Drawing Conclusions
Also known as: Synthesis, Analysis, Pattern Recognition
The process of deriving reliable insights from qualitative discovery interview data.
Full Definition
Drawing conclusions from qualitative data requires separating data collection from interpretation, and interpretation from conclusion. The two most common errors are premature conclusions (deciding you understand the pattern before sufficient independent evidence supports it) and confirmation bias (selectively weighting evidence that confirms prior beliefs). The Rule of Seven provides a useful threshold: a pattern heard from approximately seven independent sources with meaningfully different backgrounds is likely to be real.
Example
A team applies the six-step synthesis process: gathering all raw notes before discussing, tagging observations independently, counting occurrences across independent sources, ranking themes by frequency and independence, stating conclusions as hypotheses, and explicitly addressing the most challenging disconfirming finding.