For the Complex coding mode, you need at least a two-level coding scheme (otherwise you can just use the Standard coding mode):
oOne code definition file with top-level code, to identify your subjects.
oOne or more sub-level code definitions, to specify the current state of each subject.
Defining those codes, works the same as described in Define Codes - Lexical Chains.
There is just one significant difference:
IMPORTANT: The option This file defines the "Master objects",needs to be selected, within the top-level Code definitions!
Top-level Codes to identify subjectsYou can use every trick in the book, including Prefixes to create context based Classes and Exclusion lists for mutual exclusiveness. The latter can be useful, if you observe multiple individuals that sometimes act as a group and in that case need to be treated as one.
Example situation: Four kids are in a gym and a trainer is supervising them. The attention of each individual needs to be coded. In case a kid is distracted, the source of distraction needs to be logged as well. If all kids work together as a group, the attention of the whole group must be rated, not the individuals. In addition, the different phases of the session need to be logged.
Additional Information
In this example file, three additional Codes, that are not related to the subjects as such, are listed at the bottom. Those Codes are meant to log the overall situation, and do not require any further specification. They can be logged simultaneously to the Events that log the subject based behaviors, but those Atmosphere codes do exclude each other, which means you only need to code the start of each change.
The lower levels for this specific example look like this:
