Dear Harald,
I am not interested in word or string searching in the text, the kind of
thing that 'classical' content analysis methods would do. My objective is
to trace and analyse features of the context in which the text (or
transcribed oral speech) is produced by means of examining the structural
or semantic features of the discourse. These may be interpretive frames,
themes, semantic macrostructures (see Van Dijk), or simply reference to a
social relationship or an encounter, real or imaginary (e.g. the
relationship or encounter between Us-the domestic population and
Them-immigrants in general or specific immigrant communities). Starting
from this and comparing my data with earlier research findings or
theoretical accounts, I build a new hypothesis and/or provide for new
insights or interpretations of my data.
I hope now I have given you a clear idea of what I want to achieve. Thus, i
can build a coding scheme in which I insert the whatever coding categories
I have chosen to examine (e.g. frames, themes, pairs of actors, types of
relationships etc.) and code my raw text.
OF course, software like Foxpro2, although simple and user-friendly, does
not provide for relational coding (the sort of thing called "nodes" in
Nudist). And it does not allow you to insert existing text (you have to
type it in). However, there is no limit in the length of text variables and
you can also ask for complex retrievals using the Boolean logic.
Thus, what I am asking myself is: Is buying a new software worth the money,
time and effort investment???
I forgot to say that usually I am involved with not too large sets of data:
e.g. 35 interviews of 10 pages each or 40 newspaper articles of varying
lengths etc.
Thus, the DBMS software allows me to systematise my material, code in and
retrieve whenever I want the segments that I find revealing and/or relevant
for my hypothesis.
As about the theory-building power of qualitative analysis software, I am a
bit sceptical. You may want to consult a couple of articles published on
the matter on Sociological Research Online:
<http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/>
in the thematic issue on qualitative methodology.
Best,
Anna Triandafyllidou
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| Dr. Anna Triandafyllidou |
| Marie Curie Post Doctoral Fellow |
| Institute of Psychology |
| Italian National Research Council (CNR) |
| viale Marx 15, Rome 00137, Italy |
| tel. 0039 6 86090220 |
| fax 0039 6 824737 |
| e-mail: [log in to unmask] |
| |
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