Process
Rapid qualitative analysis in six steps
The summary template and matrix method, from interview guide to findings
The six steps of rapid qualitative analysis as Alison Hamilton described it for VA health services research: neutral domains, a summary template, a pilot, shared summarising, a participant by domain matrix and reading across it. Use it to plan a rapid analysis with a small team when a decision is waiting on interview results. Koji's per-question answers and CSV export give you the matrix without building it by hand.
Where this appears
What's in this process
- Write neutral domains: One short, neutral label per interview question or topic, plus one for anything else worth noting.
- Build the summary template: A one-page form with the domains and space for short points and key quotes.
- Pilot it on a few interviews: Two analysts summarise the same two or three interviews, compare, then adjust the template.
- Split and summarise: Each analyst fills one template per interview. Meet often to catch drift.
- Move summaries into a matrix: One row per participant, one column per domain, plus columns for segment.
- Read across the matrix: Read down columns for patterns and along rows to keep each person's story intact.
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapid-qualitative-analysis-steps"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapid-qualitative-analysis-steps/rapid-qualitative-analysis-steps.png" alt="Process diagram showing six steps of rapid qualitative analysis, from writing neutral domains to reading across the matrix" width="1080" height="1080" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/rapid-qualitative-analysis-steps">Rapid qualitative analysis in six steps</a>, Koji</p>
