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Data Analysis in Qualitative Research: Theorizing with Abductive Analysis
From two experts in the field comes an accessible, how-to guide that will help researchers think more productively about the relation between theory and data at every stage of their work.
In Data Analysis in Qualitative Research , Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans provide a how-to guide filled with tricks of the trade for researchers who hope to take excellent qualitative data and transform it into powerful scholarship. In their previous book, Abductive Theorizing Qualitative Research, Timmermans and Tavory offered a toolkit for innovative theorizing in the social sciences. In this companion, they go one step further to show how to uncover the surprising revelations that lie waiting in qualitative data—in sociology and beyond.
In this book, they lay out a series of tools designed to help both novice and expert scholars see and understand their data in surprising ways. Timmermans and Tavory show researchers how to “stack the deck” of qualitative research in favor of locating surprising findings that may lead to theoretical breakthroughs, whether by engaging with theory, discussing research strategies, or walking the reader through the process of coding data. From beginning to end of a research project, Data Analysis in Qualitative Research helps social scientists pinpoint the most promising paths to take in their approach.
In Data Analysis in Qualitative Research , Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans provide a how-to guide filled with tricks of the trade for researchers who hope to take excellent qualitative data and transform it into powerful scholarship. In their previous book, Abductive Theorizing Qualitative Research, Timmermans and Tavory offered a toolkit for innovative theorizing in the social sciences. In this companion, they go one step further to show how to uncover the surprising revelations that lie waiting in qualitative data—in sociology and beyond.
In this book, they lay out a series of tools designed to help both novice and expert scholars see and understand their data in surprising ways. Timmermans and Tavory show researchers how to “stack the deck” of qualitative research in favor of locating surprising findings that may lead to theoretical breakthroughs, whether by engaging with theory, discussing research strategies, or walking the reader through the process of coding data. From beginning to end of a research project, Data Analysis in Qualitative Research helps social scientists pinpoint the most promising paths to take in their approach.
- GenresTheory
201 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2022
About the author
Stefan Timmermans
16 books14 followersStefan Timmermans is a professor of sociology at UCLA. He is the author of an award-winning scholarly book on forensic death investigations.
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July 12, 2026
Surprise! Abductive Analysis in Action
The original title: Surprise! Abductive Analysis in Action, conveys the message of this valuable book much better than the rather meaningless title it was eventually given for marketing reasons. After reading their previous book, Abductive analysis, and the announcement of this sequel, I was eagerly awaiting this book, after reading it I can say it was worth waiting for. In their new book, Timmermans and Tavory provide qualitative researchers with guidelines on how to set up and carry out their research in such a way that it also contributes to the development of theories. Their thesis is that an abductive analysis means that you conduct qualitative research in a different way from the very first moment.(p. 4) “The actual work of qualitative research – both finding surprises and making sense of them – is the work of coding, teasing out variation, and constructing theoretical narratives for data excerpts.”(p. 38).
The focus of this book is on analyzing the research data in an abductive way. Data Analysis in Qualitative Research provides advice on core practices across the whole qualitative research arc. It is therefore not a recipe book, but rather a book that provides insight into what abductive analysis means in the different phases of qualitative research. Timmermans and Tavory make their proposed working method tangible because their text is interspersed with small and large examples. A summary does not do justice to this rich book. Below I will give an impression of the main argument of this book, based on quotations from key passages.
After a short recap of abductive analysis, the different ways in which you can use theory in this analysis are discussed. Theory as map and theory as compass. You need maps to orient yourself on the content of the area you are researching. You need a compass to move around in that area. Timmermans and Tavory argue in favor of delving into the map theory of your research. They are especially annoyed by researchers who do not delve into the available map theory or only a very limited part of it. Unlike grounded theory, they consider it the responsibility of the researcher to thoroughly immerse himself in the available substantive theory. This enables you to track down the surprises - the discrepancies between observations and the prevailing views in the literature. Everything is surprising without delving into the substantive literature. Compass theory can also fail to explain findings from fieldwork. Then another compass is required.
“Surprises assume that something in the data doesn’t behave as it should based on what prevailing map of compass theories predict.”(p. 67) “Even before you code your data, you need to ensure that the data you have will provide you not only with possibilities of surprise but with strong evidentiary grounds to develop promising findings.”(p. 68) Timmermans and Tavory distinguish between two types of coding: open coding and focused coding, to which they each devote a whole chapter. Unlike open coding in grounded theory, open coding in abductive analysis gives “initial sense of the theoretical potential of your observations.”(p. 72) Interrogate your data asking who did what, when, where, how and with what consequences.(p. 73) “Surprises need to be teased out of the observations you have now. (..) The trick of open coding is to allow yourself to open your observations in different directions, but to do so with some idea where you are opening a door to.” (p.88-89)
“Focused coding means that you settle upon a promising theme and then code within it. (..) Focused coding starts with what you think the case is most likely about, and ends with a close examination of what you actually have.”(p. 92) You construct a “proto-set” an initial set of observations that you will later winnow down. You search for an index case that anchors the analysis you are embarking on.(p. 93). Two very detailed examples show what focused coding looks like in practice. This enables researchers to make the translation to their own qualitative research. Incidentally, it is surprising that in both examples the original research question could so easily be jettisoned. In both cases, the research data seem to determine the research question. This is a strange turn of events, even for a qualitative researcher.
Even after open en focused coding you need to hunt for clues of possible surprises.(p. 115) Surprises emerge against a background of theoretical expectations, different hunts, habitats, clues are possible. How can you interrogate your data in a theoretically generative way. Timmermans and Tavory make a plea to use the different kinds of tensions and incongruities in the data as points of reference. As a qualitative researcher you go against the official narrative, you have to be intellectually subversive. Going against the grain produces valuable clues about interesting things just below the surface.(p. 128) Tensions and surprises cannot exist without each other. Tensions force us to stand still in our tracks. A surprise is a narrative turning point. A turning point depends on the ability to stand still for a while. We need the ability to stand still to take a different path. By intersperse their text with small and large examples, Timmermans and Tavory make their proposed working method tangible.
In Chapter 8 Writing it down, writing it up, Timmermans and Tavory advocate rhetorical abduction, a detective narrative in which you don't give away the denouement in the introduction, but only at the end. A good place to start for write-up is the index case. The remainder of this chapter provides insight into how the peer review process of a journal article resulted in an additional abductive loop.
All in all, this is a very valuable book that equips qualitative researchers to detect surprises in their research and thus contribute to theorizing. It is a book that deserves to be read several times making the intended abductive analysis more and more tangible with each reading.
The original title: Surprise! Abductive Analysis in Action, conveys the message of this valuable book much better than the rather meaningless title it was eventually given for marketing reasons. After reading their previous book, Abductive analysis, and the announcement of this sequel, I was eagerly awaiting this book, after reading it I can say it was worth waiting for. In their new book, Timmermans and Tavory provide qualitative researchers with guidelines on how to set up and carry out their research in such a way that it also contributes to the development of theories. Their thesis is that an abductive analysis means that you conduct qualitative research in a different way from the very first moment.(p. 4) “The actual work of qualitative research – both finding surprises and making sense of them – is the work of coding, teasing out variation, and constructing theoretical narratives for data excerpts.”(p. 38).
The focus of this book is on analyzing the research data in an abductive way. Data Analysis in Qualitative Research provides advice on core practices across the whole qualitative research arc. It is therefore not a recipe book, but rather a book that provides insight into what abductive analysis means in the different phases of qualitative research. Timmermans and Tavory make their proposed working method tangible because their text is interspersed with small and large examples. A summary does not do justice to this rich book. Below I will give an impression of the main argument of this book, based on quotations from key passages.
After a short recap of abductive analysis, the different ways in which you can use theory in this analysis are discussed. Theory as map and theory as compass. You need maps to orient yourself on the content of the area you are researching. You need a compass to move around in that area. Timmermans and Tavory argue in favor of delving into the map theory of your research. They are especially annoyed by researchers who do not delve into the available map theory or only a very limited part of it. Unlike grounded theory, they consider it the responsibility of the researcher to thoroughly immerse himself in the available substantive theory. This enables you to track down the surprises - the discrepancies between observations and the prevailing views in the literature. Everything is surprising without delving into the substantive literature. Compass theory can also fail to explain findings from fieldwork. Then another compass is required.
“Surprises assume that something in the data doesn’t behave as it should based on what prevailing map of compass theories predict.”(p. 67) “Even before you code your data, you need to ensure that the data you have will provide you not only with possibilities of surprise but with strong evidentiary grounds to develop promising findings.”(p. 68) Timmermans and Tavory distinguish between two types of coding: open coding and focused coding, to which they each devote a whole chapter. Unlike open coding in grounded theory, open coding in abductive analysis gives “initial sense of the theoretical potential of your observations.”(p. 72) Interrogate your data asking who did what, when, where, how and with what consequences.(p. 73) “Surprises need to be teased out of the observations you have now. (..) The trick of open coding is to allow yourself to open your observations in different directions, but to do so with some idea where you are opening a door to.” (p.88-89)
“Focused coding means that you settle upon a promising theme and then code within it. (..) Focused coding starts with what you think the case is most likely about, and ends with a close examination of what you actually have.”(p. 92) You construct a “proto-set” an initial set of observations that you will later winnow down. You search for an index case that anchors the analysis you are embarking on.(p. 93). Two very detailed examples show what focused coding looks like in practice. This enables researchers to make the translation to their own qualitative research. Incidentally, it is surprising that in both examples the original research question could so easily be jettisoned. In both cases, the research data seem to determine the research question. This is a strange turn of events, even for a qualitative researcher.
Even after open en focused coding you need to hunt for clues of possible surprises.(p. 115) Surprises emerge against a background of theoretical expectations, different hunts, habitats, clues are possible. How can you interrogate your data in a theoretically generative way. Timmermans and Tavory make a plea to use the different kinds of tensions and incongruities in the data as points of reference. As a qualitative researcher you go against the official narrative, you have to be intellectually subversive. Going against the grain produces valuable clues about interesting things just below the surface.(p. 128) Tensions and surprises cannot exist without each other. Tensions force us to stand still in our tracks. A surprise is a narrative turning point. A turning point depends on the ability to stand still for a while. We need the ability to stand still to take a different path. By intersperse their text with small and large examples, Timmermans and Tavory make their proposed working method tangible.
In Chapter 8 Writing it down, writing it up, Timmermans and Tavory advocate rhetorical abduction, a detective narrative in which you don't give away the denouement in the introduction, but only at the end. A good place to start for write-up is the index case. The remainder of this chapter provides insight into how the peer review process of a journal article resulted in an additional abductive loop.
All in all, this is a very valuable book that equips qualitative researchers to detect surprises in their research and thus contribute to theorizing. It is a book that deserves to be read several times making the intended abductive analysis more and more tangible with each reading.
March 1, 2024
A book about surprises in research produces the biggest surprise of all: a readable (dare I say enjoyable?) book about research methods.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews