Balancing yin and yang: Teaching and learning qualitative data analysis within an undergraduate quantitative data analysis course

THE FIRST THREE-QUARTERS of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at all. I also soon realized while doing my qualitative data analysis that the possibilities were endless, that there really were no limits on the directions I could take the project. This too filled me with apprehension. I felt like a small child letting go of his parents' hands and taking the first step toward a more independent future. I was not quite sure how to approach the new freedom over my work.