Memo, short for memorandum 'a thing to be remembered', is a [[Qualitative Research|qualitative research]] tool. It is a written note that documents the researcher's thoughts, ideas, questions, and more, about the data as they analyse it. It forces the researcher to think analytically as they make their thoughts explicit, motivates [[Reflection|reflection]] and can be analysed to uncover themes. Hence, it is both a form of data collection and analysis. Though, it particularly aids in inductive reasoning, that is allowing themes and theories to naturally emerge from the data without a need to pre-define hypotheses and design experiments around that. Hence, it sits deeply within [[Grounded Theory|grounded theory]] but is also used extensively in other [[Qualitative Research|qualitative]] [[Methodologies|methodologies]] such as [[Ethnography|ethnographies]]. Memos are flexible and can serve various purposes, such as: * Observation memos * Reflexive memos * Analytic memos * Coding memos