Open coding

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Open Coding¶

Open coding is a technique related to “grounded theory” in qualitative research. Using open coding, coders are granted “free reign” in terms of identifying any and all emergent themes deemed to be significant. This allows coders to create their own codes (referred to as “user-defined codes”) as they read and analyze the data. This process of data-grounded discovery can involve one coder, or a scalable group. Synchronous and asynchronous groups can build a shared lists of codes in real time. Open coding is an inductive method, somewhat in opposition to Pre-defined coding with its pre-determined, deductive categories of interest to the analytic process.

Enabling Open Coding¶

Open coding (of parts of a dataset) usually precedes the pre-defined coding stage. You may enable open coding either when uploading a raw dataset to PCAT (as “CAT Style Dataset”) or when you are creating a new dataset from a project bucket. There is an option “Allow user-defined codes.” Click on the box next to this in order to enable this feature.

After you have pressed “Upload”, you will be given the option to enter in Codes either individually or via a Code File, just as you would for a dataset using Pre-Defined codes (there is no need to enter Descriptions or Keys, as these elements are not utilized in Open Coding). If Open Coding has been enabled, any codes you define ahead of time will be placed in the “Codes” sidebar to the right of the screen when coding, and can only be modified by pressing “Edit Codes” (see below).

Once you have pressed “Finished” on the Add/Edit Raw Dataset Codes page, in the Toolbox to the right of the screen, there is one option that is interest before coding begins: “Allow coders to only see/edit individual user codes.” If this feature is enabled, users will not be able to view and/or edit any other codes created by other users during coding (however, this feature may of course be enabled/disabled at any point during coding).

Applying/Using Open Codes¶

To create a new code when coding, type it in the “Code” field (“Code This Passage:”) on the top of the screen. You can create multiple codes at the same time by separating them with the “pipe” “|” key (“SHIFT” + “\” will enter the pipe key).

You can also select a pre-existing user-defined code by clicking on it in the “Codes” sidebar on the right side of the screen. A pre-existing code may be a code that has been created either when a dataset is uploaded (as described above), or by any user coding that dataset, prior to that point in time. Selecting a pre-existing code will automatically add the code in the “Code” field on top of the screen, but be aware that clicking on any single code will overwrite any code(s) already entered into the “Code” field.

For any given codeable unit, pre-existing codes that have not been selected for the “Code” field will be preceded by a Green button, while codes that have been selected will be preceded by a Red button.

You will also notice 3 icons in the “Codes” sidebar:

Show Other User's Codes/Hide Other User's Codes: This button can be used to toggle the view of the codes created by other users assigned to that dataset.

Edit Codes: Pressing this button will open an external window with the Edit User Defined Codes page, where a user may edit/merge all user-defined codes in that dataset.

Hide User Codes: Pressing this button will hide all user-defined codes. If this button has been selected, the entire “Codes” sidebar will not be visible, and the following icon will appear next to the navigation buttons in the text window:

Press this button in order to access the “Codes” sidebar.

Once you have added all your codes, click on the “Code” button to record your choices. If you have not disabled verification, the coding choices will appear and you will be asked to select the “Verify Coding” button if they are accurate (this is the default if you hit “Enter” or “Edit Coding” if changes need to be made.

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© 2009 - 2010 Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP), in the University Center for Social and Urban Research, at the University of Pittsburgh, and QDAP-UMass, in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As of 2010, PCAT and this PCAT Help Wiki are maintained and improved by personnel from Texifter, LLC, which is a software start-up located in North Amherst & Springfield, MA and online at http://texifter.com/.

Content on this website was made possible with the following grants from the National Science Foundation: III-0705566 "Collaborative Research III-COR: From a Pile of Documents to a Collection of Information: A Framework for Multi-Dimensional Text Analysis" and IIS-0429293 "Collaborative Research: Language Processing Technology for Electronic Rulemaking." We are also grateful for financial support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. **Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.** == ==

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Open coding

Open Coding¶

Enabling Open Coding¶

Applying/Using Open Codes¶

Most Frequently Asked Questions ¶