Critical examination of data acquired is a major factor in determining the quality of research information. Data were coded as part of the analysis procedure to help with the classification of important research questions. In order to identify and organize all relevant data I employed a manual codding method. Five processes were used in the coding process to increase the reliability and credibility of my study. Inductive or deductive coding was chosen in the first phase. The first phase was to choose between deductive or inductive coding. This allows you to assign a set of codes for newly-collected qualitative data. When the researcher is familiar with the data to be analyzed, deductive coding (also known as concept driven coding) can work best. Open string methods that allow the researcher to analyze qualitative data and then derive codes directly from it, is called inductive coding. Deductive coding was used to evaluate qualitative data according to the codebook’s parts. Second phase involves analysis of the data and the giving of the first codes. In order to locate more codes, the final phase was to analyze and evaluate all data. The fourth stage consisted in classifying and verifying that the codes fit within the codebook’s coding framework. The final phase was to determine the dominant topic from the coding. The advantages of deductive coding are that it’s concept-driven, takes less time and codes the areas of interest. Because they begin with existing codes it’s possible that they will be biased. Because the main focus is on verifying the study hypothesis there’s a risk that some other important topics could be overlooked. The next time I attempt inductive code, I will compare my experiences with it to the deductive one. It was easier to analyze and describe diverse facts using deductive coding. Application notes were included in the codebook to aid with understanding and interpretation of relevant study data.
From the data, there is an emergent topic that includes heavier or lighter meals as well as employment, food buying, cooking at home, lifestyle, and eating habits. The topic on the Heavy and Lighter meals examined what evening class students eat. The intake of salads and snacks is a subtheme that connects with heavier and lighter meals. One focus group member said that they order salads after classes, while another said that they prefer snacks and quick meals when class is over. One student said that they rely on fast food for nighttime classes. Since most individuals telecommute to school via their workplaces, the second topic was about employment.