Already publicised is the Free seminar event being held by the
CAQDAS Networking Project on 27th NOvember 2003.
because of limited capacity at this venue an EXTRA SIMILAR event will be
held on
26th NOVEMBER 2002, ALSO IN CENTRAL LONDON
Here repeated is the original message with new dates and NEW timing
information

!!PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY BUTTON - address replies to
[log in to unmask]

At the centre of the ongoing resources, courses, and platforms for debate
provided by the CAQDAS Networking Project is its Free seminar program at
which we hope that methodologists, software developers and users share the
chance to see, react to, and discuss new programs for QUALITATIVE DATA
ANALYSIS.

The CAQDAS Networking Project therefore welcomes the chance to see
Ed Brent preview his new 'intelligent' qualitative data analysis software
(see full abstract below)

Date: Tuesday 26 November 2002
OR,
Date: Wednesday 27 November 2002

Venue: for both events: Central London location (more information when you
book your place)
NEW Timing for both events : 1pm - 4pm

(please note that the event on 27th November is full, but you can put your
name on a waiting list for this date, if you are not able to attend the
event on the 26th)


web pages below allow you to explore the possibilities of Qualrus
http://www.ideaworks.com/Qualrus.shtml
http://www.ideaworks.com/QualrusScreenshots.shtml

IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND either similar event(and you have not already
applied) - JUST EMAIL
[log in to unmask]
or call and leave a message on 01483 68 9455   (ensure you get an
acknowledgement - places are free but MUST be booked)

PUSHING THE LIMITS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WITH QUALRUS™

By Edward Brent

Seminars on 26th or 27th  November 2002

ABSTRACT


This seminar will introduce the new qualitative analysis program, Qualrus™,
demonstrate its key features, and show how it can be applied to a wide range
of qualitative problems.  Qualrus is both easy to use and very powerful.  It
is easy to use because it was designed with the advice of internationally
respected qualitative researcher, Howard Becker, relying on the concepts and
methods from the qualitative literature rather than idiosyncratic terms and
procedures unique to other programs.  It is more powerful because it uses
intelligent computational strategies to do more for the researcher at each
of the three major stages of qualitative research:  coding, analysis, and
application.

Qualrus  provides a wide range of tools to support diverse coding styles in
addition to the customary coding of successive segments one at a time.
Qualrus’ categorizing tool (based on Howard Becker’s preferred coding
method) lets researchers sort segments into stacks and then apply codes to
the entire stack simultaneously—supporting diverse research styles and
emphasizing emerging concepts.  A graphical interface displays standard and
user-defined relations among codes in a semantic network.  That network is
then used to facilitate reasoning by the program.   Qualrus also uses
intelligent computational strategies to identify patterns in data, suggest
codes to users, and learn from user responses, providing more intelligent
help as the coding progresses.  Researchers can code independently, with
computer-assistance, or even apply codes automatically, at their own
discretion—in some cases achieving dramatic gains in coding speed and
accuracy.  The automatic comparison of codes assigned by coders with those
recommended by the program provides an ongoing measure of coding consistency
throughout the project.

Qualrus offers a range of tools specifically designed for the common tasks
of qualitative research.  Concept formation and the emergence of categories
from the data are facilitated by the categorizing tool, while other tools
help researchers identify codes that are good candidates for generalization
or refinement.  Still other tools compute commonly used summary statistics,
perform Boolean searches, and test hypotheses.  These diverse tools are
designed to support many different styles of research.   Multimedia support
is included for text, rich text, and a wide variety of video, audio, and
graphics formats.  Results can be saved to HTML reports, and data can be
both imported and exported to spreadsheets and statistical programs.

Qualrus’ powerful scripting language permits users to adapt the program to
their own research style and to a wide range of practical applications.  The
versatility of this scripting language is illustrated by two specialized
applications of Qualrus to non-traditional qualitative analysis tasks of
grading essays for an introductory college-level course, and conducting a
literature review.  Other example applications to be discussed include
Howard Becker’s example of his ethnographic study, Becoming a Marijuana
User,  in which he describes how he conducted the original study by hand and
how it could be improved with Qualrus.  Additional examples include an
illustration of  theory building based on Erving Goffman’s work, coding
open-ended interviews, and analyzing multimedia downloaded from the web.
=========================================

AGAIN....IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND either event - JUST EMAIL
[log in to unmask]
or call and leave a message on 01483 68 9455   (ensure you get an
acknowledgement - places are free but MUST be booked)


NOTE:  The CAQDAS Networking Project is about to commence its 5th period of
funding by the ESRC and is co-directed by Nigel Fielding, Profesor of
Sociology at University of Surrey, and Ray Lee, Professor of Research
Methods at Royal Holloway, University of London

Ann Lewins
Resource Officer, CAQDAS Networking Project
Dept of Sociology
University of Surrey
GUILDFORD  GU2 5XH
email:   [log in to unmask]
CAQDAS web site:  http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/caqdas/
Tel +44 (0)1 483 68 94 55
Fax +44 (0)1 483 68 95 51


DISCUSSION GROUP qual-software :  join/leave information etc
see: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/qual-software.html