Coding is a form of data analysis that involves labelling and organizing data to reduce your data to a manageable size. Coding allows you to conceptually organize your data but it does not provide an explanatory framework to interpret or draw conclusions from your data.
Coding can be used in an exploratory, inductive way such as in grounded theory (in which you generate theories from empirical data), or it can be used to support a theory in a more deductive manner.
How to code data:
Data can be transcribed, annotated and coded manually. Manual coding allows you to become very familiar with your data. There are also computer software programs available for managing and processing data, which can be particularly useful for managing large volumes of data and connecting datasets in different formats.
Reference
Peake, L. 2018. Presentation at the ‘Workshop in Urban Feminist Research: Ethnographic Research Tools’, Ramallah, Palestine, July 2018.