Typological Analysis

Typological analysis is a strategy for descriptive qualitative (or quantitative) data analysis whose goal is the development of a set of related but distinct categories within a phenomenon that discriminate across the phenomenon. Typologies are characterized by categorization, but not by hierarchical arrangement; the categories in a typology are related to one another, not subsidiary to one another. Typologies are common in the human sciences and are often used to distinguish among behaviors such as parenting styles or learning styles. In qualitative research, typological analysis requires four steps. First, before data collection [Page 901]begins, the investigator identifies some organizing framework for typology development. The framework may be structured as a continuum, with endpoints such as doing well or doing poorly. Next, once there are data in hand, the investigator identifies the important sources of commonality and variation that occur in the data set. Third, the investigator looks within those sources of commonality and variation for patterns of similarity and difference. Finally, those patterns of similarity and difference are reconstructed into ideal types or model cases.

Continua used for typology development reflect disciplinary priorities: education researchers may be interested in school success; nurse researchers may be interested in kinds of illness-management behaviors. The continuum and the research question provide criteria for evaluating the importance of sources of commonality and variation. The investigator identifies aspects of a phenomenon that are important across all cases in the sample and are also important to the phenomenon as a whole; for example, in a study of persons with cerebral palsy, all participants may describe getting help with personal care, leading to the development of the theme personal care use. Although major themes may be inductively derived from the data, they are often identified as part of the conceptual model or research question and incorporated into data collection, especially if semi-structured interviews are used. In the example above, participants talking about personal care use may describe differences in the kind of help they receive, in the quality of help they receive, and in their response to the need for help with personal care activities. Each of these subthemes can be subdivided into categories; for example, quality of help could include good help, inconsistent help, harmful help, or no help at all. Whether the theme derives from the research question, a conceptual model, or a comment from a participant, its legitimacy for use in typological analysis depends on its presence in some form across all cases and on its relevance to the research question.

The development of ideal types or model cases is the last step in typology development. In order to be useful, a typology must identify the confluence of categories that distinguish one type or style from another and present these confluences in ways that are easily recognizable. Typological analysts often present their findings as a series of case examples.