Methodology

Qualitative analysis, as it's actually practised

A working guide to the methods behind interview research — thematic analysis, grounded theory, IPA, intercoder reliability and research ethics. Written for the decisions you have to defend, not the textbook summary.

Foundations
Chapter 1.0 · 7 min read

What qualitative coding actually is, why it is interpretive work, and the small set of distinctions you have to get right before any of the later chapters help.
Thematic analysis
Chapter 2.0 · 12 min read

Braun & Clarke's six phases as they're actually practised: with the codebook drift, the reviewer-2 anxiety, and the decisions you defend on the way to a finding.
Grounded theory
Chapter 3.0 · 10 min read

Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory — from open coding to a theory that's defensible, including the Glaser–Strauss–Charmaz lineage you need to know to pick the right tradition.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Chapter 4.0 · 8 min read

Smith's IPA — what the double hermeneutic actually requires of the analyst, why the small sample is a design choice rather than a limitation, and the four-step procedure as it's now written.
Intercoder reliability
Chapter 5.0 · 6 min read

Cohen's κ, Krippendorff's α, and when each fits — without conceding more than the method actually requires to a positivist framing.
Ethics in practice
Chapter 6.0 · 9 min read

Consent as ongoing, the difference between anonymisation and pseudonymisation, retention windows, and when AI assistance becomes a participant-data question.