Coding in Deductive Qualitative Analysis

How to code when doing deductive qualitative analysis (DQA) is a question that many researchers have. In DQA, researchers begin with theory that guides their work. They either seek to develop and test theory or they may use theory to frame and focus the research. Whichever approach they take, theory becomes a source of initial codes that can be thought of as sensitizing concepts. In this article, I share questions two researchers have asked me about DQA and my responses. The questions were about sampling, how to code when researchers have pre-established codes, and whether DQA requires theory testing. The short answer is to the third question is no. The defining characteristic of DQA is researchers’ use of theory from the onset of their work.This is a revised version of a 2012 document.