The systematic process of assigning labels or categories to qualitative data to identify patterns and themes. Transforms raw text or observations into analyzable units.
From Latin 'codex' (book, system of laws) through Old French 'code.' Originally meant a systematic collection of laws or rules. In research, adopted in the mid-1900s to describe the systematic categorization of data according to conceptual 'rules' or frameworks.
Coding is like being a translator between the chaos of human experience and the order needed for analysis - you're creating a 'codebook' that captures meaning! It's detective work: finding the hidden patterns in stories, interviews, and observations by giving them systematic names.
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