Abstract:Ageneral inductive approach for analysis of qualitative evaluation data is described. The
purposes for using an inductive approach are to (a) condense rawtextual data into a brief, summary
format; (b) establish clear links between the evaluation or research objectives and the summary
findings derived from the rawdata; and (c) develop a framework of the underlying structure of experiences
or processes that are evident in the raw data. The general inductive approach provides an
easily used and systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable
and valid findings. Although the general inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic
strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple, straightforward approach for
deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to find
using a general inductive approach less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data
analysis.