One of the main errors verified in research is the lack of planning of adequate methods for data analysis. For example, to develop a data collection instrument, it is necessary to pay attention to the tools used to obtain results (analysis). Analysing qualitative data is not a task without difficulties, as the non-numeric and unstructured data corpus is generally diffuse and complex. There are no clear and widely accepted rules on how to analyse non-numeric and unstructured data.
The seven essential steps or subtasks that we will describe below are transversal or generic to qualitative data analysis techniques. The technique’s focus on the analysis rests on specific choices according to each objective and research questions.