What happened? Why? How does it work? Who was responsible? Was it successful? How do we know? Getting the answers to such questions requires exploration of nuances and complexity. Unlike the statistical formulas and countable, predefined measurements that define quantitative methods, qualitative analysis is all about sifting and sorting data, perceptions, and opinions.

Macro takes a disciplined approach to qualitative analysis. The first step is to bring order to data that may be voluminous and that may have come from different sources—interviews, records, reports, and personal observation. Building analysis from the ground up, we follow explicit procedures to ensure that our information is complete, to classify data, and to prepare a solid description of what we found out about each person, group, or place that we are examining.

Interpretation—the second phase of qualitative analysis—relies on the intelligence, experience, and judgment of Macro’s analysts to pull it all together. They are skilled and insightful in finding concepts, patterns, and themes. Still, we take special care to ensure that our conclusions are more than conjecture. Analysts look for alternative explanations, highlight exceptions to patterns, and are careful to report findings in the context of both guiding research questions and the particular cases that were examined.

We have a wealth of experience in qualitative studies covering a wide array of topics and populations in the United States and internationally. Our qualitative work is based on a full range of data collection methods including focus groups, in-depth interviews, and on-site visits.