Qualitative Coding Examples
Three worked examples: process coding, values coding & in vivo coding
The 30-second summary
Qualitative coding means assigning short labels to segments of your data so patterns become findable. This post shows three techniques applied to the same kind of interview transcript, so you can see what a coded extract actually looks like rather than only reading a definition of one.
- Process coding – labels the actions and behaviors in the data ("checking emails", "coordinating with departments"). Use it when your question is about what people do, rather than what they think.
- Values coding – labels the values, beliefs and attitudes a participant expresses. Use it when your question is about what drives them.
- In vivo coding – uses the participant's own words as the codes. Use it when the exact language matters, which it often does with a multicultural sample.
Pick the technique based on your research question, not the other way around. The worked examples below show each one applied to a transcript.
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We’ve spoken about qualitative coding approaches and techniques quite extensively, but this is one of those topics that can feel a little conceptual and fluffy at times. So, in this post, we’ll walk through some practical examples of textual data that’s been coded using various techniques, including process, values and in vivo coding, and then how to work out which one your own study needs.
Qualitative coding 101
Before we jump into examples of various qualitative coding techniques, it’s useful to quickly define what exactly we mean by “qualitative coding”.
Simply put, qualitative coding is the process of systematically assigning labels (codes) to segments of qualitative data (usually text). These codes capture key concepts, ideas, or patterns within the data. By organizing and categorizing the data in this way, we lay the foundation for qualitative analysis (for example, thematic analysis or content analysis). So, coding is an essential foundational step in the analysis process.
At a high level, coding can be approached inductively (your codes emerge from the data), deductively (you start from a framework and apply it) or abductively (a hybrid of the two). That choice decides where your codes come from. The three techniques below are compatible with any of them, so it is a separate decision rather than a competing one.
The three techniques below come from Johnny Saldana’s Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, which is the standard reference for coding methods and worth owning if you are coding a full study. Harvard Library’s guide to qualitative analysis is a good free overview if you want the wider map first.
Example: process coding
With process coding, the focus is on actions and behaviors. This coding technique helps us understand not just what people say, but how they interact and behave, providing deeper insights into their experiences.
Let’s look at an example of how a transcript could be coded using process coding.
Interviewer:
Can you describe a typical day at your job?
Interviewee:
Sure! I usually start my day by checking emails. After that, I have a team meeting where we discuss our goals for the day. Once the meeting is over, I work on my tasks, which often involves coordinating with different departments. Around lunchtime, I take a break and then continue with my work, usually focusing on completing projects or attending additional meetings. Before I leave, I review my work and plan for the next day.
For this extract, we might code as follows:
| Interview extract | Code |
|---|---|
| Sure! I usually start my day by checking emails. | Checking emails |
| After that, I have a team meeting where we discuss our goals for the day. | Attending team meeting |
| Once the meeting is over, I work on my tasks, which often involves coordinating with different departments. | Coordinating with departments |
| Around lunchtime, I take a break and then continue with my work, usually focusing on completing projects or attending additional meetings. | Taking a break, Completing projects, Attending additional meetings |
| Before I leave, I review my work and plan for the next day. | Reviewing work, Planning for next day |
Notice that every code is a verb in progress. That is what makes process coding useful when you want to see how work gets done, rather than how people summarize it afterwards.
Example: values coding
As the name suggests, values coding involves identifying and coding the values, beliefs, and attitudes expressed by participants. This coding technique can help us understand the underlying principles and motivations guiding participants’ behaviors and decisions.
Let’s look at a practical example.
Interviewer:
What motivates you to stay in your current job?
Interviewee:
A few things. I find a lot of satisfaction in helping my team grow and succeed. Seeing their progress and knowing I contributed to their development is incredibly rewarding. I also value the flexibility my job offers, which allows me to balance my work and personal life.
The company’s commitment to innovation and continuous improvement aligns with my personal belief in always striving to be better. Oh, and I also appreciate the strong sense of community and support among my colleagues; it really makes coming to work every day a positive experience.
This extract is unusually rich in values, attitudes and beliefs, which is what makes it a good candidate for values coding. We might code it as follows:
| Interview extract | Code |
|---|---|
| I find a lot of satisfaction in helping my team grow and succeed. | Supportiveness (helping team grow) |
| Seeing their progress and knowing I contributed to their development is incredibly rewarding. | Fulfillment (contributing to development) |
| I also value the flexibility my job offers, which allows me to balance my work and personal life. | Work-life balance (valuing flexibility) |
| The company’s commitment to innovation and continuous improvement aligns with my personal belief in always striving to be better. | Innovation (company’s commitment), Self-improvement (personal belief) |
| Oh, and I also appreciate the strong sense of community and support among my colleagues; it really makes coming to work every day a positive experience. | Community (sense of community), Support (among colleagues) |
Read together, these codes sketch what this person values at work. None of them describe an action, which is the tell that you are looking at values rather than process.
Example: in vivo coding
In vivo coding (not to be confused with NVivo, the software package) involves using the exact words or phrases from the participants as codes. Using this technique ensures that the participants’ voices and perspectives are directly reflected in the analysis, which can be especially important when working with a multicultural sample.
Let’s look at a practical example.
Interviewer:
How do you handle challenges at work?
Interviewee:
Well, when a challenge arises, I first try to stay calm! It’s important not to panic. I then take a step back and analyze the situation. I often find it helpful to discuss the problem with my colleagues to get different perspectives.
Sometimes, just talking about it gives me new ideas. Once I have a plan, I focus on one step at a time to resolve the issue.
With in vivo coding, we’d use the exact language of the interviewee to capture key concepts. Here’s what that might look like:
| Interview extract | Code |
|---|---|
| When a challenge arises, I first try to stay calm. | Stay calm |
| It’s important not to panic. | Not to panic |
| I then take a step back and analyze the situation. | Take a step back |
| I often find it helpful to discuss the problem with my colleagues to get different perspectives. | Discuss the problem |
| Sometimes, just talking about it gives me new ideas. | New ideas |
| Once I have a plan, I focus on one step at a time to resolve the issue. | One step at a time |
Notice that every code is the participant’s own phrase rather than ours. That is the whole point: nothing has been translated into our vocabulary before the analysis has even started.
How to choose the right one
The technique follows your research question, not the other way around. If your question is about what people do (routines, sequences, the order things happen in), process coding will surface it, because gerunds like “coordinating with departments” are what a process reads like on the page. If your question is about what people believe or prioritize, values coding is the one that will hold your findings together. And if what matters is how participants themselves describe something, in vivo keeps their framing intact instead of quietly replacing it with yours.
Most studies end up using more than one, and that is normal rather than a sign of indecision. It is common to process code the questions about daily practice and values code the questions about motivation, or to run an in vivo pass first to stay close to the data and then build a more analytic code set on a second pass. What causes trouble is switching technique partway through a corpus without a reason you can state, because you then have two half-coded datasets rather than one.
If you are genuinely stuck, write your research question out and underline the verb. Verbs about doing point to process coding; verbs about feeling, valuing or believing point to values coding. And if you keep wanting to quote the participant in order to explain what your code means, that is in vivo telling you something.
| Research question involves | Use | A question that fits |
|---|---|---|
| What people do, step by step | Process coding | “How do project managers coordinate across departments?” |
| What people believe, value or prioritize | Values coding | “What keeps nurses working in high-stress units?” |
| How people describe an experience in their own words | In vivo coding | “How do first-generation students talk about belonging at university?” |
Still have questions?
What does coding mean in qualitative analysis?
Coding is the step where you attach short labels to segments of your data so that patterns can be found across it. It is not the analysis itself; it is what makes analysis possible, by turning pages of transcript into something you can group, count and compare.
What are the three levels of coding in qualitative research?
The phrase usually refers to grounded theory’s open, axial and selective coding: first breaking the data into concepts, then finding relationships between them, then organizing everything around a core category. That is a different thing from the three techniques on this page. Process, values and in vivo coding are methods for generating codes; open, axial and selective describe stages of working with them.
Can ChatGPT do qualitative coding?
It can produce codes, and they will look plausible. Two things go wrong. The first is nuance and context. A model misses what a person hears in an interview, like hesitation or a point made carefully, and it has none of the broader context you carry from your fieldwork. That is usually where the finding sits.
The second is defensibility. You have to defend every code in your defense (the viva), and a code you did not reason your way to is hard to defend. A safer use is to code a transcript yourself, then ask a model where it would have coded differently and re-read those places in your data. Check your institution’s AI policy before you use one at all.
How many codes should I have?
There is no correct number, and a target is a bad idea. What matters is that codes are applied consistently and that each one earns its place. If two codes always appear together and never apart, they are probably one code. Expect to merge and rename heavily on your second pass; that is the work, not a sign you did the first pass wrong.
What software can I use for qualitative data coding?
NVivo, ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA and Delve are the common choices, but the more useful question is whether you need software at all. Each carries a steep learning curve, and for a typical dissertation dataset of 10 to 20 interviews that curve rarely pays for itself. Coding manually, in a spreadsheet or a document, is the better option in many cases.
Either way the software does not do the coding for you, so choose it for how comfortably you can move around your data rather than for its feature list. We compare the options in our guide to qualitative analysis software.
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