Imagine you're reading a qualitative research paper; the results may be presented as a large chunk of text. It can be time consuming and difficult to glean conclusions from data presented this way. The coding frame in psychology is one example of how detailed qualitative research is examined, and converted into quantitative data for statistical analysis.
- We are going to explore coding frames in psychology. First, we look at the coding frame psychology definition.
- Then we will look at the importance of coding frame in psychology alongside a coding frame example.
- Throughout our explanation, we will provide various coding frame examples to aid the understanding of coding frames in psychological research.
- Finally, we will delve into the coding frame advantages and coding frame disadvantages.
Fig. 1 - Coding frames are a method of analysis used in psychological research.
Coding Frame: Psychology Definition
Coding frames are a method of analysis used to convert qualitative, visual (e.g. video recordings) or auditory data into quantitative numerical data. Typically, a researcher identifies specific behaviours, phrases, or words to look for in advance. Researchers use abbreviations or 'codes' to record the behaviours and may code for subtypes within that behaviour to indicate severity.
For example, if a researcher observes combative behaviour, such as hitting, they may code it as follows:
Uppercut – UC
Then they can go further and indicate the strength or severity of the uppercut (UC).
UC – UC1, UC2, UC3...
The larger numbers may signify that the individual used more strength.
The coding frame is used in psychological research to analyse data collected using qualitative methods, such as unstructured interviews or observations. These can then be analysed using content analysis. The content analysis process uses coding frames to complete the analysis.
Content analysis is a data analysis method that determines how often certain words, themes, or concepts appear in qualitative data.
Coding Frame Importance in Psychology
For research to be considered reliable and valid, researchers are trained to use coding frameworks. The researchers may be trained to follow a standardised protocol to use the same methods and techniques. Standardised procedures are used in psychology because it increases the research's reliability.
When using coding frames in psychology, researchers must ensure that they write explicit instructions explaining how the variables in the coding variable were measured and include any inclusion/ exclusion criterion considered.
Researchers should provide detailed accounts of their coding frames so that other researchers can replicate the study either for their own research or to identify if the research is reliable.
In addition, the variables being assessed must be operationalised, which will increase the validity of the study.
Operationalised variables refer to a variable that has been clearly defined.
In research, variables must be operationalised, meaning researchers must specify what the variable is and how they intend to measure it.
This also makes it easier for others to replicate the research and ensures that researchers measure what they intend to (validity).
The coding framework is important in psychological research:
Fig. 2 - Researchers tally behaviours; the tally represents the frequency a behaviour is observed.
Coding Frame Examples
For simplicity, here is a research scenario of an interview extract between the interviewer and a young child who is a victim of bullying at school. The research purpose was to find out how bullying victimisation affects children.
An example transcript is:
Interviewer: What do you do during playtime at school?
Interviewee: When I am at school, I try to avoid the bad kids. Um. When the other kids are playing, I sit on the bench and watch them.
Interviewer: When you see the other kids playing, do you want to play with them?
Interviewee: Yes, but sometimes they tease me when I try to play with them.
Interviewer: How does this make you feel?
Interviewee: Um, sometimes sad and maybe [pause] scared.
Let's see how a researcher could transform this qualitative data into quantitative data.
Using the example transcript, the researcher can identify two main themes used for analysis. These are:
Avoidance behaviour.
Negative emotions.
Themes in coding frames are called behavioural categories.
The next step is to determine how frequently these themes appear in the transcript:
Avoidance behaviour: twice ('I stay away from the bad kids' and '[...] I sit and watch them'). The researcher can infer avoidance behaviour if the child chooses not to play with the other children.
Negative emotions: two (sad and scared).
The analyst usually counts the frequency of the theme in the data.
This research scenario explains how coding frames can be used in psychological research to understand phenomena.
The coding frame used in the experiment should be the same for each participant and may be used in future research attempting to replicate the study.
Coding Frames Advantages
The coding frame advantages are:
They can increase the reliability and validity of the research if the researchers are trained in the use of the coding frames. In addition, coding frames are carefully designed (e.g., behavioural categories are operationalised, improving the reliability and validity of the research).
When conducting experimental research, researchers may measure the effects of sleep deprivation on students. In doing so, sleep-deprived students may have higher levels of anxiety and depression.
However, by using coding frameworks, researchers may find that sleep-deprived students exhibit higher levels of certain symptoms of anxiety and depression – for example, high levels of fatigue and more frequent panic attacks.
The example demonstrates how coding frames can provide a deeper understanding than other research techniques and analysis methods.
Coding Frame Disadvantages
The coding frame disadvantages are:
Researcher bias is usually overcome as multiple researchers typically review the analysis, and the findings of each are compared. If there are huge differences, then the researchers check their procedure.
If researchers report similar analyses, it is reasonable to assume that the coding frameworks have high internal reliability. That is, the coding framework consistently identifies topics of research interest.
Coding Frames - Key takeaways
- The coding frame psychology definition is a method of analysis used to convert qualitative, visual (e.g. video recordings) or auditory data into quantitative numerical data by assigning notable behaviour to 'codes', i.e., a verbal response becomes VR.
- The coding frame used in psychological research is typically used to analyse data collected through qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews or observations. These can then be analysed using content analysis. The content analysis relies on coding frames to complete the analysis.
- The coding frames' importance in psychology is it allows researchers to quantify qualitative data, making it easier to compare results with previous findings. And it also provides researchers with a framework to assist them in their analysis.
- The coding frames advantages are that it allows researchers to perform statistical analysis on originally qualitative data.
- The coding frame disadvantages are that when quantifying qualitative data, researchers can easily miss important data that could contribute to a deeper understanding of the phenomena.
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