# Qualitative Coding Examples

This downloadable example pack is synthetic demonstration material. It is designed for teaching and practice, not for publication as empirical data.

## 1. Open Coding

**Excerpt**

"I started the semester thinking the online discussion board would be easy, but it became the hardest part of the course. In class I can tell when a comment lands badly and clarify it right away. Online, I would post something at night and then keep checking whether anyone replied. Sometimes no one did, and I wondered if my point was obvious, wrong, or just ignored."

**Example open codes**

- Expected online work to be easy
- Discussion board became difficult
- Loss of immediate feedback
- Anxiety while waiting for replies
- Ambiguity of silence

**Analytic note**

Open coding stays close to the passage. The goal is to notice possible meanings without forcing them into a final hierarchy too early.

## 2. Axial Coding

**Excerpt**

"The professor gave us weekly checklists, which helped me know what to do. But when my part-time job changed shifts, I could not keep the same rhythm. I finished the tasks, just later than everyone else, and then the group conversation had already moved on."

**Possible axial relationship**

- Condition: shift schedule changed
- Context: asynchronous online course with weekly checklists
- Action: completed tasks later than peers
- Consequence: missed the active group conversation
- Category: time flexibility with social cost

**Analytic note**

Axial coding asks how codes relate. It can connect schedule instability, task completion, peer timing, and participation cost.

## 3. In Vivo Coding

**Excerpt**

"I was technically present, but I felt like a ghost student. My name was on the screen, my assignments were submitted, and I passed the quizzes. Still, I do not think anyone would have noticed if I stopped talking for two weeks."

**In vivo code**

- "ghost student"

**Why this code works**

The participant's own phrase condenses a strong analytic idea: formal participation without felt recognition. Keeping the wording preserves voice and can later support a theme about invisible participation.

## 4. Thematic Coding

**Excerpt**

"Remote work gives me quiet, and quiet helps me write better summaries. But I joined the company remotely, so I missed the small moments where you hear a senior researcher explain why a quote is strong or why a finding is too thin. I am more productive than I was in the office, but I am not sure I am learning as much."

**Candidate theme**

Productivity can increase while apprenticeship weakens.

**Supporting codes**

- Protected focus
- Invisible apprenticeship
- Productive isolation
- Need for deliberate mentoring

**Analytic note**

Thematic coding moves beyond labels on one passage. It asks whether multiple coded observations support a broader interpretive claim that can be reviewed against the data.