Computer-assisted (or aided) qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) offers tools that assist with
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 ...
such as
transcription
Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including:
Genetics
* Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
analysis, coding and text interpretation, recursive abstraction,
content analysis
Content analysis is the study of documents and communication artifacts, which might be texts of various formats, pictures, audio or video. Social scientists use content analysis to examine patterns in communication in a replicable and systematic ...
,
discourse analysis
Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event.
The objects of discourse Analysis ( discourse, writing, conversation, communicative event ...
,
grounded theory methodology, etc.
Definition
CAQDAS is used in
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 ...
,
marketing research
Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix i ...
,
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 ...
,
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
and other
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
. The CAQDAS networking project lists the following tools a CAQDAS program should have:
* Content searching tools
* Coding tools
* Linking tools
* Mapping or networking tools
* Query tools
* Writing and
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 ...
tools
Comparison of CAQDAS software
Project Exchange Format
In March 2019 the
Rotterdam Exchange Format Initiative (REFI) launched a new open exchange standard for qualitative data called QDA-XML. The aim is to allow users to bring coded qualitative data from one software package to another. Initially support was included in
Atlas.ti,
QDA Miner,
Quirkos
Quirkos is a CAQDAS software package for the qualitative analysis of text data, commonly used in social science. It provides a graphical interface in which the nodes or themes of analysis are represented by bubbles. It is designed primarily for n ...
and
Transana
Transana is a software package used to analyze digital video or audio data. Transana used to be a GPL licensed software, but has become proprietary software in recent releases.
Features
Transana lets the user analyze and manage your data, transcri ...
, and is now implemented in
Dedoose,
MAXQDA
MAXQDA is a software program designed for computer-assisted qualitative and mixed methods data, text and multimedia analysis in academic, scientific, and business institutions. It is being developed and distributed by VERBI Software based in Ber ...
,
NVivo
NVivo is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer software package produced by QSR International. NVivo helps qualitative researchers to organize, analyze and find insights in unstructured or qualitative data like interviews, open-ended survey ...
and
QualCoder as well, while
f4analyse only to Export . Although this was not the first standard to be proposed, it was the first to be implemented by more than one software package, and came as the result of a collaboration between vendors and community representatives from the research community. Previously there was very little capability to bring data in from other software packages.
Pros and cons
Such software helps to organize, manage and analyse information. The advantages of using this software include saving time, managing huge amounts of qualitative data, having increased flexibility, having improved validity and auditability of qualitative research, and being freed from manual and clerical tasks. Concerns include increasingly deterministic and rigid processes, privileging of coding, and retrieval methods;
reification of data, increased pressure on researchers to focus on volume and breadth rather than on depth and meaning, time and energy spent learning to use computer packages, increased commercialism, and distraction from the real work of analysis.
See also
*
Comparison of survey software
Software tools for surveys are varied, ranging from desktop applications to complex web systems for monitoring consumer behaviour. The tables includes general and technical information for notable Computer-assisted survey information collection ...
*
Idea networking
Idea networking is a qualitative method of doing a cluster analysis of any collection of statements, developed by Mike Metcalfe at the University of South Australia. Networking lists of statements acts to reduce them into a handful of clusters o ...
*
Multimethodology
Multimethodology or multimethod research includes the use of more than one method of data collection or research in a research study or set of related studies. Mixed methods research is more specific in that it includes the mixing of qualitative a ...
*
Computer Assisted Mixed Methods Research Analysis Software
*
Qualitative economics
Qualitative economics is the representation and analysis of information about the direction of change (+, -, or 0) in some economic variable(s) as related to change of some other economic variable(s). For the non-zero case, what makes the change ...
*
Qualitative marketing research Qualitative marketing research involves a natural or observational examination of the philosophies that govern consumer behavior. The direction and framework of the research is often revised as new information is gained, allowing the researcher to ...
*
Qualitative psychological research
Qualitative psychological research is psychological research that employs qualitative methods.
Qualitative research methodologies are oriented towards developing an understanding of the meaning and experience dimensions of human lives and their ...
*
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philosop ...
*
Sampling (case studies)
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...
*
Sensemaking
Sensemaking or sense-making is the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences. It has been defined as "the ongoing retrospective development of plausible images that rationalize what people are doing" ( Weick, Sutcliffe, ...
References
-External links
The CAQDAS networking projectmaintained by the University of Surrey offers advice and reviews on various software packages.
Harald Klein's comprehensive guide to CAQDAS
*
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