[nabs-l] Analyzing Qualitative Data with Software

[Cindy Bennett]

Hi Arielle,

Thanks for that.

In my experience of analyzing qualitative data, we have a code book
that is numbered. High level codes are labeled with numbers such as 1,
2, 3, etc. Codes within those categories are labeled 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
etc. I was thinking of assigning an Excel sheet to each high level
code and assigning a few columns to each lower level code so i can
number the occurrences, list the speaker, and the quote, and other
notes about the code assignment. This will require considerable copy
and pasting however.

I could probably manage this if I was the only one coding, but the
software really comes in handy when two or more people are examining
the data. The software can quickly give data about percentages of
agreement and other data about which codes were used most often much
more quickly than i could compute in Excel.

The reason I asked about accessibility before exploring myself is that
the programs typically work by you uploading files onto the website.
Each coder then goes through and marks up the text. So I am a bit
nervous that some of the programs may not be accessible since they
will be converting text from a file into some format that can be
marked up by proprietary software. Anyway, I have received a few
suggestions for free software which I can try. But if anyone has
experience using any qualitative coding with a program, I would still
love to hear about your experiences.

Thanks,

Cindy

On 3/12/15, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Cindy,
> I have little experience with qualitative data and have never used
> qualitative software. However, I recently prepared a qualitative
> summary of some focus group data by hand, and it was a very manageable
> task. My colleague coded the same data using software and our reports
> were quite similar. So I'm not convinced that qualitative software is
> actually required, and if it carries accessibility hassles, then
> coding by hand might end up being easier. Basically coding just
> involves creating categories based on common themes you observe in the
> transcript and then going through and assigning each participant
> comment to one of the categories you create. I think the software may
> help visually organize the data, but I'm not sure how much benefit you
> would actually get from using software, unless you need to use it for
> a qualitative software class. Others with mor qualitative experience
> thanI might be able to comment further.
> Best Arielle
>
> On 3/12/15, Cindy Bennett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Has anyone ever used a software to assist in analyzing their
>> qualitative data? If so, I would love to hear from you before trying a
>> bunch of options that may or may not be accessible.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> --
>> Cindy Bennett
>> 1st Year Ph.D. Student, University of Washington
>> Human Centered Design and Engineering
>>
>> Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington
>> an Affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>>
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>


-- 
Cindy Bennett
1st Year Ph.D. Student, University of Washington
Human Centered Design and Engineering

Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington
an Affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind

clb5590 at gmail.com