Hi. I cannot say the best, but I used QDA miner lite during my dissertation study. It was simple and free, and provides all the basics for qual analysis. I was not much interested in quantitative data other than code frequencies.

Shaghayegh - It is difficult to qualify 'what is best'. Each to their own - and whatever serves one best. The attached chapter might assist - especially the section around qualitative software

I have made very good experience working with Atlas ti. It is possible to code everything from text to video, even maps I think. The most useful function is network analysis where you can connect codes to complex networks (axial coding). I once opened MaxQDA, but did not understand how it works to connect codes. Anyhow, you should not start working with this programmes until you familiarise yourself with some basics in Grounded Theory Methodology. It might be ok to just use these QDAs without these basics, however coding techniques and guidelines like the "coding paradigm" by Corbin and Strauss are very helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ObpQ5GMLgU

Example: Research Critical Success Factors of Virtual-Agile IT Projects: A Gro...

All of the major software packages provide the same basic functions: marking sections of the data through coding and then searching and grouping codes. If you know NVivo and found it straightforward to use, there really isn't any reason to explore other options. Unless of course, cost is an issue.

If you do want to explore other programs, they all have detailed video tutorials available on their websites.

The following article will be useful to you: Aguinis, H., & Solarino, A. M. 2019. Transparency and replicability in qualitative research: The case of interviews with elite informants. Strategic Management Journal, 40: 1291-1315.

Available at http://www.hermanaguinis.com/pubs.html

I hope this helps!

Shaghayegh Shahhosseini - Selecting software for qualitative research depends on what researchers aim to achieve. Also, which software they use better and feel comfortable to use. For example, 1) Nvivo is suitable for qualitative and mixed research methods. 2) ATLAS.ti is well-known in qualitative research analysis. It helps in realising the big picture as well as desired details. And 3) Quirkos is a qualitative software that helps in sorting and managing text data.

Software will help to manage the data but we need to do the analysis by ourselves. This will help to keep the high quality of qualitative research.

I agree with all the post above. I've used QDA miner lite first (since it's free) and then invested in Nvivo. I found the transition to be smoother since I can sort of understand the interface and the terms used and such. Someone mentioned grounded theory and I believe having an understanding of that and how to codes etc. will be very useful as well. For me, using softwares like Nvivo is also to sort of be in line with the industry's standard (for publishing, rigor etc.) and the visuals helps validate your ideas.

There are lots of other options if Nvivo wasn't right for you, this Wikipedia article gives a list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_qualitative_data_analysis_software, and the University of Surrey does independent reviews: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/computer-assisted-qualitative-data-analysis/resources/choosing-appropriate-caqdas-package

I have used the The five-level QDA developed by Nick Woolf and Christina Silver. The methodology is quite worthwhile and recommended.

Find details at:

https://www.qdaservices.co.uk/five-level-qda

Regards

Adasa

Check my research items for tutorials

I have used MAXQDA extensively. It seems to be extremely useful in analyzing large numbers of data (e.g. a few hundreds of interviews, a few hundreds of institutional field etc.). You can use colorful highlighting and various support instruments. Link ideas to people by location or age or sex. You can print easily all excerpts on any topic or subtopic separately. You can also easily quantify all quality data. I like this program enormously even though I come from and use large-scale quantitative data, currently 29 million publications...

Take care! Marek

I am also a regular and satisfied MAXQDA user, and have used it for coding a range of data types (interview transcripts, interview audio, images, etc), and I really like the 'creative coding' function. While I can't compare it to other tools, if you want to check out some of the features, there is a comprehensive ebook from Springer available for free

Book Analyzing Qualitative Data with MAXQDA: Text, Audio, and Video

I share in the views of Maia and Harshini. The software only assists in the management and presentation of the data (especially when it is large) as the real analysis is actually carried out by the researcher. I suggest you identify the features of particular software programs that align with your goals in terms of coding, visuals etc.