You just reflected on the coding process. Let me tell you a little about some common things that stand out.

1. How important it is to come to standard definitions of terms. Deciding what “safety” discussion means and includes is an important first step. All coders should be trained together and come to a mutual understanding of how each item is fully defined. It’s helpful to develop a code book that provides instructions for completing the court observation instrument and includes examples of “0” “1” and “2” level of discussion items to build consistency in coding.

2. How challenging this would be to do live. With a recorded hearing, you can pause, but in real life, hearings are fast paced and there is a lot going on. It is hard to translate all of that to one sheet without time to pause or process. Because hearings are dynamic events, while you are coding (and this would be especially helpful if you are coding live hearings), you want to have a piece of paper alongside the court observation instrument so that you can take notes to keep track of what is happening. You can also note any areas where you found it difficult to decide on the right code or to explain why you coded an item as “n/a” (e.g., you can note that the child was a newborn so that some of the discussion topics such as educational needs would not be applicable). You may also want to note any qualitative impressions you have of the hearing itself (e.g., demeanor of the judge, something that was done particularly well in your opinion, etc.). These qualitative observation notes can be used to provide more context around your observation findings.