Like many of my classmates, before this activity I had always heard of coding qualitative data, but I never really had an idea of what was involved or how to actually do it. The only coding experience I’ve had was simply reading statements and assigning the statement to a pre-determined category. I knew coding from scratch is a much more involved process, but I was unsure of where to even start.
At the start of this activity I quickly became a fan of the memo writing process. Writing down my initial thoughts, no matter how mundane or unimportant they seemed at the time, helped me to begin to form a larger picture from the tiny amount of data we examined. Organization skills are extremely important in the coding process, which I feel will allow me to find enjoyment in the process as I code in the future. I enjoy putting the pieces of a puzzle together, especially when those pieces lead to a larger narrative.
I know we have to stick to the time constraints imposed on the class, but I wish we could have had more practice with coding. I feel like I was only starting to get the hang of it right as the activity ended, and I would have appreciated more time spent to help get in more of a routine or groove with the data.