Iterative categorisation (IC) (part 2): interpreting qualitative data.

Iterative categorisation (IC) is a systematic and transparent technique for analysing qualitative textual data, first presented in Addiction in 2016. IC breaks the analytical process down into stages, separating basic 'description' from more advanced 'interpretation'. This paper focuses on the interpretive analytical stage that is shown to comprise three core processes: (i) conceptualising (undertaken inductively, deductively or abductively); (ii) differentiating; and (iii) externalising. Each process is described, followed by published examples to support what has been explained. As qualitative analyses tend to be recursive rather than linear, the three processes often need to be repeated to account for all the data. Following the stages of IC will ensure that qualitative research generates improved understanding of the phenomena being studied, study findings contribute to and enhance the existing literature, the audience for any qualitative output is broad and international, and any practical implications or study recommendations are relevant to other contexts and settings.