Open Coding
The first stage of coding in grounded theory, where data are examined closely and labeled with initial codes without a preset scheme.
Open coding is the first stage of analysis in grounded theory and related approaches. The researcher works through the data closely, often line by line, and attaches initial codes that name what is happening in each segment. No preset scheme is imposed: codes stay close to the words and actions in the data, and many provisional labels are generated, compared, and merged as patterns start to appear.
In a thesis, open coding demonstrates that your categories were earned from the data rather than assumed in advance. Keep records of early codes and how they evolved, because showing this progression from open codes to focused categories is one of the clearest ways to convince examiners that your qualitative analysis was systematic.
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