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The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd edition)The Coding

Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd edition) Johnny Saldaña Sage 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1473902497

Article  in  Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal · June 2017

DOI: 10.1108/QROM-08-2016-1408

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 Book reviews Book reviews

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd edition)

Johnny Saldaña
Sage 169
2015
ISBN-13: 978-1473902497
Downloaded by Saint Mary's University Canada, Doctor David Wicks At 06:44 10 October 2017 (PT)

Review DOI 10.1108/QROM-08-2016-1408

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers addresses an important aspect of many
qualitative research traditions, the process of attaching meaningful attributes (codes) to
qualitative data that allows researchers to engage in a range of analytic processes (e.g. pattern
detection, categorization and theory building). It is a book intended to “supplement introductory
works in the subject” and provide an extensive collection of coding methods from a range of
sources for a variety of purposes. It is a book that is probably best positioned to those in
somewhere in the middle of the beginner-experienced continuum of qualitative researchers,
especially to those looking for examples of different ways to analyze qualitative data.
Saldaña states that this manual “serves primarily as a reference work” rather than a
monograph to be read cover to cover. This is a claim important for a prospective reader to
understand, and one that I agree with to a certain extent. A good reference work needs to
have widely understood content in order for readers to know what to look for, and in this
way the primary organizing scheme of the book into chapters on first and second cycle
coding methods (and subsequently into a multitude of subcategories) is difficult to
understand without a high degree of familiarity with this terminology. The opening chapter
does a good job of exemplifying different approaches to coding and clarifying related
terminology (e.g. patterns, codifying, categorization and themes) in a way that is helpful to
the novice qualitative researcher. Perhaps less helpful in this part of the manual is the quick
reference to dozens of specific coding types that are elaborated upon in later chapters and
defined in the glossaries contained in the book’s appendices. Despite what for me is too
much material covered in only a surface way to start the manual, it is otherwise well
organized, through and thoughtful.
Saldaña’s many examples are very helpful, showing how particular data segments can
be coded. Where this was particularly helpful was in the otherwise unclear discussion of
selecting the appropriate coding method(s) for a particular study to start Chapter 3.
That chapter alone describes 33 choices of “first cycle coding methods,” those that happen
during the initial stages of data analysis. Arguably it is difficult to provide a concise answer
to that question, because quite obviously the decision rests on many factors related to the
researcher and the phenomenon researched. It was therefore interesting to see a short
example of how an interview excerpt could be coded using descriptive codes (what is being
talked about), in vivo codes (derived from the actual language used) and process coding
(conceptual actions relayed by participants), each producing different yet equally valid
insights about qualitative data.
Another useful aspect of the manual is the discussion of how computer-aided qualitative
data analysis software (CAQDAS) can be used, complete with screen shots from many of
Qualitative Research in
these programs. The companion website provides a wide range of online resources, Organizations and Management:
particularly to the CAQDAS options available to researchers. I agree with Saldaña’s An International Journal
Vol. 12 No. 2, 2017
claim that manual data analysis processes are perfectly fine for small-scale projects, but can pp. 169-172
© Emerald Publishing Limited
be less than efficient or manageable with larger qualitative data sets. I dislike seeing 1746-5648
 QROM “manual coding” compared with “CAQDAS coding” because it suggests that a computer
12,2 does the coding. What appears as an artificial distinction between manual and electronic
coding largely disappears as examples are given and emphasis is given to the role of the
researcher to provide analytic reflection.
Saldaña does a generally good job of balancing the art and science of coding. From early
on in the manual, he makes it clear that coding is “primarily an interpretive act,” one that
170 can be done in a variety of equally compelling ways. He effectively discusses the writing of
analytic memos (Chapter 2) in a way that I think is helpful and inspirational for researchers,
highlighting how good qualitative research is not only about using good/proper methods,
Downloaded by Saint Mary's University Canada, Doctor David Wicks At 06:44 10 October 2017 (PT)

but more importantly about good thinking. By providing a categorization of the ways in
which qualitative data can be reflected upon, and indeed become part of a cyclical process of
data analysis, readers of all types can likely find new and interesting ways to relate to their
data that move them beyond simple description of what is being said and the production of
a journalistic account of respondents.
The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers seems well positioned to a graduate
student or researcher who is looking for a synthesis of the many extant approaches to
analyzing qualitative data. Experienced researchers would no doubt glean some techniques
and terminology from the manual, but likely ones that make marginal refinements to the
approaches they already know and/or use. Novice qualitative researchers, on the other hand,
will probably find this manual overwhelming and lacking in a thorough discussion of a
manageable number of approaches to coding qualitative data and sometimes awkward
integration of coding examples. Researchers and students less familiar with analyzing
qualitative data would benefit from reading one of the many good books on the topic, for
example David Silverman’s Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook (Sage),
Pushkala Prasad’s Crafting Qualitative Research: Working in the Postpositivist Traditions
(Routledge) or Jennifer Mason’s Qualitative Researching (Sage). For those in between,
however, the range of examples, suggestions for additional readings, companion website
and exercises/activities in the appendices should contribute to expanding the horizons of
researchers, educators and students in the social sciences.
David Wicks
Department of Management, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada

Big Ideas in Social Science

Edmonds, D. and Warburton, N.
Sage Publications
Thousand Oaks, CA
2016
ISBN: 978-1-4739-1379-0
Review DOI 10.1108/QROM-09-2016-1411

Big Ideas in Social Science is a 174-page book, covering 18 chapters divided into four
sections and it is full of insights. Podcasts from Social Science Bites form the basis of each
chapter’s interview, with the interviewees typically being renowned intellectuals. The two
interviewers, who are the book editors, started the popular Philosophy Bites podcasts, so we
have high-quality content from both interviewer and interviewee.
Negative aspects of the book are tiny print, and a lack of referencing for factual points,
which is understandable given the interview format while positive aspects include the
additional reading cited as well as the intrinsic motivation to further explore big ideas,

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