Most books on qualitative research do not give much detailed guidance on the analysis stage. Many factors can determine the analytical approach (e.g. the subject of the study, the methodology, the objectives of the study, the experience of the researcher and so on).  In L’approche phénoménologique en recherche, Deschamps defines four important stages for analysing qualitative data.
                          
Once the data has been collected and transcribed, the researcher proceeds to the stages of phenomenological reduction which consists in the following (Deschamps, 1993):

1) Extrapolate general meaning from the description
The researcher scans the material to familiarise him/herself with the phenomena and get a sense of its meaning.

2) Recognise units of meaning emerging from the description
The researcher divides the content of the verbatim into as many units as can be decoded at each thematic transition identified in the reading, from the perspective of the participant.  The emerging units of meaning allow the researcher to link the experience to the concept (specific structure of the phenomena being studied).  The principal units of meaning represent the structure of the phenomenon.

3) Develop the content of units of meaning to acquire an in-depth understanding of the material
In this stage, the researcher deepens his/her understanding of the experience by decoding and detailing the units of meaning, examining the content of the verbatim using his/her knowledge of the phenomena being explored.  The researcher describes the experience in his words and those of the participant, in order to gain further understanding. For example, it is possible to separate the analysed text into two columns.  In the first column, units of meaning and the words of the participants are listed chronologically, in the second column the same units of meaning are re-examined as detailed units of meaning.  Detailed units of meaning can be seen as the meeting point between the researcher and the experience. 

4) Synthesise the findings of the units of meaning with respect to the phenomena under consideration and describe the typical structure of the phenomena
This is the last stage of phenomenological reduction. Here, the researcher must combine units of meaning and detailed units of meaning into a consistent and coherent description in the form of a synthesis.  Each analysed account results in a logical description, faithfully representing the views of the participant.  The researcher also synthesises, by means of a general description, the various accounts of the typical structure of the experience: going from a description towards the concept and finally to a higher level of generalisation.  Phenomenological reduction allows the researcher to ask participants for their points of view, share the description of the specific experience with them, and obtain their impressions, thus leading the researcher to a deeper analysis.