Aquad is a

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software Computer-assisted (or aided) qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) offers tools that assist with qualitative research such as Transcription (linguistics), transcription analysis, coding and text interpretation, recursive abstraction, content ...

(CAQDAS) that supports content analysis of open data in

qualitative research Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, etc. Open data is collected through

observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

narratives A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). Narra ...

discussion groups A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...

interviews An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" r ...

, etc.

Author

Aquad was developed.

Description

Aquad provides classical tools of content analysis as: * Text searching: looking for segments in texts. * Coding: labeling segments in texts, audios, photos, or videos. * Writing memos (

annotation An annotation is extra information associated with a particular point in a document or other piece of information. It can be a note that includes a comment or explanation. Annotations are sometimes presented in the margin of book pages. For anno ...

): inserting annotations linked to parts or whole texts, audios, photos, or videos. * Word analysis: counting words according to criteria. * Retrieving by file name, code, keyword, or parts of memo texts: Retrieving segments according to criteria. * Table analysis: constructing tables combining criteria and arranging data in rows and columns. * Construction of linkage hypotheses: looking for relationships among codes. * Comparison of cases/files: contrasting coding among files. * Sequential analysis: part of the objective

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

approach. * Comparison of cases by Boolean analysis: critical features and identification of „types“ as introduced by

Charles Ragin Charles C. Ragin (born ) is Chancellor's Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Biography Born , Ragin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in May 1972. He complet ...

. * Export data: quantitative softwares as R,

SPSS SPSS Statistics is a statistical software suite developed by IBM for data management, advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, and criminal investigation. Long produced by SPSS Inc., it was acquired by IBM in 2009. C ...

, and

PSPP PSPP is a free software application for analysis of sampled data, intended as a free alternative for IBM SPSS Statistics. It has a graphical user interface and conventional command-line interface. It is written in C and uses GNU Scientific Lib ...

for statistical analysis.

Possibilities

Presentation of data

Data could be analysed as written

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

photo A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

, or

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

. Initially, Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software analysed only verbal texts. The

, etc. were transcribed and CAQDAS only analysed the

transcription (linguistics) Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of spoken language in written form. The source can either be utterances (''speech'' or ''sign language'') or preexisting text in another writing system. Transcription shoul ...

Situation of data

Data could be directly analysed on the screen (one-step) or outside (two-steps). One-step allows to code on the screen with digitalised data. Two-steps allows to enter codes on the screen keeping the documents as realia on the desk or in other means as cameras, TV, etc. For instance, two-steps allows analysis to recordings, diaries, incunabula, or objects without transcribing, taking photos, or scanning them.

Comparison of cases/files by Boolean analysis

Aquad allows comparison of cases/files by " logical minimization". It applies the Boolean method of qualitative comparison by Ragin (1989) and detects critical features to identify

types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Typ ...

of cases.

Versions

The current available version is 8, this includes examples of analysis in written

, and

. Aquad is available in German, English, and Spanish.

References

* Huber, G. L. & Gürtler, L. (2013) AQUAD 7. Manual: The Analysis of Qualitative data. Tübingen: Ingeborg Huber Verlag
Download
* Ragin, C. C. (1989) The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press
Google Books

External links

*
Official manual
* Spanish Association for the Advance of Qualitative Research (2018)
AQUAD 7: programa análisis de datos de acceso abierto
Asociación Española para el Avance de la Investigación Cualitativa. * Feliz Murias, T. (2012)

(Content analysis of asynchronous communication in the university training).Revista de Educación, 358, Mayo-agosto 2012, pp. 282-309. * Gil Flores, J. (Director) (2007)

(Data processing in qualitative research). Universidad de Sevilla. * López Regalado, O. (2008)
Tutorial of Aquad 6
* Ricoy Lorenzo, M.C., Sevillano García, M.L. & Feliz Murias, T. (2011)

(Competences Needed to Use the Main Internet Tools in Education). Revista de Educación, 356. Septiembre-diciembre 2011, pp. 483-507. {{Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software , state=autocollapse Qualitative research Free QDA software