Using Metaphor to Make Sense and Build Theory in Qualitative Analysis

Authors

Peter Aubusson, University of Technology SydneyFollow

Abstract

This paper proposes analogical mapping as a strategy for data analysis. Research is often messy. Where it explores the unknown and follows unexpected paths it often generates unanticipated findings. Presented with extensive data and the initial analysis describing 'themes' the researcher asks, "What does it all mean?" Thus we are challenged to make sense of the world we see, to theorise and not merely describe. This report outlines a method of analysis using metaphor as a thinking tool to interpret findings from a study in education. In the study reported here, metaphor provided a means of analysis to delve deeply into the nature of a school system, to offer insights and to generate a tentative theory

Keywords

Analogy, Metaphor, Qualitative Analysis, and Educational Change

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Mark Cosgrove and Lyn Schaverien for their advice on the method considered in this paper.

Publication Date

12-1-2002

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2002.1962

Recommended APA Citation

Aubusson, P. (2002). Using Metaphor to Make Sense and Build Theory in Qualitative Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 7(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2002.1962