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Hello, Melinda, You might want to consider using another qualitative analysis program that has a student version at affordable prices. We offer a student version of Qualrus (www.qualrus.com), for example, that is only $30 per student. This is the full program with no limitations on project size. Students can do everything that can be done with the full program except their student version expires a month or two after the semester ends. We have also been told students find Qualrus very easy to use. Grant Blank at American University in Washington D.C., for example, in a forthcoming article in Social Science Computer Review, reports students could learn the basics of Qualrus in as little as 30 minutes. "A comparison of ease of learning comes from Este et al. (1998, p. 152) who report that 'six hours of tutorials was mnot enough time for students to become competent with the basic functions of NUD*IST (version 3.0).' I found that 30 minutes sufficed for Qualrus." (Blank, in press, "Teaching Analysis of Qualitative Data," Social Science Computer Review.) By the way, we can also arrange for your students to purchase the student version and download it over the web at no extra charge and considerable convenience. I hope you find this information to be helpful. Best regards, Ed Brent 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 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Melinda Mills" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 10:02 AM Subject: Using N6/CAQDAS in large groups Hello everyone, I am a 'first time mailer' and therefore my excuses if this is question that is more frequently asked. I starting a new course in Qualitative Research (at the Bachelor's level) and desperately try to include an active component where students will have a hands-on opportunity to work with N6. But I have a few problems and wonder if anyone else has encountered these and if they have found different solutions: 1) Since everyone seems to want to study in Amsterdam, we have large classes of sometimes around 200 students. I need to give the courses in a computer room with 25 computers (and I try to do it with 2 students per computer) - thus at the moment I have to give the same class around 4 or 5 times to get to everyone. Anyone who has taught these courses knows that having this many students in the room at once (and only one assistant) is already challenging! Does anyone have experiences about giving this type of education to large groups? This is related to the second problem. 2) There does not seem to be an 'affordable' student version of N6 on the market (such as the student versions that are available for SPSS for example - this is what the students complain about constantly). Any experiences or (legal) suggestions here? My problem is that it is hard to push the program and spread its usage and give hands-on assignments when students can't seem to get enough time to get their hands on it to use it. Any suggestions, experiences or comments are very welcome. Best regards, Melinda Mills Assistant Professor, Department of Social Research Methodology Faculty of Social Sciences Free University Amsterdam [log in to unmask]