Do you need to use software for qualitative data at all? From what you have said, it sounds as though you could work entirely in SPSS using your twelve categories as variables. If your paragraphs are in electronic form maybe they too can go into SPSS as text? It all depends on what you intend to do with the material and on what your aims are with the dissertation (If you are using it as a step towards a research career that will include working with qualitative data, then consider using whatever software is most commonly used in your field. If the dissertation is a step in a totally different direction, go for whatever will be most efficient, cheap and fun for you).
good luck with the project
Helen Marshall
Dr Helen Marshall
Senior Associate, Centre for Applied Social Research
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
GPO Box 2476V Melbourne 3001
Victoria Australia
ph 61 3 99259073
fax 61 3 9925 3088
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"The best cure for being sad...is to learn something" (T.H White 'The Once and Future King')
>>> Subscribe Qual-Software Lby <[log in to unmask]> 23/07/2009 03:17 >>>
Hello.
I am trying to plan my dissertation methods and am not sure which software
package to use. I would like to transform open-ended qualitative responses
(about 1000 paragraph length, qualitative responses) into quantitative
codes to then analyze quantitatively in SPSS. Based on theory, I have a
coding scheme in mind for how to code the qualitative data. Currently, based
on this theory, I have 12 separate categories for codes. One way I have been
thinking about trying to code the data is to try to code a particular
construct/category as either absent (0), somewhat present (1), or present
(2). I have been reading about different software packages and am not clear
a) which package is best for my purposes? b) how I would go about using the
software to accomplish this goal. My department owns a copy of Nvivo 8. I
was also considering MAXqda?
I would greatly appreciate any help/suggestions.
thank you.
Sincerely,
LBY
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