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Some of the methods in ssss1 generate text or images; others generate numerical data. There are a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods for analyzing both types of data. The suggestions for further reading in ssss1 provide guidance on appropriate analytic methods for specific types of data. For a comprehensive approach to the analysis of qualitative data, see Bernard et al. (2017). For a guide to quantification in ethnographic research and the “five things you need to know about statistics,” see Dressler (2016). And for a practical guide to the systematic analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, see Dengah et al. (2021).

One example will illustrate the value of having a flexible toolkit of analytic methods. Yoder (1995) explored how mothers of small children in Lubumbashi, Zaire, diagnosed and treated childhood diarrheal diseases. The data he collected were typical of what many medical anthropologists collect. He began with unstructured, open-ended interviews with small groups of mothers, initially attempting to get as complete a list as possible of all the childhood illnesses mothers knew. Later, he probed for detail about symptoms and treatments and eventually identified six illnesses related to the biomedical category of diarrhea: kuhara, kilonda ntumbo, lukunga, kasumbi, buse, and kantembele. Last, he asked new groups of mothers specifically about symptoms, causes, and treatments associated with these six illnesses. Based on qualitative analysis of mothers’ descriptions, Yoder (1995) concluded that mothers’ diagnoses were based on the perception of symptoms and that ethnomedical classification shaped treatment decisions.