Sources and coding · Practical workshop
From Codes to Themes: Developing a Qualitative Interpretation
Move from a set of codes towards a coherent qualitative interpretation. Through close reading, comparison and discussion, develop a candidate theme that explains a pattern of meaning, examine passages that complicate it, and make the reasoning behind your account clear.
Coding gathers passages into an organised working structure. Developing a thematic interpretation asks what those passages help us understand, how ideas connect and which account can hold the complexity of the material.
What you will explore
- Examine relationships between codes in relation to the research question and the context of the source passages.
- Develop a candidate theme with an organising concept and a clearly bounded analytical claim.
- Use differing and contradictory passages to refine the theme's scope and consider another plausible interpretation.
- Produce an analytical memo linking the proposed interpretation to its evidence, methodological choices and relationship with neighbouring ideas.
This three-hour workshop gives that interpretive work focused time. Starting with a small prepared qualitative collection and a working codebook, we will explore relationships between codes, revisit excerpts in context and develop a candidate theme with a clear organising idea. We will examine the account it offers, the evidence supporting it and the passages that complicate its boundaries.
The worked example uses an evolving codebook approach to thematic interpretation. We will make its assumptions explicit and explain its relationship to other approaches, including reflexive thematic analysis. Researchers undertake the thematic development through close reading, comparison and analytical writing. SAM's coding and source views, together with supplied worksheets, help keep the material and decisions accessible.
You will work towards one carefully developed candidate theme, considering its relationship to neighbouring ideas and recording an alternative interpretation. Discussion and feedback will focus on how meaning is developed, where the account needs qualification, and how the researcher can explain the choices that shaped it.
Who it is for
Researchers, doctoral students, evaluators and practitioners who have some experience of qualitative coding and want more time to develop the interpretive stage of analysis. It is suitable for those working with interviews, focus-group material, open-text responses or comparable qualitative sources.
The teaching example
A prepared coded corpus and thematic-development worksheet using an explicitly stated evolving codebook approach. Researchers develop the interpretation through close reading and analytical writing.
Proposed 180-minute outline
| Topic | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Introduce the research question, methodological approach and scope of the exercise | 15 |
| Revisit selected coded passages in their source context | 20 |
| Explore relationships between codes and try different groupings | 25 |
| Break | 10 |
| Develop an organising concept and an analytical claim for one candidate theme | 30 |
| Examine differing experiences and contradictory passages | 25 |
| Break | 10 |
| Consider an alternative account and the relationship to neighbouring ideas | 25 |
| Discuss the candidate theme and develop a short analytical memo | 15 |
| Identify the next analytical steps | 5 |
Researcher decisions
The workshop makes four decisions explicit:
1. The analytical purpose: what the question and chosen approach ask us to understand about this material. 2. The relationship between ideas: why particular codes and passages belong together, and what their relationship helps explain. 3. The scope of the candidate theme: its organising concept, boundaries, variations and relationship to other possible themes. 4. The account to develop: which interpretation is most useful for the question, what complicates it, and which uncertainties remain open.
Your practical takeaway
A theme-development worksheet containing one candidate theme, its organising idea, selected supporting and complicating passages, a possible alternative reading and a short analytical memo. This provides a worked model for continuing thematic development in a research project.
Suggested preparation
Completion of C9, or equivalent experience developing a small coding framework and applying codes to source passages. Familiarity with SAM's basic coding and source views is helpful.
Participants use a prepared qualitative collection, working codebook and source-context sheet supplied for the session. A short pre-session reading introduces the question and the worked analytical approach. The exercises use the supplied material; preparation does not require uploading personal research data.
Practical questions
Preparation and materials for this delivery
Completion of C9, or equivalent experience developing a small coding framework and applying codes to source passages. Familiarity with SAM's basic coding and source views is helpful. Participants use a prepared qualitative collection, working codebook and source-context sheet supplied for the session. A short pre-session reading introduces the question and the worked analytical approach. The exercises use the supplied material; preparation does not require uploading personal research data.
Course-specific SAM access and practice arrangements will be confirmed before bookings open. A course enquiry or registration of interest does not require a SAM subscription.
Prepared teaching material and practical exercises are being developed for this course. Final arrangements will be stated before bookings open.
Recording and material-access arrangements for this course will be confirmed before bookings open.
Proposed three-hour workshop, including breaks.
Full refunds, including booking fees, are available at least seven calendar days before the webinar, or within 14 days after the day of booking even after attendance or resource access. One free transfer to an available published repeat requires 48 hours’ notice; substitutes require 24 hours’ notice and the applicable ticket eligibility. See Practical questions below for the full cancellation, transfer and refund arrangements.
Live online via Zoom, with automatic English captions. Use Ask about training to request an accessibility adjustment. You will be able to tell us what would help you take part, without sharing a medical diagnosis. Questions can be asked through chat or speech, and camera use is optional.
How long are the courses and how are they delivered?
Course duration, dates and times are shown with each delivery. Sessions run live online via Zoom with automatic English captions. The 90-minute sessions include a five-minute screen break; longer workshops have their own schedules. Check your selected delivery for its time and timezone. Dates labelled Proposed remain provisional.
Can I watch the demonstration or take part?
For sessions that include teaching-workspace access, your booking includes named access to the shared SAM teaching workspace on the day of your course and for the following 14 days, ending at 23:59 Europe/London on the fourteenth day after your course. Explore around ten prepared teaching datasets and practise the course methods. A paid SAM subscription is not required. The teaching workspace uses the supplied datasets only; uploading or importing your own data and starting new data collections are unavailable. You may watch the demonstration or use the included practice access. Each course states its access arrangements before bookings open.
Do I need to attend every date?
No. Repeat dates teach the same course; choose one delivery per topic. Courses can be taken separately where you meet their suggested preparation, including equivalent prior experience.
What experience do I need?
Check the suggested preparation on each course page. It explains any previous SAM experience, prerequisite course or equivalent experience needed.
What will attendance cost?
Course fees are shown with each delivery. Sessions priced at £60 standard or £40 student/access include booking fees. The student/access rate is for students, unwaged researchers and researchers personally funding attendance without institutional training support. Fees are confirmed before a session opens for booking.
Will I receive a recording and materials?
For sessions that include a replay, a checked recording of the teaching and demonstration will be shared with registered participants within five working days of the course, with checked replay captions. It will remain available to view for 30 days from sharing. Recording access continues independently of the SAM teaching workspace access period. Slides, handouts and practice datasets are included. Slides and handouts are available to download for 30 days from sharing and may be kept for personal learning and reference. Separate dataset and source licences still apply. To watch your private course replay, you will need a free Zoom account. Please use the same email address as your booking, or contact us before the course if your Zoom account uses a different address. Included benefits are shown on each course page before bookings open.
What will be recorded, and how long are meeting files kept?
We record the trainer, slides and SAM demonstrations. Participant gallery view, names and chat are kept out of the shared recording. Questions are repeated anonymously and recording is paused for personal-case discussions. Camera-off attendance is welcome. Raw recordings and any participant-identifying transcripts or chats are deleted within 60 days of first sharing the replay.
Is there a SAM subscription offer?
For sessions that include the subscription offer, course attendees receive 20% off the first eligible Academic or Professional individual SAM subscription invoice only: the first monthly invoice or the first annual invoice. Subsequent invoices use normal pricing. Redeem within 30 days of your course date. Standard pricing applies afterwards. The offer applies once per customer to individual subscription fees and cannot be combined with another promotional discount. Additional processing Credits, top-ups, private training and team or institutional plans are excluded. Repeat course attendance does not extend or restart the discount. A subscription purchase is optional and separate from the course booking. Included benefits are shown on each course page before bookings open.
How can I request an accessibility adjustment?
Live online via Zoom, with automatic English captions. Request an adjustment through Ask about training: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=accessibility You will be able to tell us what would help you take part, without sharing a medical diagnosis. Questions can be asked through chat or speech, and camera use is optional.
Can I cancel my booking?
You can cancel for a full refund, including booking fees, at least seven calendar days before your webinar starts. We also offer a full refund if you cancel within 14 days after the day you booked, including if you have already attended or accessed the recording or teaching workspace. For later cancellations outside these windows, please contact us. We will consider the circumstances and any transfer available. Any amount retained will be limited to reasonable costs or losses we cannot avoid. These arrangements do not limit your statutory rights.
Can I transfer to another date or send a substitute?
Contact us at least 48 hours before the start to transfer once, free of charge, to another published date for the same webinar, subject to availability. You may nominate a substitute attendee at least 24 hours before the start. For a student/access ticket, the substitute must also qualify for that rate or pay the difference to the standard price.
What happens if SAM cancels or changes the date?
If we cancel your webinar, you will receive a full refund. If we change its date, you may choose the replacement date or a full refund.
How do I request a cancellation or transfer?
Use Ask about training to request a cancellation or transfer: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=course Include your name, booking reference and course date when contacting us. We aim to respond within five working days. Refunds are made without undue delay and within 14 days, normally to the original payment method. These arrangements do not limit your statutory rights.
Can you provide private online team training?
We offer live online training for research groups and organisations. Sessions can be tailored to your research context, experience and learning goals. Ask about private online team training: https://samapp.bigqualdatalabs.com/support/training?reason=team
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YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Dr Sam Martin
Sam is a digital sociologist and the developer of Social Analysis of Meaning (SAM). The platform and courses extend her Big Qual Methods work with Oxford and UCL/RREAL over the years. Her teaching connects analytical tools with research questions, context and researcher judgement.
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