you're doing Brun and Clark's reflexive thematic analysis and the whole coding thing is totally boggling your brain what is coding how do you know you're doing it right how do you know when you've coded enough or when you've done too much coding what things should you look out for so you don't end up having to just throw it all in the bin and start over you might have done that already and if so don't worry most people do if you're new here hi I'm Dr Elizabeth Yardley and I help PhD students navigate the choppy Waters of qualitative research Brun and Clark's reflexive thematic analysis is a very common analytical technique it's great it's super helpful but there are a few stumbling blocks coding is one of them and that's what we're covering in this video so we're all about coding today okay if you want a more General introduction to Brun and Clark though check out this video up here I'll also link to it in the description before we get started if you're watching this video you'll probably going to find this helpful this is my free starter kit for the brw and Clark method it does what it says on the cover it gets you started with bro and clar there are some super simple straightforward steps and examples in it it's totally free it will help set you off on the right track so go and check it out I will pop the link on the screen now and I'll also put it in the description for later coding let's get into it what exactly is coding in simple terms it's the process of tagging your data with labels or what we call codes that capture something interesting or meaningful think of it like putting Post-it notes in a book to mark your favorite quotes but here's the important thing a code isn't the whole story it's just a snippet like catching a glimpse of the big picture for example let's say you've got this quote from a participant I felt ignored during meetings now you might code this quote as exclusion or lack of communication so what we're doing here is capturing the essence of what's being said let's take a look at another couple of examples the train sessions were really confusing and I didn't know who to ask for help codes that you might want to use here could be unclear guidance or lack of support or confusion here the codes focus on different aspects of the participants experience so you're not summarizing their whole statement you're just tagging key points like confusion and lack of support that stand out as meaningful one more example I really appreciated how my manager checked in with me regularly it made me feel valued as part of a team possible codes here might be regular check-ins or feeling valued or team inclusion these are codes that capture positive aspects of the participants experience so coding isn't just about identifying problems it's also about tagging strengths and patterns and other insights that matter to your research questions next up what to do with your codes refining them the codes you come up with during your first go at coding might not be the ones you finish with and that's fine it's all part of the process coding is an iterative process it's not a oneandone kind of thing as you go back through your data you'll start to notice overlaps between codes areas where there could be clearer or places where they just don't fit anymore that is completely normal that's exactly what should be happening let's look at an example of how codes can change let's look at the quote the training sessions were really confusing and I didn't know who to ask for help you might have identified some initial codes like unclear guidance lack of support and confusion now as you go deeper into your analysis and you start looking at more data you might realize that unclear guidance and confusion are really describing the same underlying issue so you might decide to merge them into a single code like lack of clarity but then later on you notice that lack of support keeps coming up alongside this and after thinking it through you decide to split lack of support into two separate codes for example lack of technical support or lack of emotional support by refining your codes in this way you're getting closer to understanding the nuances in your data and this might feel messy at first but it's actually a sign that you're peeling back the layers to uncover more precise and more meaningful insights be okay with letting your codes develop and change as your understanding deepens sometimes a code that you thought was fantastic and really encapsulated the essence of your data at first might seem redundant later on or you might realize that two codes are really saying the same thing that's not a mistake it's progress remember what I said earlier about feeling like you want to throw it all in the bin and start over there will absolutely be moments like that when that happens step back and remind yourself of this refining your codes is a sign that you're digging deeper into your data and getting closer to the real insights and if you start to feel overwhelmed by the changes that you're making make sure that you save a version of your earlier coding it's like a safety net so you can experiment without fear you haven't thrown it all away you don't have to start over and remember this refining process is messy but it's where the magic happens so embrace the mess you know what we all get super frustrated with coding I can remember going round and round in circles with this starting over and then starting over again and again and again so I think it's really important that we learn from each other here get in the comments on this one if you've already done some coding drop a comment below what do you wish you would have done differently or what was a gamechanging tip that you discovered before during or after your coding process and if you're currently stuck in the middle of a coding chaos share what's tripping you up we're here to help you figure that out so get typing now let's talk about some common pitfalls with coding first up overcoding you don't need a code for every single word there may be chunks of your data that don't get coded at all and that's fine focus on what's relevant to your research and the time that you're done with coding is when you're not spotting new patterns anymore you'll get to a point where you've covered pretty much everything that's meaningful in that data it can sometimes be a bit difficult to identify when this has happened when you're done it's a bit of a gut feeling and it comes with practice and the secret with being good at coding is knowing what not to code so know that you don't need to Cod it all and be confident in your understanding of the data you know this data inside out okay so the person who is probably best place to know when you are through with coding when you are done with coding that's you another common pit is vague codes avoid using codes like miscellaneous or other or not sure call it something okay you can always change it later so be specific even if it's messy at first another mistake is confusing codes with themes codes are not themes themes come later when you step back and you look at the bigger picture a code is a snippet it's like a puzzle piece a theme is the picture you see once the puzzle comes together I go into a lot more detail about themes in that introductory video about Brun and Clark that I spoke about earlier so go and check that out in the description if you want a bit more insight into that another common Pitfall is not taking breaks coding marathons lead to burnout I've got my own memories of coding qualitative data on various research projects and going at it until the early hours of the morning and spilling coffee and food all over my desk and then crying for literal hours if that's you I feel you you need to take breaks you need to go and let your brain breathe go do something else there is so many times when I had huge breakthroughs when I wasn't sat in front of my laptop coding those breakthroughs came when I was going out for a walk getting some fresh air or even putting some laundry on because my brain had had a chance to absorb what I've been doing and it was working away in the background whil I was getting on with something else and then boom light bulb moment it's much more difficult for your brain to have those light bulb moments if you are just grinding away hour after hour it needs space coding is heavy stuff it's draining it's exhausting you can't do it for hours at a time so take breaks and if you need to set a timer on your phone for 30 minutes code for 30 minutes then have a break for 10 minutes do whatever you need to do to break it up okay please don't do the coding marathons it's a recipe for disaster and the last mistake I want to talk about is not downloading my free starter kit for broland Clark it's super helpful it's free go and grab it the link for that is in the description popping up on your screen right now is a video I've referred to a couple of times already in this video it's my introduction to Brun and Clark If you learning about this method for the first time or if you just want a refresher this is going to be super helpful so go and check it out I'll see you in there