How can Microsoft Excel help with qualitative research?
By Charlotte Brookfield, author of Using Microsoft Excel for Social Research, a Senior Lecturer of Social Science and Co-Director of the Cardiff Q-Step Centre of Excellence in Quantitative Methods Teaching, at Cardiff University.
Charlotte Brookfield is a Mentor-in-Residence for September, as part of our series on Data Analysis.
Despite being a spreadsheet software programme, Microsoft Excel can be effectively utilised in both qualitative and quantitative research projects. Microsoft Excel can hold large amounts of data meaning that it can be a useful tool for storing and managing both quantitative and qualitative data. While specialised qualitative data analysis software packages exist, these tend be expensive and are not necessarily widely accessible compared to Microsoft Excel. The recognisable user interface of Microsoft Excel also means that it can be more intuitive to navigate and learn to use, compared to specialised qualitative software packages.
At the outset of a project, regardless of the method being used, it is a good idea to consider how you will plan your time. Here, Microsoft Excel can help! Using Microsoft Excel, you can quickly and easily create a Gantt Chart which visually displays the time that you plan to spend on each task in your project and the order in which you plan to undertake these different tasks. This can be a really helpful chart to share with your supervisor or any collaborators at the start of a research project.
Similarly, when it comes to sharing the findings of your research, Microsoft Excel allows you to create various charts, graphs and even some infographics and maps to help you display data. These can be really effective if you are designing an academic poster. For a qualitative project, you may for instance, decide to use the map function to highlight the geographical locations of your participants. Alternatively, you may use some of the infographics to describe the demographics of your respondents.
However, Microsoft Excel can also be used to aid the analysis of qualitative data. Specifically, it can help you organise and sort large amounts of data. For example, once you have transcribed your qualitative data, it can be useful to create a table summarising your codes or themes (see example below). You can then use the filter function in Microsoft Excel to show only data pertaining to one theme. Alternatively, you can use the conditional formatting function to colour code cells containing text relating to one of the themes identified. This can be particularly helpful if you are quickly looking to identify key words.
Create a table with three columns for interviewee identification, extract or quote, and theme or code.
My new book introduces readers to Microsoft Excel and demonstrates how it can be used effectively throughout the research process. The data management skills discussed are applicable for anyone working on a research project, regardless of the methodological approach being used. The ubiquitous nature of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft software more generally, means that a basic familiarity with the programme and its functionality can be advantageous for all, not just those who are planning to do quantitative data analysis. Meyer and Avery (2009) also discuss specifically how Microsoft Excel can be used as an alternative qualitative data analysis tool.
Charlotte Brookfield is the author of Using Microsoft Excel for Social Research, a Senior Lecturer of Social Science and Co-Director of the Cardiff Q-Step Centre of Excellence in Quantitative Methods Teaching, at Cardiff University. Her work is informed by pedagogic initiatives and activities developed to increase social science students’ engagement with quantitative research methods. In particular, she is interested in exploring the place of quantitative research methods in British sociology. Charlotte’s experience leading on a research placement module led her to recognise the necessity for social science students and graduates to have a greater familiarity with Microsoft Excel and inspired her to write Using Microsoft Excel for Social Research. Follow her on Twitter @BrookfieldCE.
Meyer, D.Z. and Avery, L.M. (2009). Excel as a qualitative data analysis tool. Field methods, 21(1), 91-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X08323985