[nabs-l] Analyzing Qualitative Data with Software

[Karl Martin Adam]

Hi Cindy, have you thought about asking this question to the 
blind social science list <social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org> or 
the blind academics list <blindacademics at mailman.rice.edu>?  I 
suspect people on either of those would be better informed.

Best,
Karl

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Cindy Bennett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
Date sent: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 16:10:31 -0700
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Analyzing Qualitative Data with Software

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

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