Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
Spring 3-8-2019
Abstract
The subject librarian for Louisiana State University’s School of Library & Information Science designed a short survey that included open-ended questions to explore the self-efficacy of graduating MLIS students. The librarian asked a graduating MLIS student to participate in the study as a co-investigator. The survey results were imported into Dedoose, a web-based application, which allowed the co-investigators to collaborate at a distance for qualitative coding and analysis. Although teams of researchers often create the initial codebook collaboratively, the co-investigators in this study each created individual codebooks using inductive coding, which draws themes from data. After the co-investigators completed their individual codebooks, they discussed their descriptions and combined the two versions into a single codebook. They used this finalized codebook to begin the iterative process of applying codes to the data. In addition to discussing the project’s research design, the presentation will discuss the initial decision to create independent codebooks and its benefits to both the librarian and graduating student. The presentation will also touch on how working with a novice researcher offers advantages beyond the normal check on personal biases gained from working in teams. The presenter will also offer practical tips for teams of researchers working on qualitative coding, including tips for teams who work in different physical sites.
Recommended Citation
Hebert, A. How Did You Code “I'm Really Confident That I Can Find the Exact IKEA Pillow”?: Creating an Effective Codebook as a Team. Empirical Librarians Conference. Richmond, VA. March 7-8, 2019.