Date: 09-Apr-2010 From: Jessica Nelson <jessicalnelsonhotmail.com> Subject: How Should I Code Textual Responses? E-mail this message to a friend
Hi All!
I'm a graduate student in the US and I'm writing my thesis on an analysis of surveys completed by former priests and religious (a copy of the survey may be found here www.surveymonkey.com/s/PG5B9F5). I've also included excerpts from two different respondents (see below). I have 10 total responses. I can't provide access to the total survey results because it would compromise the anonymity of the participants (at least the way that access to the online survey is currently set up).
My intention is to perform a critical discourse analysis, but I'm unsure of how to analyze the material to receive the most informative result. My advisor and I have discussed coding for neutral and non-neutral statements, with sub-categories for each, but I don't feel that the responses have more information to offer. I have also completed a first draft of the thesis with essentially a 'close linguistic reading' of vocabulary and sentence structure, but I'm still not completely happy with the results. Help! :)
Sample Responses:
'There were actually numerous intertwined reasons Falling in love and wanting to take that relationship to a public committed relationship of marriage... probably the key factor ... however, I think the other factors below were contributory to finding that hole in my life that only a 'relationship' could heal.'
'I found parish life very stifling... while I was incredibly effective as a parish priest (other people’s comments to me). I found living in a ‘fishbowl’ environment where everyone was able to comment on your life toxic. At the same time, I found myself really seeking out opportunities for service that went way beyond the ‘typical’ parish context.'
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