Qualitative Data Analysis: Novelty in Deductive and Inductive Coding Reuben Bihu reubimon@gmail.com Abstract Qualitative data analysis is a critical phase in qualitative research. One of its cornerstones is the coding process. Deductive and inductive codes are generated for breadth and depth exploration of the research topics, respectively. Deductive coding bases on ‘a priori’ of codes to which segments of texts and transcripts are assigned. Inductive coding begins with data, making segments and categories, and generating relevant codes. It is concluded from this analysis that both the deductive and inductive coding often occurs in a qualitative data analysis process. Areas of further investigation are recommended. Key words Qualitative data analysis, Deductive coding, Inductive coding Introduction Qualitative research is a data generation process which uses primary data from, or secondary textual data generated from participants. The major characteristic feature under the approach is the process deploying and manipulating data from human voice. The voice may be raw oral, written or deconstructed imagery. Qualitative data therefore may be identified as narratives in transcripts and notices which form specific patterns in texts. Traditionally, the analytical works categorise thematic patterns as segments with common meanings, likeness, or resemblance. Thematic patterns can be coded manually or by software so can be quantified into descriptive statistics 1 . The demand for qualitative coding has risen high, with many options for online and offline qualitative data gathering options available. Researchers are faced by the questions of how ontology of a phenomenon and cases can be reached under minimised logistic and technical barriers. Options for epistemological takeaways have demanded an understanding of various ways data can be gathered, how they can be processed, coded and analysed without losing the implicit attribute of data quality in technique used. Based on the experience of using MAXQDA and NVivo software in a PhD programme, and interactive experience with early career researchers in various scholarly platforms, a need was found to put the coding experience into writing for scholars. This article therefore is designed to contribute to knowledge on data coding in qualitative data analysis processes. Qualitative coding is preceded by accumulation of robust data packs on a phenomenon researched. The key data gathering technique in qualitative research is interviewing the participants. However, qualitative data may be gathered using different techniques as shown in table 1. 1 Simple estimations of measures of central tendency, e.g., mean, mode and median. Mixed-methods under software like MAXQDA can also assist generation of statistical coefficients employed in generalisable studies