In Vivo Coding

To understand in vivo coding, one must first understand CODING. A code is a concept, a word that signifies “what is going on in this piece of data.” Coding, on the other hand, is the analytic process of examining data line by line or paragraph by paragraph (whatever is your style) for significant events, experiences, feelings, and so on, that are then denoted as concepts (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Sometimes, the analyst names the concept. Other times, the words of the respondent(s) are so descriptive of what is going on that they become the designated concept. These descriptive words provided by respondents are what have come to be known as in vivo concepts (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

In vivo concepts are usually snappy words that are very telling and revealing. The interesting thing about in vivo codes is that a researcher knows the minute the idea is expressed by a respondent that this is something to take note of. The term that is used expresses meaning in a way far better than any word that could be provided by the analyst (Strauss, 1987). For example, suppose a researcher were doing a study of what goes on at cocktail parties. One interviewee might say something like,

Many people hate going to cocktail parties, but I love them. When I go, I take the opportunity to work the scene. It may seem like idle chatter, but in reality, I am making mental notes about future business contacts, women I'd like to date, possible tennis partners, and even investment opportunities.

Working the scene is a great concept. It doesn't tell us everything that goes on at cocktail parties, but it does convey what this man is doing. And if he does this, then perhaps other people also are working the scene. The researcher would want to keep this concept in mind when doing future interviews to see if other people describe actions that could also be labeled as working the scene.

In contrast, an analyst-derived code would look something like the following. While observing at another cocktail party, the researcher notices two women talking excitedly about work projects in which they are engaged. In another area, a man and a woman are also talking about their work, and further on, another group of people are doing likewise. The [Page 529]researcher labels this talking about work at a cocktail party as “social/work talk.” This term describes what is going on but it's not nearly as snappy or interesting as working the scene.

Not every interview or observation yields interesting in vivo codes, but when these do come up in data, the researcher should take advantage of them. It is important that analysts are alert and sensitive to what is in the data, and often, the words used by respondents are the best way of expressing that. Coding can be a laborious and detailed process, especially when analyzing line by line. However, it is the detailed coding that often yields those treasures, the terms that we have come to know as in vivo codes.

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