Dear all,
as our unintended mailing provoked this discussion, I would like to add some
comments to my initial statement.
First of all, I was very glad about the statements of encouragement and
understanding from some of you (Thanks Duncan, Elliot and you others!).
The discussion is very interesting indeed - yes, it's true, there are surely
information in the product newsletters which provide interesting information
not only for the users.
Still - I find a discussion list is a very sensitive room - even though most
of the developers will certainly not abuse this public forum, it would be a
constant temptation to do so as soon as their comments, newsletter, or what
ever would be a normal part of it. I assume it to be self evident that
software developers are convinced of the high quality and strengths of their
product. So any "praising" statements, even though they might just tell
facts, can hardly avoid the taste of promotion and would structurally have a
lack of credibility. Anyway, developers are always free to get back on a
personal, off-list level to list member who asked for specific information
on the list.
However, there is one "tradition" of information which developers announce
on the list: They inform shortly about new releases or major enhancements of
their software. Anybody who likes may then go to the website and look up
detailed information. I would consider this kind of information as
legitimate and important for the list members because it provides new
information of general interest.
Where to get the information, which some of you would like to get from the
list others would consider as spam? Well, Ann Lewins and Christina Silver
and their colleagues at QAQDAS are doing a great job. They provide detailed
information, including links to the software products on their website.
There are some other websites providing a comprehensive overview of the
current software packages, like http://www.textanalysis.info/.
The "pain of choice" cannot be taken away from the user anyway - if a
researcher has to take a decision about which software to use, it is still
the best to go to the sources and to really take a look at the demo versions
of the products, their descriptions on the websites in order to take a
decision which carries through the process of data analysis and fits the
specific needs.
Best regards
Anne
--------------------------------------------------------
VERBI Software-Consult-Sozialforschung GmbH
Anne Kuckartz - Geschäftsführerin / Chief Executive Officer
Adresse: Stockwiesenweg 14 / 35287 Amöneburg / Germany
Fon: 0049-6422-890070
Fax: 0049-6422-890071
Info: [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask]
Support: [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask]
Website: www.maxqda.de (Deutsch)
www.maxqda.com (English/Spanish)
|