My approach to the analysis of data was influenced by two complementary methods: thematic analysis and constructivist grounded theory. In this section, I outline these two methods and elaborate on my approach to coding. When initially reviewing different methods of data analysis I considered applying a narrative analysis approach. Narrative analysis focuses on complete stories as units of analysis (Riessman 1993, p. 1). While the majority of face-to-face interview data was expressed in narrative form, it would have been difficult to apply a narrative framework to the more stilted and succinct responses generated through online methods. Therefore, I considered that applying a constructivist grounded theory approach to coding was a more effective form of analysis that encompassed the whole data set.
The process of analysis was aided by NVivo7 (QSR 2006), a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis system (CAQDAS). Computer-assisted systems have proven useful in overcoming the physical limitations of relying on paper records in analysis and in providing a more efficient way of organising and coding data that makes it easier to detail the steps involved in formulating findings (Marshall 2002; Wickham & Woods 2005). Software programs, such as NVivo7, are an electronic aid for organising and sorting data only; these programs are not intended to replace or to impair the creativity of the researcher engaged in interpretative practice (Marshall 2002). In this research, each completed survey, online and FTF transcript were imported into NVivo7 for analysis after the transcript had received approval from participants.
First method: Thematic analysis
My analytical approach resembled a more general thematic analysis. This method requires repeated reading through the data line by line, the noting of emergent themes, or clusters of shared ideas, and the development of thematic codes (Liamputtong & Ezzy 2005, p. 336). Themes expand across multiple data sets and convey patterns in human experiences and meaning-making (Padgett 1998, p. 83). Thematic analysis is an inductive approach that is in many ways similar to grounded theory by seeking to build concepts and theories from the data itself. Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005, p. 265) note that the major difference between the two methods is that grounded theory typically involves theoretical sampling by returning to the field of research to generate further data
throughout the analysis process whereas thematic analysis does not. In this sense, my approach was closer to thematic analysis than grounded theory, as it was less cyclical and more unidirectional in moving from data generation to analysis.
Second method: Constructivist grounded theory
The constructivist grounded theory method provided a transparent and rigorous process for coding the data. Constructivist grounded theory reclaims the original coding processes of grounded theory. This method applies these original techniques in a more open-ended and flexible approach that acknowledges the subjective presence of the researcher (Charmaz 2000, p. 510). Grounded theory is traditionally a methodological framework for inquiry as well as a procedure for analysis. The grounded theory methods originally developed by sociologists Glaser and Strauss (1967), and later Strauss & Corbin (1990), were founded on a positivist paradigm. The researcher was situated in the role of the neutral observer who discovers, interprets and collapses the data through a standardised set of coding procedures. The aim was to produce objective theoretical statements about the data (Charmaz 2000, p. 510).
In constructivist grounded theory, much greater emphasis is given to the researcher who constructs the conceptual framework through their subjective gaze (Charmaz 2000, p.
522). The constructivist approach does not seek an objective claim to Truth. The
researcher is more concerned with the lived realities of participants, focusing on ‘worlds made real in the minds and through the words and actions of its members’ (Charmaz 2000, p. 523). Attention is directed at the reflexive generation of data through the engagement between the researcher and the participants while the aim in data analysis is the development of generic concepts that are always tentative and conditional and never conclusive or generalisable (Charmaz 2000 p. 524). The strength of this method is through its provision of clear guidelines and strategies for building analytic frameworks (Charmaz 2000, p. 511). At the same time, it allows for flexible coding techniques that are open to variation and creative engagement with the data.
In my analysis of the data, I applied the flexible coding processes outlined by Charmaz (2006). I adopted this approach because it provided me with a set of explicit yet flexible coding techniques for interpreting the data in a systematic manner that was compatible with a constructivist methodology. In addition, this approach appealed to me because of its compatibility with critical social work and the pursuit of a transformative agenda. The researcher can intentionally focus the data generation process to examine specific questions of social inequality, justice and fairness. This gives permission for the researcher to take a critical stance in relation to social hierarchies, power relations, ideologies and institutional arrangements evident in the data (Charmaz 2005, p. 512). In my research, critical concepts, such as homonegativity and heteronormativity, did not necessarily drive the analysis but instead acted as sensitising concepts throughout the coding process.
The coding process
Coding is a process of selecting, separating and categorising data into specific constructs that moves statements into initial interpretations. The aim of coding is to ‘remain open to exploring whatever theoretical possibilities’ can be discerned from the data (Charmaz 2006, p. 47). Codes are intended to ‘crystallise’ participants’ experiences (Charmaz 2006, p. 54). The flexible coding techniques that I applied from the constructivist grounded theory method were i) initial coding, ii) focused and axial coding, and iv) theoretical
coding alongside the continuous process of v) memoing. In following these techniques, I generated over two-thousand ‘nodes’ (2,250 in total) or categories of data with the aid of NVivo7.
1) Initial coding
Initial coding is intended to be tentative and closely ‘grounded’ in the data (Charmaz 2006, p. 43). In my analysis, this phase consisted of meticulously reading each transcript and generating open codes that emerged from the data on an incident-by-incident basis. I defined each incident as chunks of sequences that encapsulated an encounter, story, description or reflection of events from each participant’s account. I labelled each code based on particular perceptions, beliefs, descriptions or reactions conveyed in
participants’ statements or alternatively created ‘in vivo’ codes by adhering to the original words of the participants. This helped preserve symbolic words or expressions such as ‘It’s a good place to work’, as suggested by Charmaz (2006, p. 55). After meticulously reviewing each transcript, I compared the constructed list of open codes and merged similar or repetitive codes to create more robust codes. As open codes with similar themes began to emerge, I grouped these codes into what NVivo7 refers to as ‘tree nodes’. This enabled me to see the emergent patterns and reoccurrences in the data both within each participant’s account and across their accounts and assisted in
organising the data more systematically. Please see Table 3 for an example of a tree node and its accompanying nodes.
Table 3
Tree node and accompanying nodes outlining the ways young people spoke about resigning in their accounts of the workplace
Tree node (thematic category)
Accompanying nodes (sub-categories)
Choosing to resign from work Choosing to walk out of work Dreading work—choosing to resign Feeling relieved but guilty
Leaving and no longer caring Leaving because of stress
Not staying in a homophobic workplace Quitting as exercising my choice Quitting work as stressful Quitting work for healthier life Walking out
2) Focused and axial coding
Focused coding was a useful technique for comparing thematic categories and noting significant or ‘full’ categories that were emerging. I applied these emergent categories as filters for focusing my reading of the data. From this process I was able to expand these more prominent codes with additional data or decide that these categories represented stand-alone clusters that were not substantiated through other interview accounts, as advised by Charmaz (2006, p. 57).
Charmaz (2006, p. 60) describes axial coding as a technique for re-sorting formulated codes and categories into core categories and sub-categories. The aim is to develop layers within each core category that move from descriptive to conceptual relationships. In my analysis, axial coding was a process of refining the nodes I had attached to broader tree nodes through merging and collapsing sub-categories to flesh out fuller dimensions to each tree node. This also involved building in additional tree nodes within core tree nodes so that each core category began to tell its own multi-dimensional story.
For instance, with the core category of ‘Children, youth and sexuality’ I read across each related participants’ account and the generated open codes and gathered corresponding data similar to the process of focused coding. My next task was to then examine the sub- categories within each core category and develop the emerging relationships between these sub-categories. Two sub-categories were developed: one containing young workers’ encounters with homonegative responses elicited by children and the other containing participants’ fears and anxieties of parents voicing concerns that their
children were ‘at risk’. When combined, these two sub-categories began to tell a story of how working with children governed and silenced young workers’ expressions of sexuality and intimacy in the workplace. This example is depicted in Table 4.
Table 4
Example of a core category, its two subsequently developed sub-categories and descriptions for each sub-category
Core category Sub-categories Description of sub-categories
‘Children, youth and sexuality’
a) Homonegative responses from children
b) Fears and anxieties of homophobic responses from parents
Young people’s encounters with homonegative comments spoken by children in the course of working with this age group; includes name-calling, laughing and ridiculing comments directed at queer sexualities
Instances of young people voicing their concerns for parents’ homophobic responses to queer employees working directly with their children
3) Theoretical coding
Charmaz (2006) describes theoretical coding as the final phase of developing each core category from description to telling an ‘analytical story in a theoretical direction’ (p. 63). As I refined each core category and developed the relationships between its sub-
categories a more nuanced story grew from each core theme. I then began to cement the core themes by ensuring that one category did not contradict or overlap with another or, if it did, reflecting on how these concepts differed in regards to workplace context or other variances in the data. The process of writing was integral to theoretical coding. Writing about each core category assisted in clarifying the kind of story each thematic category was conveying. In the iterative process of writing (and rewriting) thick descriptions about the findings, the theoretical implications of the data took shape. I began to organise code categories into a theoretical account that cemented links between, and highlighted divergences from, the literature. Table 5 presents the final seven core themes and their related sub-themes developed through these coding techniques.
Table 5
Presentation of the seven core themes and related sub-themes developed through the four techniques of coding
Core themes Sub-themes
Core theme one: Practices of sexual exclusion in the workplace
i) Symbolic practices of exclusion ii) Material violence in the workplace iii) Discrimination in the workplace
iv) The injurious effects of working in sexually exclusive workplaces
Core theme two: Resisting and refuting exclusionary practices in the workplace
i) Vacating exclusionary spaces
ii) Dismissing and questioning homonegative beliefs iii) Taking action through informal and formal strategies iv) Educating others within censored boundaries
Core theme three: The workplace as a regulatory space
i) The imperative to sustain invisibility in the workplace ii) First process of bodywork: Monitoring and modifying speech and communication
iii) Second process of bodywork: ‘Playing it straight’ iv) Third process of bodywork: The selective use of silence v) Resisting processes of bodywork
Core theme four: The workplace as a silencing space
i) Silence as an intimately shared state ii) Silence as an ambiguous state iii) Silence as an inescapable state
Core theme five: Managing the unmanageable—sexual disclosure in the workplace
i) The ‘coming out’ imperative ii) Doing disclosure in the workplace
iii) Responses to disclosure: an unpredictable process iv) The (in)convenience of workplace gossip
Core theme six: The workplace as an inclusive space
i) The symbolism of supportive relationships ii) Micro-practices of inclusion
iii) Participating in inclusive work cultures
iv) The insignificance of workplace policy and procedure
Core theme seven: The workplace as a sexually diverse space
i) Connecting with queer colleagues
ii) Differences and divisions between queer colleagues iii) Experiences of inclusion and exclusion within queer- majority workplaces
4) Memo writing
The continual process of memo writing assisted me with formulating focused and theoretical codes throughout the analytical process. Memos are the building blocks for conceptualising the data that enable researchers to write creatively about their codes while building their interpretations (Charmaz 2000, p. 517). I continually jotted down my thoughts in a journal during the data generation phase so I could keep track of early interpretations. At the same time, NVivo7 facilitated the creation and storage of over twenty-seven (27) memos throughout the coding process. When consolidating or expanding sub-categories, I used my memos to begin connecting these budding themes with threads from the literature. This process of continual writing made me consider the kinds of stories that were conveyed within these codes and their significance in speaking back to the research question and aims.