Codes were generated through repeated review of interview transcripts
followed by reflection on the learning environments from which the participants
came. This process is described by Akerlind (2005) as follows: “A primary
feature of the constitution of categories of description is the search for key
qualitative similarities within and differences between the categories. In
practical terms, transcripts or selected quotes are grouped and regrouped
according to perceived similarities and differences along varying criteria” (p
324). This cyclic process was repeated until no new categories emerged from
the data. The temporal evolution of the categories proceeded as they were
“tested against the data, adjusted, retested, and adjusted again. There [was],
however, a decreasing rate of change and eventually the whole system of
meaning [was] stabilized” (Marton, 1986, p. 42). The categories identified
within each subset of interview data are described in Table 3-8.