A colleague of mine and I collected 28 interviews and transcribed them for a qualitative content analysis. Before starting with the content analysis manually, I wondered if you have used a software in the past that you can recommend in terms of usability, comprehensibility of the analysis, visualization and costs? If so, which one do you suggest and why?
Most of the CAQDAS recommended here by others are definitely good. However, they are proprietary and often really expensive (e.g. if you want to work with students). So, depending on your budget and more importantly on what type of qualitative analysis you intend to perform, you could consider free and open source software. There are various free CAQDAS:
-AnSWR (soon to be discontinued by the developer)
-RQDA (PC, Mac, Linux)
-WeftQDA (PC, Linux)
-Tams Analyzer (Mac Only)
-QDA Miner Lite (free restricted version of QDA Miner working with PC and Mac)
-Open Code (PC only)
-Saturate (cloud)
-CAT (cloud)
Depending on your approach, you could find some of them to be quite interesting. It would be too long to describe them all here in detail, but briefly speaking, they offer different options:
Some are complex and will support you with various tools. For instance, Tams, AnSWR and RQDA allow inductive and deductive coding, coding overlaps and coding memos; they can support a certain coding hierarchy (or structure), they provide basic coding statistics, and they perform easy text and coding retrieval, and so on. RQDA is probably the most advanced of all the free CAQDAS. It has been developed as a package for R, so when you know how to use the R commands, you can do a lot of neat things with the program. For instance, you can perform word cloud analysis, create queries for complex cross-coding retrieval, program auto-coding commands, plot the relationship between codes, export data in spreadsheets, etc. That being said, you do not need to know about R to operate RQDA. The package comes in a very simple "touch and click" window. Knowledge about R is only required to perform more advanced operations.
If your needs are basic (e.g. quick and simple coding), other free programs would be interesting to consider. For instance, Open Code and Saturate were developed to facilitate simple coding often (but not necessarily) taken from a pre-existing coding scheme. They are really simple to manipulate and they only allow one code per pre-identified text segment (which is often over-simplistic, but sometimes sufficient and appropriate). Saturate is also very useful to perform coding with more than one analyst.
I hope this will help you!
Thanks a lot idongesit! :) have you used maxqdata or atlas.ti as well?
Also you can follow this lines, perhaps not directly profitable, but you can see different options, and the last one, that sofware in the cloud: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_use_qualitative_analysis_software_on_a_Mac?ev=tp_feed_post_xview
I worked with Atlas.ti, it did the job. MaxQDA is also used widely. In terms of Open Source you should try out AQUAD or the free tool saturateapp. For an overview what tools are available you can have a look at: http://www.sosciso.de/en/software/datenanalyse/qualitativ/
http://www.sosciso.de/en/software/datenanalyse/qualitativ/
I heard that Nvivo is really good, I am planning myself to do interview and analyze with Nvivo. It depends on your research and what you want to find, maybe leximancer is good as well, you need to check it with good methodologist, he can advise you which one is better for your research. Best of luck!
Nvivo is one of the best in the license circuit. Open source i would recomend WeftQDA
N-Vivo and Atlas are good software for analyzying the qualitative data specialy in conceptualization or grounded theory research
Atlas.ti has a license for students or young researchers is a very good price
Thanks everyone for the really helpful comments and advice! It really gave me a very good overview of the existing software.
Btw.: I ran the same question in a FB group of communication scientists - they also circle mostly around Atlas.ti, MaxQDA and NVivo. From the comments here and on FB together with the first tutorials on youtube, I will probably go for NVivo; it seems a bit more intuitive than MaxQDA and Atlas.ti; also the cooperative coding appears (at least from the videos) quite hassle-free...
One last question: Do you know, how the analysis will be visualized? With qualitative analyses, I find the visualization in terms of comprehensibility always quite difficult. Is there for example an option to structure all claims that that fall into a code in a table or sth... ?
Again: Thank you very much and best regards
Benedikt
Take a look at Cmap: you can create and then visualize the map of the concepts (=the codes)
See http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2012.712996#.UX-ZgeBOTdk
Software does NOT analyse data. It assists. I would consider using other methods that allow thought to move and fits with the craft of doing qualitative work
Thx Paolo!
@Brett: Ist that an example for qualit. data analysis visualization? Unfortunately the article is not open access...
Nvivo definitely. The latest versions all have amazing tools to visualize data. It does need a couple of hours/days to get used o the programme and check all the possibilities but it is well worth it.
NVivo - it is robust and very well-tested (it has a great pedigree). It allows for multiple cross-referencing of themes and allows you to 'visualise' your data through 'maps' of your overall 'big picture'. The key with Nvivo is to not lose sight of the big picture as you cut the themes ever more finely. In this way, the visualisation tools allow you to keep in touch with the big picture.
I have previously used NVIVO to assist with qualitative analysis - I particularly like the concept mapping feature, which feels abit more 'creative'
I have been using MaxQDA and like the fact that you can export the data into Excel and subsequently use it for quantitative analyses. In particular, if you are using content analysis this may be of interest, as you may wish to look at frequencies and sequencing?
I found Atlas.ti to be quite user friendly with a little bit of training. I preferred it to NVIVO. I have used Atlas.ti with two recent projects (My Choices Project and EPIC Project) and wouldn't want to change to anything else.
I switched from Nvivo to Dedoose. Dedoose is cloud based and makes it very easy to collaborate if other folks are helping you code. It is 15 a month and you can freeze it when you don't need it, so it is also much cheaper than Nvivo.
There are many good products. I personally like Qualrus because it is easy to learn and has a great deal of depth for sophisticated analyses: www.qualrus.com.
If you want to deveop content analysis Nvivo software is great. One bullet point , The qualitative design you used. If you develop grounded theory I recommended Atlas-ti software. Currently Nvivo (version 10) licence cost 477 euros.
It is helpful to read through the transcripts for underlying themes and then use Atlas Ti. It only needs a short training session.
If your interviews are structured (they ask the same set of questions) NVivo let's you 'auto code' them to gather the answers to each question - then you can review all the answers to a question and code the themes that emerge. You can also keep track of the demographic attributes of your participants (and use them to compare attitudes). There are some handy visualizations that let you see the most frequently used terms or the context in which different words are used - you can also generate charts or make models.
I think it's a great tool - but I might be a little biased since I'm a tech writer at QSR :) Here's a video about working with interview data - http://bit.ly/189R0wc - hope you find it useful.
If you don't need to do statistical analysis on data I will recommend Transana ( http://www.transana.org )
If you search for 'Transana' in researchgate you will find bibliography, answers and other users.
Transana is cost effective, cross platform, open source and can manage big corpus of continuous recordings.
thx again for all the good comments. I will have a look into the new tools that came up in the thread.
I use NVivo and have found it very user-friendly for storing, manipulating and analysing large quantities of qualitative data derived from interviews and focus groups. The software generates a range of excellent visualisations. QSR offers excellent training opportunities and great follow-up technical support.
NVivo Software Program - Approximately $680 US. The NVivo software program allows researchers to store, sort, analyze and draw conclusions from transcripts of qualitative research observations.
There is a web-based system called Dedoose (www.dedoose.com). It can be used strictly for qualitative analysis, but can also be used in conjunction with quantitative analysis. There is no purchase fee, it is a pay as you use it system, per month or an a longer term basis if you like. There are tutorials on the web-site and it's pretty user friendly. I think it's an amazing deal particularly for someone who is not churning out research projects on a regular basis. I have just started to work with it, but a colleague of mine prefers it to Nvivo or Atlas-ti.
I agree with others in use Atlas.Ti but, only in part. The qualitative analysis requires of perception, knowledge of context, intuitive action. If you have very clear the significant units to work and do field work is more easy interpret the interview results. And many times do that in a traditional form is better.
I have used Atlas Ti and have really enjoyed it. It is easy to use and is constantly being updated! Good luck.
I prefer NVivo, but it currently is only available for Windows operating systems. It's very easy to use and intuitive. Mac version is expected later this year.
I recently made the switch to Dedoose.com from Atlas T.I.. It's a cloud-based qualitative analysis tool with a lot of powerful mixed-method analysis capabilities. In my opinion it offers a vast improvement over other available tools.
It is interesting - NVivo will almost universally be recommended. I have undertaken quite a bit of qualitative analysis including QCA and only once relied on NVivo for data management purposes. Even at 28 interviews I would suggest you could still rely on methods that do not necessitate software (i.e manually). This said, let me introduce you to software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and will actually - wait for it - analyse the data for you: Leximancer (Google it) a product commercialised here at the University of Queensland (Australia)
I suggest Nvivo software. It is very easy to use and also a highly transparent ...
hi
there are some of software to analyse the qualitative date: atlasTi, max QDA, and Nvivo
Nvivo is my choice too. Provides more options than most other qda software.
@ Anthony Tuckett (and @ Mathew Grimes) - I agree with you. Even with a lot of interviews, the use of qualitative software could be an overkill. The success of the analysis depends on the analyst himself or herself and what the analysis intends to solve. Nevertheless, I am using atlas.ti at times (not often) and I will explore what Matthew has suggested. :-)
there is a soft ware developed by "Umea University, Sweden called opencode 3.4 available for freedownload from www/umu.se/phmed/epidemi/forskning. this version includes new functions such as the ability to write memos, create categories and search for words in the text.
NVivo is the only software I am aware of. Seemed pretty straightforward to use but I only had a one day introductory course. Free 30 day trial at the following link: http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_free-trial-software.aspx
I am planning on using Atlas.ti for the qualitative portion of my dissertation study. I heard good things about NVivo as well.
Tropes is a free downloadable software that is easy to use to crunch any size of data set. Great graphics and transparency! TAM does it for Mac users.
Hi there,
I know many of my students this year used Dedoose also for their undergraduate research projects. It appeared to be quite intuitive and easier to get working on quickly, which was a factor. It was also low cost.
NVivo is a great tool, if you're willing to invest some adequate time learning how to use the software it can also aid greatly in the more advanced side of analysis such as matrix queries etc.
Two things to be weary of: 1) it uses an incredible amount of your computers memory so will likely slow everything else down.
2) set automatic save (every 15mins) or you will lose data frequently as the program tends to crash quite regularly.
I've just been on an introduction course to Nvivo. As Marty mentions, lots of additional possibilities. I have just created a model of part of my coding and I can see straight away where to combine codes etc. I am using Nvivo 10 and there is a good book out called Nvivo 10 essentials (Edhlund & McDoughall) which gives comprehensive advice on all aspects.
I don't know if anybody has already mentioned it but the most accessible and also cheapest programme is probably MAXqda.I have been working with this programme for over 10 years now and find it much easier to use then other software for qualitative data analysis, such as NVivo. Check out their website www.maxqda.com where you can download tutorials and also purchase the software. It's actually an immediate download, meaning as soon as you have paid for the software you can download the trial version. You will then receive an activation code via email converting the trial version into the open full programme. On the same website you can also download a demo version which is the full version of the programme but limited to 30days of use, starting not at the moment you install the software on your PC but with the first time you open the programme. Don't know how much time you think your analysis might take...
Hope this helps,
Mike
Sorry, I forgot to mention, it only took me one full day to get my head around working with MAXqda using their tutorial. It is really easy and very straight forward whilst allowing for pretty complex operations to be done. So no time consuming and expensive training will be needed to confidently work with the software.
Nvivo10 is definitely worth recommendation. You can get a 30-day trial (full operational). It is very intuitive and user friendly!
I asked about ATLAS.ti - you may be interested in that discussion. https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_have_experience_of_ATLASti_would_you_recommend_this_software
most of the available qualitative softwares (Nvivo, Atlas.ti etc) do not really analyze data like the quantitative softwares (STATA, SPSS etc). What they do is to really help one organize their data, index and come up with some relationships. The researcher must read through each (or most) transcripts to develop the themes and emerging topics.
I used Atlas.ti 6.2 for my master thesis and now I use it for my PhD project. The software is easy to learn and the tutorials on the website are quite helpful. The software offers different ways to do things, so you can develop a working style that fits your needs and preferences. The most useful tool to me were the network views, as I like to make things visible. It really helped me to connect the codes to each other. Moreover, you can use different sorts of data: textual, audio and video data.
The software most commonly used for content analysis are
• ATLAS. ti (www.atlasti.com)
• Ethnograph (www.qualisresearch.com)
• HyperRESEARCH (www.researchware.com/)
• MaxQDA (www.maxqda.com/)
• NVivo (www.qsrinternational.com/)
• Qualrus (http://www.qualrus.com/)
• QDA Miner (www.provalisresearch.com/)
• TAMS Analyzer (tamsys.sourceforge.net /)
• Weft QDA (www.pressure.to/qda/)
There are only a few free software for this type of qualitative analysis such as Weft QDA and TAMS Analyzer (for Mac OS).
Most of the CAQDAS recommended here by others are definitely good. However, they are proprietary and often really expensive (e.g. if you want to work with students). So, depending on your budget and more importantly on what type of qualitative analysis you intend to perform, you could consider free and open source software. There are various free CAQDAS:
-AnSWR (soon to be discontinued by the developer)
-RQDA (PC, Mac, Linux)
-WeftQDA (PC, Linux)
-Tams Analyzer (Mac Only)
-QDA Miner Lite (free restricted version of QDA Miner working with PC and Mac)
-Open Code (PC only)
-Saturate (cloud)
-CAT (cloud)
Depending on your approach, you could find some of them to be quite interesting. It would be too long to describe them all here in detail, but briefly speaking, they offer different options:
Some are complex and will support you with various tools. For instance, Tams, AnSWR and RQDA allow inductive and deductive coding, coding overlaps and coding memos; they can support a certain coding hierarchy (or structure), they provide basic coding statistics, and they perform easy text and coding retrieval, and so on. RQDA is probably the most advanced of all the free CAQDAS. It has been developed as a package for R, so when you know how to use the R commands, you can do a lot of neat things with the program. For instance, you can perform word cloud analysis, create queries for complex cross-coding retrieval, program auto-coding commands, plot the relationship between codes, export data in spreadsheets, etc. That being said, you do not need to know about R to operate RQDA. The package comes in a very simple "touch and click" window. Knowledge about R is only required to perform more advanced operations.
If your needs are basic (e.g. quick and simple coding), other free programs would be interesting to consider. For instance, Open Code and Saturate were developed to facilitate simple coding often (but not necessarily) taken from a pre-existing coding scheme. They are really simple to manipulate and they only allow one code per pre-identified text segment (which is often over-simplistic, but sometimes sufficient and appropriate). Saturate is also very useful to perform coding with more than one analyst.
I hope this will help you!
Faced with about 70 interviews and 150,000 words, we had a similar dilemma.
We ended up using LIWC (liwc.net) and AntConc (antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/antconc_index.html).
The former tool is a stripped down form of an NLP with built-in psychometric and linguistic categorization (80+ dimensions) and a rudimentary sentiment analysis. Costs like $30 downloadable.
The latter tool is free, and essentially 'just' a corpus linguistics analyzer. Put in keywords and see keywords in sentence context, do N-gram and cluster analysis, easily load a custom dictionary of keywords and quickly compile frequency counts across interviews.
We ended up exporting the results into Excel where simple radar graphs made the results pretty visually appealing.
Good luck!
Marco D. Huesch
I've used Leximancer - The ability of the software to provide a visual representation of the data was an especially useful tool - it was easy and intuitive to 'set up' and to interpret the results.
I strongly recommend Dedoose. Low cost (cloud-based), very helpful for different types of visualizations, intuitive and easy to use and also very good in analyzing mixed data (if this is of interest to you).
There are two good programs. One of them is free and you can download it from the site of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. It is called ANSWAR, It has fewer features than the next program which is highly elaborate called Atlas.ti In Atlas.ti you can do very complex analyses and create various interpretations on connections between categories.
Hope this helpl
I have used NVivo for years. Nvivo 9 is terrible, but 10 is great. I think someone else mentioned you can download a free trial version that is good for 30 days from QSR. They also provide support, and are quick to respond to questions or help you trouble shoot if there are problems. But the qualitative software that is out there is not analysis software per se. It is data management software. It will be very helpful in organizing your data but will not analyze it for you. But it sure beats coloured markers and paper all over your walls!
Besides Atlas ti or other of this type that need an initial "human made" coding, there are some wirdcount systems. For example friom
Mergenthales or from Pennebaker
Few years ago, for a WHO multi-countries project in Africa, i used Atlas.ti to analyze more than 250 interviews and the software was excellent. It is simple and allow many type of interconnections or correlations.
Atlas ti. 5.2 though there are several others like Nvivo version 15. These can help with text analysis. If you buy as an institution, it is cheaper and goes on several computers but as an individual, the cost is high over US $300. All can be accessed on a German website .
I used Advene which is free and really useful. You can see here what we can do www.museographie.fr
We recently switched from Atlas ti to Nvivo; the latter has a quicker learning curve and is particularly well suited to the straightforward analysis you are pursuing.
I user regularly Nvivo. though I recently tried QDA Miner and also know Atlas.ti Nvivo really fits my needs. I find it very powerful and versatile.
...And an aditional (prolongation) discussion line: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_anyone_use_qualitative_analysis_software_on_a_Mac
I have been using a free software TAMS ... it is much "lighter" than both Nvivo and Atlas Ti in terms of processing and diskspace
I will recommend Transana ( http://www.transana.org ) If you search for 'Transana' in researchgate you will find bibliography, tips, answers and other users. Transana is cost effective (65 US$), has full transcription, coding and retrieve function, can export data, can include imagesi n transcription. Is cross platform, open source and can manage big corpus of continuous recordings.
We use MAXQDA, A Professional Qualitative Data Analysis Tool
MAXQDA is a QDA software trusted by academic, scientific and commercial researchers around the world. Organize, evaluate, and interpret data, create easy-to-read reports and visualisations, and connect and share with other researchers.
I find Nvivo easy to use. Could try this out... I presume there are latest versions of this.
Hi, I would recommend NVIVO software for qualitative analysis. A bit on the costly so check your research budget, but a good software to have. Among your qualitative analysis literature also look at D R Thomas' A general inductive approach for qualitative data analysis (2003). Good and inductive reading.
Our team has used HyperResearch (www.researchware.com) for very large scale qualitative interview analysis (80+ interviews). We chose it because it is Mac-compatible and many other programs are not. There are many online resources, forums, and technical support staff who are good at quickly answering questions - they also provided a 1.5 hour webinar to our staff that was customized to our needs. It has a lot of flexibility for analysis (allowing categorization and grouping of the interviews in different ways), allows for using pre-designated codes and "open coding", both hand-coding and "autocoding," annotation, different reports (frequency reports and code reports), and features for working in groups on a single project.
would recommend both Atlasti and MAXqda, bth very reliable and trusted software
TROPES by Semantic is an easy to use, powerful and interesting data cruncher for PCs TAMS for MAC users...both free
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