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The conference is sponsored by ATLAS.ti, QSR International (NVivo), Provalis Research (QDA Miner, WordStat, SimStat), TLab, Verbi (MAXQDA) and Dedoose.
The draft programme will be available very soon on the website.
For now here’s a sneak preview of just some keynote presentations and CAQDAS “software showcases”.…
Keynote Presentations
Prof. Clive Seale, Department of Sociology, Brunel University, London, UK
Analysis of large data sets using Wordsmith Tools and Wordstat
I will describe social research projects involving the use of these. They are suited to the (relatively rapid) analysis of very large collections of text, bypassing the need for the exhaustive and exhausting coding involved in qualitative thematic analysis, being based on a different logic from conventional 'code and retrieve' packages like NVivo or Atlas. While they deliver the results that initially look 'quantitative' in fact they enable a rapid identification of key themes in collections of texts and retrieval of relevant passages for qualitative reporting. I will illustrate their use by describing studies I have done with them, including studies of the performance of gender in the illness narratives contained in interviews and postings on the internet, newspaper coverage of sleep and eating disorders, an interview study concerning the use of sedatives in end-of-life care and an historical account of newspaper coverage of assisted dying.
Prof. Simon Lindgren, Department of Sociology : Umeå University, Sweden
Discourses as Measurable Networks. Introducing Connected Concept Analysis as a Mixed Methods
Approach to Big Text Data
This talk will be an introduction to what I call Connected Concept Analysis (CCA). While this method is not a new invention as such, it is a framework — building on several already existing approaches (Discourse Theory, Grounded Theory, Network Text Analysis) — for systematically analysing large volumes of text data while retaining a qualitative sensibility. This mixed methods idea is key to CCA: It aims to bring out knowledge about corpuses of text, the sizes of which make it unfeasible to make comprehensive close readings, and to do this without reducing the text to numbers, as often becomes the case in quantitative content analysis. Instead of simply counting words or phrases, CCA draws on grounded theory for building concepts and on network analysis for connecting them, in order to read them as discursive formations. The result, a network graph visualisation of key connected concepts in the analysed text dataset, can be approached with a combination of tools. Quantitative metrics can be calculated in order to cluster or otherwise describe the dataset, while a discourse theoretical understanding can be employed in order to make sense of it in a much more qualitative way. All in all, the ‘methodological bricolage’ of CCA provides an integrated framework for doing something which has often been seen as impossible, or even blasphemous: measuring discourse.
Kandy Woodfield, Director of Learning, NatCen, London,UK
From graph paper to digital research: our Framework journey
In this keynote talk Kandy Woodfield will describe the journey of moving NatCen's Framework approach for qualitative data management from handwritten charts to a fully computerised software tool and explain how the process of computerisation can positively affect the creativity and freedom of the qualitative analyst.
Informal Evening Lecture, Thursday 1st May 2014
Ann Lewins, Qualitative Data Analysis Services (and formerly CAQDAS Networking Project)
My journey with CAQDAS: good times and hard times with technology and the endless washing up.
For me, life with CAQDAS was preceded by another lifetime of brushes with technology in other spheres and stages of life; some of the failures:- the cash till, the offset litho-printer, the Sage Stock Control package, the neon tube. More successful have been the counter -intuitive cathode ray direction finder, the radar screen, the petrol lawn-mower and eventually of course, assorted CAQDAS programs. Even the more successful ventures did not always go well but they were excellent lessons for developing an understanding of the difficulties experienced in learning about technology - when it matters. Similarly, qualitative researchers bring their rich experiences of life to their research – even to software training sessions. Their expectations about using software and their technical comfort zones are extraordinarily varied. Over the last 19 years, the fascinating dynamics of being involved within and outwith the CAQDAS Networking Project has never been dull . The imperative of perpetually changing software presented me with never-ending puzzles. ‘Never-ending scuffles’ is a better way to describe the related processes of first, making sense of some new software versions and secondly, transmitting that understanding in a way that is useful to other people. This is a different thing to making sense of it just for your own use. A constructive and practical approach to each package has to be adopted – but now’s my chance to say exactly what I think – I have some issues to air!
Software Showcases
ATLAS.ti Showcase
ATLAS.ti 7: An Overview
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of ATLAS.ti 7, describing the structure of the program, and demonstrating the key procedures involved in the implementation of an analysis project with it. In specific, we will demonstrate how to create an analysis project (also known as “hermeneutic unit”), add documents into it, group the documents according to variables, import survey data, segment the text, code it, create network representations, write reflections in the form of memos, explore the data in different ways, and produce qualitative and quantitative outputs. This will be done using text, graphical, and multimedia documents and emphasizing dialogue and integration between the different components of an analysis project. Additionally, presenters will describe the different resources available to learn ATLAS.ti systematically.
MAXQDA Showcase
Introducing MAXQDA and MAXApp
Join us for a live tour of MAXQDA 11 led by VERBI Software CEO Anne Kuckartz. In this session you will be introduced to the basic features of MAXQDA 11 including the import of data, different coding strategies, using memos as a writing tool, and the retrieval and export of results. You will also learn how to gain insight into your data with the Visual Tools and MAXMAps, how to create your own summaries and how to export codes to a structured and ready-to-print report with the Smart Publisher. You will also get an overview of the free companion app MAXApp, which can be used for field research. MAXApp enables you to collect and code data on your smart phone or tablet and transfer structured projects directly to MAXQDA. Participants are invited to ask questions throughout the session.
-MAXQDA 11 is available for Windows and Mac OS X. You can download a free and fully functional 30-day demo at: www.maxqda.com
-MAXApp is a free app for smartphones and tablets for iOS and Android. You can downloaded MAXApp from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Find out more at: www.maxapp-mobile.com
NVvio Showcase
NVivo - past, present and future
Witness the extensive history of NVivo, how NVivo assists qualitative researchers today, and where NVivo is heading tomorrow. The first generation of NVivo can be traced back to 1981 when it was known as NUD*IST. Learn about how it evolved into today’s tenth generation qualitative data analysis software known as NVivo 10. See NVivo 10’s new research capabilities in action, including handling web pages, social media, online surveys and literature review. Hear of the latest developments in NVivo on transcription services, automated coding, and supporting mobility devices and the exciting future of NVivo, including the new release of NVivo for Mac.
Provalis Showcase
Bridging the gap between qualitative analysis and text mining with QDA Miner and WordStat
In this presentation, Provalis Research will showcase its integrated collection of text analysis software. QDA Miner Lite is a free and easy to use qualitative software that meets the needs of researchers performing purely qualitative data analysis. Those interested in mixed-methods research and those who would like to code more quickly and more consistently larger amounts of documents, can rely on the full version of QDA Miner. It offers high level computer assistance for qualitative coding with innovative text search tools that help users speed up the coding process, such as the clustered coding, the query-by-example, or the code similarity search, as well as advanced statistical and visualization tools such as multidimensional scaling, hierarchical clustering and correspondence analysis. Users with even bigger text collections, typical of big data, can also take advantage of WordStat. This add-on module to QDA Miner can be used to analyze huge amounts of unstructured information, quickly extract themes, find trends over time, and automatically identify patterns and references to specific concepts using categorization dictionaries. We will also preview the upcoming version of WordStat 7, which will include numerous improvements for exploratory text analysis as well as taxonomy construction and validation.
Transana Showcase
I Can Do That?: Transana’s Innovations in the Analysis of Video
Video data can be far richer and more complex that plain text data. Transana has introduced a number of tools over the years that allow researchers to bring this added richness of video data into the analytic process. This session will focus on three such innovations. Transana supports the capacity for researchers to combine multiple simultaneous video files in a single analytic interface. By presenting multiple synchronized video streams side-by-side, Transana allows researchers to analyze multiple visual perspectives captured during multi-camera data collection, allowing a richer, more nuanced understanding of complex events. Transana offers the capacity to open multiple simultaneous transcripts for a single media file. This feature allows researchers to divide their analytic observations about video data into multiple overlapping analytic layers, each transcript encapsulating a different perspective on the data. “Visual transcription” is often the first step towards greater analytic insight. Transana has recently added the capacity to treat video screen shots and other images as free-standing codeable data, including the capacity to draw “coding shapes” on images to implement detailed coding of images. This new tool allows researchers to clearly illustrate analytic points about visual aspects of video, as well as allowing qualitative analysis of stand-alone still images. It is particularly useful for highlighting and disseminating non-verbal aspects of qualitative data. This is the newest tool in Transana’s feature set designed to help bring the visual layer of video data into the analytic process.
Best wishes
Christina
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Dr Christina Silver
CAQDAS Networking Project, Day Courses in Social Research
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey
Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK
CAQDAS 2014 Conference : 25 Years of CAQDAS – 1st – 3rd May 2014
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/study/daycourses/events/2013-2014/140501-CAQDAS2014.htm
CAQDAS website : http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/research/researchcentres/caqdas/index.htm
Day Courses website : http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/study/daycourses/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/caqdas_project
Qual-software discussion list : http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/qual-software.html
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/christina-silver/24/202/7a1