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As there are some differences in screen and interface design between the Mac and Windows versions please watch the video 'The ATLAS.ti Mac Interface' in the Component Orientation series of videos (available September 2017) The Five-Level QDA method is based on the authors' combined 40 years of experience teaching ATLAS.ti and other software packages used as platforms for conducting qualitative analysis.
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The book and accompanying videos illustrate the Windows version of ATLAS.ti. While this book uses screenshots from the current ATLAS.ti Version 8, it is still fully applicable to users of older versions. The book is accompanied by three sets of videos demonstrations on the Companion Website. The third part contains real-world qualitative research projects from a variety of disciplines, methodologies, and kinds of qualitative analysis, all illustrated in ATLAS.ti using the Five-Level QDA method. these steps are illustrated with examples from a variety of research projects. The second part provides both an in-depth description of how ATLAS.ti works and comprehensive instruction in the five steps of "translation". The first part of the book explains how the contradiction between analytic strategies and software tactics is reconciled by "translating" between them. The Five-Level QDA® method unpacks the process so that you can learn it consciously and efficiently. Expert ATLAS.ti users have unconsciously learned to do this. This contradiction is best resolved by separating analytic strategies - what you plan to do - from software tactics - how you plan to do it. Qualitative Analysis is more challenging than quantitative in many ways but it is also that much more rewarding when you complete your study or write your report.Software is cut-and-dried - every button you press has a predictable effect - but qualitative analysis is open-ended and unfolds in unpredictable ways. Researchers welcome the opportunity to engage in the creativity and intellectual demands of doing social research.
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Advanced technology has brought us excellent innovations in the ability of software to organize and audit qualitative analysis, paving the way for researchers to collaborate, replicate, and convince the skeptics of the importance of thorough qualitative research to understanding society. While some researchers might welcome that invention, skeptical researchers worry that qualitative software will be used to impose rigidity, to imitate quantitative analysis techniques or to oversimplify complex social processes. The right choice of qualitative software can help or hinder, make or break the schedule of a given project.Īs experienced researchers know, no software program will do the data analysis for you. Researchers design and often carry out entire research project in a short time-span, so they are under considerable pressure to develop ideas quickly. The learning curve can be steep and the workload for researchers is not infrequently a heavy one. Another major use was in market research, where the focus group approach continues to represent a distinct branch of the field.Ĭhoosing the right qualitative software package can be daunting task, but the optimal choice influences directly the relationship of qualitative software and secondary analysis of archived qualitative data. It offered to address the needs of researchers working under the pressure of short-term ‘soft money’ contracts and yet who retained an enthusiasm for the intrinsic interest of qualitative data. From the first it gained substantial use in applied research. Qualitative software did not, however, remain an interest only for those in ‘pure’ academic disciplines. While some early experimenters began developing their own software for particular qualitative applications almost as soon as they had assembled their first DIY personal computer, the main impetus came from academic seminars including social researchers and computing enthusiasts during the early 1980s. What is Qualitative Software in Research?Īlthough Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS) and qualitative software are a recent development, the arrival of word processors with text retrieval and handling capacities was the background for the development of specialist qualitative software packages.
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