2.3b Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative Methods

In Calarco et al.’s (2021) published article, readers will find snippets from their interview transcripts illustrating common themes in the data. Typically, a quote from one interview respondent stands for several research participants who commented similarly or gave identical answers. The researcher’s first expected finding was that mothers would report their pandemic childcare arrangement as practical. The data confirmed this. The researchers refer to this key theme as “practical.” One of the subthemes related to “practical” was “fathers’ status as primary breadwinners.” They asked participants how they came to their childcare arrangement. For example, one respondent said:

How? Because he’s full-time. So, you know, whatever pays the most wins. … My husband’s job is very demanding, and they talk a lot about flexibility, but at the end of the day if [his boss] sets a meeting, he sets a meeting. You can’t not go, even during a pandemic, if you want to keep your job … [so] it’s primarily me. … But yeah, so that was how we decided. Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t really a decision. It was just this by default (Calarco et al., 2021, p. 6).

This mother worked part-time and earned less than her husband. Taking on most parenting responsibilities was not a decision the couple actively made. However, she later justified their arrangement because her husband made more money and needed to keep his job.

Photo 2.5

A Mother Feeding Her Child

Qualitative research methods are essential for getting to the story behind the numbers. However, numbers help show the size of a social phenomenon. Therefore, sociologists also use quantitative methods.