Ed,
I notice that you have a U.S. address. When will you be offering hands-on
courses for Qualrus in the U.S.?
Ruth
Ed Brent wrote:
> I really have to object to Ray's comment that qualitative analysis programs
> are too much program for doing simple qualitative analysis while
> quantitative databases or spreadsheets are not.
>
> Qualitative researchers have spent entirely too much time already tryng to
> limp along doing qualitative analyses on programs designed for quantitative
> purposes. Even for something simple like coding brief open-ended answers,
> any of the qualitative analysis programs are superior to a spreadsheet or
> database program. I'll let other developers speak for themselves, but
> Qualrus offers a number of significant advantages over a spreadsheet or
> database for this task. With Qualrus you can
> - use the categorizing tool to easily group similar responses and then
> assign a standard code in one step
> - use scripts and the intelligent tools to automatically assign codes to
> segments
> - use simple qualitatively oriented tools like search or scripts to examine
> segments having particular codes or code/text combinations to check coding
> accuracy
> - use logical relationships among codes to exploit hierarchies and other
> logical dependencies that can help you generalize your findings and refine
> your codes.
>
> The other qualitative analysis programs offer advantages over spreadsheets
> and database programs as well. The only advantage of a spreadsheet or
> database program is that the person may already have one of those on their
> computer. But isn't it rather short-sighted to encourage researchers to
> continue using programs because they have them rather than because they
> offer the best way to perform qualitative research? It seems to me we ought
> to be encouraging young qualitative researchers to explore the tools
> available and become competent in their use so that throughout their careers
> they can take maximum advantage of those tools and not be forced to continue
> limiting future projects to fit the standard mold of off-the-shelf
> quantitative packages.
>
> Edward Brent, Ph.D.
> President, Idea Works, Inc.
> 100 West Briarwood
> Columbia, Missouri 65203 USA
> (573) 445-4554
> (573) 446-2199 (fax)
> [log in to unmask]
> www.ideaworks.com
> www.qualrus.com
>
> >
> > If the open responses or only one or two words, you may be better off not
> using a qualitative software package and just entering responses into a
> quantitative database.
> > Bottom line - think about whether or not you are buying too much of a
> package for your purpose.
> >
> > Hope that helps,
> > Ray
> >
> >
> > Raymond C. Maietta, Ph.D., President
|