and knowledge of teaching English grammar. The analysis in this study is holistic and exploratory in nature, and the aim is to draw out as much

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information as possible about how participants used particular strategies in teaching English grammar. As the data set consists of a large volume of words, a summary of findings is provided in the form of tables in order to clarify the main results. Strategies of teaching grammar were identified from participants’ classroom practice, and significant comments are highlighted. Some quotations from the participants’ classroom practice and interviews are also provided to facilitate the explanation of the strategies they used. These themes and categories were generated in several stages of initial coding, axial coding and selective coding. All of the themes and the codes selected have been analysed using the same procedures (see section 5.11.3).