Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Axial coding
open-in-new
<p>Axial coding is the breaking down of core themes during <a href="/facts/Qualitative_data_analysis/po7v42yR">qualitative data analysis</a>. </p><p>Axial coding in <a href="/facts/Grounded_theory/zDQK1tD0">grounded theory</a> is the process of relating codes (categories and concepts) to each other, via a combination of <a href="/facts/Inductive_reasoning/EJ992JJ9">inductive</a> and <a href="/facts/Deductive_reasoning/HadA1zWS">deductive</a> thinking. According to Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1998) who propose the use of a "coding <a href="/facts/Paradigm/HXpK3X7a">paradigm</a>", the basic framework of generic relationships is understood to include categories related to: </p> <ol><li>the phenomenon under study,</li> <li>the conditions related to that phenomenon (context conditions, intervening structural conditions or causal conditions),</li> <li>the actions and interactional strategies directed at managing or handling the phenomenon and</li> <li>the consequences of the actions/interactions related to the phenomenon.</li></ol> <p>As Kelle underlines, the implicit or explicit theoretical framework necessary to identify categories in <a href="/facts/Empirical_data/JUaYSGJc">empirical data</a> is derived, in the procedures explicated by Strauss and Corbin (1990), from a "general model of action rooted in <a href="/facts/Pragmatism/v1zMTt3m">pragmatist</a> and <a href="/facts/Interactionist/Dd8gFtQ4">interactionist</a> social theory" (Kelle, 2005, para. 16). This model or <a href="/facts/Theoretical_framework/9vrNS1Rr">theoretical framework</a> underlines the importance of "analysing and modelling action and interaction strategies of the actors" (para. 16). </p><p>Axial coding is a cornerstone of Strauss and Corbin's (1990, 1998) approach but is regarded by Charmaz (2006) as highly structured and optional. </p>