Qualitizing

Qualitizing is a term used in research and analysis to describe the process of emphasizing qualitative interpretation and description of phenomena, rather than relying on numerical measures alone. The concept covers practices that transform, present, or analyze data in terms of meaning, context, experiences, and categories rather than statistics. Qualitizing can refer to turning quantitative findings into qualitative narratives or codes, as well as extracting qualitative insights from nonnumeric data such as interviews, open‑ended survey responses, field notes, or multimedia content.

In practice, qualitizing involves methods like coding text into themes, constructing case-based stories, and performing thematic or narrative analyses. It aims to produce explanations that highlight how participants experience events, what they value, and how context shapes outcomes. In mixed-methods research, qualitizing complements quantitative results by providing depth, meaning, and interpretive explanations that numbers alone cannot capture. Qualitizing is also used to translate data into accessible summaries for stakeholders, policy makers, or community groups.

Advantages of qualitizing include richer context, nuanced understanding, and the ability to convey lived experience and social processes. Potential drawbacks include subjectivity in interpretation, concerns about reliability and validity, and reduced generalizability or comparability across studies. To mitigate these issues, researchers often employ transparent coding schemes, reflexivity, triangulation, and documented audit trails.

See also: qualitative data analysis, thematic analysis, narrative inquiry, content analysis, mixed-methods research.