"Rigorous and Systematic Qualitative Data Analysis in Biological Anthropology"

Area of Science:

• Biological anthropology
• Qualitative data analysis (QDA)

Background:

• Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is integral to biological anthropology, though often not explicitly highlighted.
• Understanding and advancing systematic QDA is crucial for the discipline.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define the types of qualitative data and analysis employed in biological anthropology.
• To review QDA applications across six subfields: primatology, human biology, paleoanthropology, dental and skeletal biology, bioarchaeology, and anthropological genetics.
• To outline QDA methods for research, including simple techniques and model-building approaches.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of QDA's role in inductive and community-based research.
• Discussion of QDA in mixed-methods, participatory action, and Black feminist research.
• Consideration of QDA project closure, data sharing ethics, and the CARE Principles for Indigenous data sovereignty.

Main Results:

• QDA is broadly applied across biological anthropology subfields.
• Specific QDA methods like content analysis, semantic network analysis, and grounded theory can support model-building.
• QDA is vital for transformative research, particularly in community-engaged and decolonial frameworks.

Conclusions:

• Rigorous QDA enhances biological anthropology research.
• QDA facilitates inductive, community-based, and transformative research designs.
• Ethical data sharing and Indigenous data sovereignty are key considerations for QDA projects.