Chapter 8 - Level 2 Coding using Excel

Excel can be used effectively as a database for Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 codes. A code database expedites the coding process and greatly enhances the ability of the researcher to analyze the data and write the final report.

2 comments:

Chris Hahn said...

Civilization is the process of reducing the infinite to the finite.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Microsoft Excel is mostly known as a powerful program for crunching numbers, but it often used as a database. The use of Excel as a database during Level 2 qualitative research coding is especially attractive to those investigators who are already proficient at Excel.

Chris Hahn said...

Anonymous said...
I must be sleeping.. I meant I DON'T want to get caught not being able to retrieve information easily, which happened to a professor of mine who organized his data with Excel.



The transfer of Level 1 codes into Excel is a relatively easy operation, and the organization of the higher level coding process in Excel is also feasible; however, the process in Excel can become cumbersome if the project is large. Access is more easily upward scalable for large projects. The discussions in Chapters 7 and 8 explain the factors to consider when choosing between Access and Excel.
Chris Hahn