Table 1.

How to code qualitative data: an example

Research question To what extent do you think the surgical safety checklist (SSC) has changed teamwork culture in New Zealand operating theatres?
Data (The following quotes are excerpts from written responses to the above question that the authors CD and JW independently wrote, and TJ coded)	Potential code	Code definition
‘In New Zealand, we have spent a lot of time trying to build whole of team engagement with the SSC through a change in the way it is delivered and by introducing local auditors who observe SSC delivery and score it against a behavioural marking scale. I think this has had a big effect on the way the SSC is delivered’. (JW)  ‘We changed it so it was everyone's responsibility to lead different parts of the checklist, and got rid of the paper. This really helped’. (JW)  ‘SSC has significantly improved teamwork culture by encouraging all disciplines of the operating theatre team to speak up and take ownership of safety in the operating theatre’. (CD)	Team responsibility	Participant describes processes or behaviour that demonstrates the SSC promotes teamwork or is managed by the team (rather than by one person). This includes behavioural change.
‘It started out being a paper checklist that a nurse was tasked with signing off to certify that the SCC had been done. We changed it so it was everyone's responsibility to lead different parts of the checklist, and got rid of the paper. This really helped’. (JW)	Embedding the checklist	Participant describes processes that have made use of the SSC routine.
‘I think that the SSC, along with our own approach to implementing it in New Zealand, and possibly other initiatives, such as NetworkZ and OWR, is changing the culture in New Zealand operating theatres. I think it's a combination of things happening at the same time that's influencing the culture in the operating theatres to be more team oriented, more inclusive and less hierarchical’. (JW)	Other influences on cultural change	Participant describes influences other than the SSC on teamwork.
‘SSC has significantly improved teamwork culture by encouraging all disciplines of the operating theatre team to speak up and take ownership of safety in the operating theatre’. (CD)  ‘In particular, nursing staff say that because of the introductions in the SSC and because they are asked if they have any concerns, they feel more part of the team’. (JW)  ‘The overall management of the patient also feels more like teamwork as concerns from each discipline are discussed so that one aspect of a patient care is not siloed from another’. (CD)	Communication	Participant describes how communication (as an element of teamwork) is influenced by SSC