Solidez de las funciones de supervisión y evaluación internas y externas de la organización

In grounded theory, coding is a fundamental analytical process where raw data are separated into abstract pieces and cultivated to a conceptual level (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Coding is used to open up the text, by unearthing what is contained in the data through interacting with the data, making comparisons, deriving concepts and then developing these into conceptual categories in respect to their proprieties and dimensions (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p. 66.). Analytic tools such as listening to participants; not taking anything for granted; asking questions of the data; making comparisons to differentiate categories, use of personal experience to draw possibilities of meanings, review of language used and emotions expressed were used to identify the words, ideas, concepts, and examples that are symbolic of a category (what is revealed by the data) significant to the phenomenon being studied (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, pp. 67- 80). Coding procedures were applied in a flexible manner and reflected data gathering strategies, analysis and theory development. This process assisted the researcher to appreciate the research participants’ experiences.

Analysis of data followed the process of open, axial and selective coding as outlined by Corbin and Strauss (2008). The open coding process involved the breakdown of data which were then examined closely and compared for similarities and differences, to inductively generate concepts. These concepts, according to

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Corbin and Strauss (2008), are identified phenomena that are abstract representations of something in the data that the researcher considers significant. Labeling of concepts commenced at the beginning of the analysis process with data collection, questioning (theoretical sampling) and analysis continuing until new data failed theoretically to identify new concepts (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

In the current research, initial data analysis occurred at a descriptive level and comprised re-reading the transcripts many times and adopting the language of the participants to create open codes (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Initially line-by-line analysis was undertaken to identify words, phrases and themes relevant to the phenomenon being studied and to the participant story. Initial open coding via manual analysis of the interview data generated provided thousands of entries of similar words or terms with hundreds of preliminary codes. The accumulation of data was considered overwhelming and thus analysis was supported by the use of both manual and qualitative data analysis software (NVivo, 2006) throughout the process.

Corbin and Strauss (2008, p.198) present open and axial coding as ‘hand in hand’. Thus axial coding was undertaken via analytic iterations at increasingly abstract conceptual levels, resulting in the generation of memos, conceptual codes, identification of categories and theory generation. The researcher came to recognise patterns generated and portrayed these as conceptual representations that added to understanding the experience of the phenomenon being studied (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). To assist with data management using NVivo (2006), these data were grouped by research group and category. This strategy assisted the researcher to track similarities and differences between research groups; and it provided a record of the actual words and terminology of the participants.

The researcher asked questions during the initial coding, such as why certain activities and views occurred and how they made the participant feel, and then made distinctions and comparisons regarding how some concepts pertain to context in which the participant worked. Corbin and Strauss (2008) suggest the use of a paradigm that can be applied to data to identify relationships between context and process. The basic components of the paradigm – conditions, interactions and

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consequences – were considered by the researcher with respect to participant responses related to everyday descriptions about nurse educators (Berg, 2009; Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Consideration of the complex relationships between conditions and consequences and the subsequent chain of actions enhanced understanding of the circumstances surrounding events as a process to enrich analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Corbin and Strauss (2008, p. 90) caution that the ‘paradigm is only a tool to obtain understanding and is not a set of directives’. Thus avoidance of identified shortcomings such as limitations of creativity and theoretical sampling choices (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) were heeded by the researcher.

As the coding progressed, similar codes were generated across data. Ongoing coding and analysis of data led to the generation of 62 provisional codes (Appendix 7). Each of these codes contained words, phrases or concepts with similar meaning. It is recognised that there is some degree of overlap in a number of codes, given that free-form discussion at interview had the tendency to translate across codes.

As noted, open and axial coding can occur simultaneously (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) and in undertaking this approach new ways of making connections between categories and subcategories occurred and some previously identified categories were renamed as subcategories (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Backman & Kyngas, 1999; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). This was, in effect, a process of inductive and deductive thinking whereby the researcher returned to the data to look for answers to questions, such as why or how come, where, when, how, and with what results, and in so doing uncovered relationships between categories (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 127). Through this ongoing process of deduction, the sixty-two provisional codes identified were re-established into eleven interim inter-related categories and multiple codes (Appendix 8).

The use of constant comparative analysis also permitted concepts to be grouped together and differentiated under higher-order abstract interpretations (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The process of labeling concepts and grouping these into categories reduced the data to a more manageable form (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

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Identification of categories enabled additional development through further theoretical sampling, data collection and analysis, in order to identify the specific properties and dimensions of each identified category. Comparisons were made between participant interactions to inform the next incidence of data collection. Additionally, cross-analysis of data from other data gathering measures, such as the review of the literature and Queensland Health documents, was undertaken to identify regularly occurring concepts and to make comparisons with emerging concepts (O’Donoghue, 2007).

Constant comparative analysis of the data from the four sample group interviews involved comparison of codes and sub-categories that ultimately led to the generation of eleven preliminary categories and five provisional final categories (Appendix 8 & Appendix 9). Consideration of the substance of these related categories led to the generation of two major categories (Appendix 10). This method is essential for theoretical sampling and continued through the entire research coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Data were collected and analysed simultaneously to determine what data to collect next and previous data were reviewed and re-analysed which assisted in re-designing concepts and codes which lead to core category generation and theoretical understanding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Theoretical sampling was used to “maximize opportunities to compare events or incidents or happenings to determine how a category varies in terms of its properties and dimensions” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 202). Comparisons were made until a category was fully developed. Through this process the core variable negotiating boundaries was generated. Theoretical sampling undertaken in this research included not only data from interviews, but also an additional review of the literature. While the literature was initially examined at the commencement of the research, it was re-examined and a comprehensive review was undertaken during analysis to determine new information that would add to codes and new categories generated. The second review was not confined to contemporary literature, due to the limited availability of research articles on the contribution of the nurse educator to the continuing education needs of the nursing profession.

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Selective coding was used to compare codes, categories and constructs that emerged from the initial analysis of data from the groups, in order to further refine categories. This process outlines a basic theoretical scheme and facilitated the identification of the core category negotiating boundaries and the ways in which the two major categories were related to the core category (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The theory is refined through the removal of excess codes and as appropriate, developing categories through further theoretical sampling, data collection and analysis, unit theoretical saturation occurs (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Another factor requiring ongoing consideration throughout the coding process was the need for the researcher to remain constant to the grounded theory method of comparison, rather than searching for concepts, as this would have posed a substantive risk of developing core categories based on the researcher’s intuitive responses to the data, rather than on rigorous analysis. In accordance with the perspective expressed by Patton (2002), during analysis the researcher attempted to construct a framework expressing the essence of what the data revealed through data–theory interplay without forcing interpretation (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, 1998).

Once data analysis was completed, theoretical writing commenced. This process, viewed as joining the findings together into a scholarly account, involved using the collated memos for each category and determining the ‘core category’. Ultimately, two major categories related to the nurse educator’s role and contribution to the nursing profession were generated from experiences and meanings expressed in participant interview data (Appendix 10).