July 30-31

This course equips qualitative researchers to use the Sort and Sift, Think and Shift method from the beginning to the end of a new project and exposes analysts in the midst of a current project to tools and strategies that can help them gain traction and direction in their work.

The Sort and Sift method is an iterative process in which analysts dive into data to understand its content, dimensions, and properties, and then step back to assess what they have learned to direct next stages of analysis and to position findings with current conversations in the field. The method is a data-driven process that is both flexible and fluid. Data content is directive as it guides researchers to strategic options for what to do when. The goal of the process is to arrive at an evidence-based meeting point that is a hybrid story of data content and researcher knowledge.

Three outcomes of the Sort and Sift approach connect, or re-connect, you with the depth of meaning in your data documents and ignite, or re-ignite, your motivation for the work.

1. Discover the Authentic Story - Engaging tools such as uninterrupted reading, quotation engagement, and episode profiling reveals the complete, authentic story of each data collection episode. In doing so, this process exposes themes within and across documents, showing how topics work together to form shared meanings and complex narratives.
2. Break and Avoid Analytic Blocks – It is not uncommon for analysis to stall, or even stop, as more data is processed. With tools working in sync to keep analysis in flow, the Sort and Sift process helps you overcome and avoid these blocks, foster discovery, and build rich stories of emerging themes.
3. Ensure the Legitimacy of Your Work – Prioritizing attention to the intentional language and stories of lived experience of participants increases the likelihood that you can answer yes to the question: “Does the data give me permission to make these claims?”