Memoing qualitative data

Memoing is the second essential procedure of qualitative data analysis; however, it is not necessarily the second step in the analysis process (Miles & Huberman, 1994). A memo theorises review of thoughts and concepts about codes and their associations as they strike the researcher during the process of coding (Mangal & Mangal, 2013). A memo can be a paragraph, a sentence or even a few pages. It uses the researcher’s temporary ideas founded on facts with maybe a little conceptual clarification. Miles and Huberman (1994), states that these memos can cover many items; they may be methodological, theoretical, substantive, or even personal. In memoing, coding is linked with the development of the proposition. It is important in qualitative analysis to balance discipline with creativity, and it is in memoing that creativity is reflected (Holloway & Galvin, 2010). As a follow-up to the above codes developed, a memo was written to the effect shown below:

‘All the participating students have demonstrated that they utilise their smartphones for educational purposes in the area of research, downloading of textbooks and papers, storage of

notes and past exam papers as soft copies, and sharing notes and assignments through social media platforms’.

3.6.2 Data display

In this research, data has been displayed in the form of charts, tables, and diagrams. Data display is a way of organising, compressing, and assembling information, thereafter displaying the data. Miles and Huberman (1994) highlighted that a good presentation of data allows the researcher to draw conclusions from the mass of data. This data can be displayed in the form of charts, tables, networks, diagrams of different types, and other graphical. Data display should not be done at the conclusion of the data generation but is a continual process. Displays enable data to be summarised and organised, hence should be used at all stages of the analysis. They are the basis for further analysis because they show the stage the analysis process has reached. According to Miles and Huberman (1994), displays as very vital. The two scholars often use the idiom, “You know what you display”. They are certain that better displays are the most important means of valid qualitative analysis (Punch, 2009).

Below is an example of data display in the form of a pie chart, as given in Chapter Four;

Figure 1: Data display in the form of a pie chart

Jonassen (2004), states that if researchers gather data using videotape or audiotape, they often

phone use

prepare written transcripts of the recorded language. He advises that although analysis may be done at a later stage, notes should still be recorded soon after being in the field. These notes may include events taking place in the immediate surroundings, observations about participants’ non- verbal actions, or the activities participants have been involved in. In the case of interviews, notes might also include these descriptions, in addition to what participants were engaged in just before the interviews ( Jonassen et al., 2008). I have also adopted this in my research. Data transcription from the recorded audios and writing notes on observations I made was also part of my data generation and analysis procedure.

Some researchers indicate that it is wise to gather data in its raw, detailed form, and thereafter record patterns (Bhatia, 2017). This will enable the researcher to analyse the original raw data later using different methods, possibly to answer deeper questions than initially stated. The researcher may have realised that some phenomena previously considered insignificant are crucial to account for the participants’ views and actions ( Jonassen et al., 2008). In addition, raw data should be preserved to allow other researchers to verify and explore the data and resultant interpretations (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

3.6.3 Drawing and verifying conclusions

Reduction and display of data assists researchers in drawing conclusions. Even though drawing conclusions reasonably comes after data reduction and data display, it occurs relatively simultaneously with them. Consequently, any conceivable deductions may be drawn earlier during the analysis, but may still be ill-formed and vague at that stage (Miles & Huberman, 1994). They are held tentatively, awaiting additional work, and refined during subsequent analysis. These conclusions are not confirmed until all the available data has been analysed. The conclusions will be in the form of proposals, which must be verified once they have been drawn.

In this case study data analysis has allowed me to start to develop conclusions about the academic use of smartphones by secondary school students. These preliminary conclusions were later verified; I examined their validity by referring to the current literature, available field notes from observation schedule and school documents, and from questionnaires. Miles and Huberman (1994) confirm that drawing and verifying conclusions is the third part of the data analysis. This is conceptually distinct from the other stages and involves developing propositions, but again is likely to occur simultaneously with other processes. Miles and Huberman (1994) therefore pointed out that the three overall components; data reduction, data display, and drawing and

verifying conclusions, occur concurrently and are interwoven throughout the process of data analysis. The first two rest primarily on the operations of memoing and coding. In virtually all, the qualitative data analysis methods, memoing and coding are the basic operations that initiate the analysis process. They happen together and are closely related.