Group similar pieces of data

Up to this point in the affinity mapping process, participants of the research group operate alone — they write down individual data points on cards and stick them to a surface. Now, together, they will have to discuss each data point and decide what groups their notes belong to.

Group names can be created on the spot depending on the themes and patterns that emerge and your research goals. It is a good idea to first start with top-level categories and then create granular sub-groups as you go.^[1] This step should take you around 60 minutes.

It is quite normal to be left with notes that don’t seem to fit into any group. Sort them under the miscellaneous category and try to make sense of them towards the end of the grouping session.