The form of analysis and theorizing in qualitative research sometimes makes it difficult to see generalizetions. Some qualitative researchers are almost entirely descriptive and avoid theoretical analysis. In general, it is best to make theories and concepts explicit. Without an analytic interpretation or theory provided by the researcher, the readers of qualitative research may use their own everyday, taken-for-granted ideas. Their commonsense framework is likely to contain implicit assumptions, biases, ethnocentrism, and ill-defined concepts from dominant cultural values.
Concept formation
In this section, you will learn about themes or concepts, coding qualitative data, and analytic memo writing. Qualitative researchers sometimes use variables, but more often they use general ideas, themes, or concepts as analytic tools for making generalizations. Qualitative analysis often uses nonvariable concepts or simple nominal-level variables.