Tips for Analyzing the Transcripts
(Developed for a Fayette County Middle School, 2000)
Before you begin, look over some of the Principles of Focus Group Analysis
found in the Turn Up the Volume Toolkit, pages 133-135. (Page 145 contains
a sample agenda for an analysis session and may spark some additional questions
for you to begin considering. The student facilitators will hold the answers
to a lot of these questions.)
Read at least one transcript really thoroughly. If you have time, read
the other transcripts too. (Most of them are short.) Don't forget to read
through the accompanying index cards listing the different kinds of groups
at our school.
As you read through the transcript, consider some of the kinds of analysis
questions listed on page 135 of the Toolkit. Begin looking for patterns among
the participants' responses. If you read more than one transcript, begin taking
note of any differences between the groups.
Make a list of the overall key points or main themes that emerge from
the transcript. These include the things that participants seemed most interested
in talking about or the main focus of the conversation. If you had to sum
up the transcript in a few sentences, what would you say?
Write down on separate index cards or pieces of paper the key points within
each question or question set (for example, everything under Question Set
III). Put the name of the group (7th grade girls, for example) at the top
of each card or piece of paper. You can write down anything you spot as significant
within each question. For example, under the question "How would you
describe the relationship between these different groups and adults at our
school?" for 6th grade boys, you might write down that some participants
feel that some teachers treat students differently, depending on their popularity.
Mark any "juicy" or revealing quotes you see within the transcript
that you may want to include in any final report. You can either underline
these or mark them with a Post-It note (or something that will make them easy
to find).
