[Social-sciences-list] Introduction and Question About Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Wed Mar 18 21:36:37 UTC 2015

I completely agree with you, Jonathan!  I am so tired of individual,
temporary solutions to broader accessibility concerns!  In a couple of
months, I think I will finally be in a good position to look into legal
action.  If anyone has any suggestions of whom to contact/consult, I'd b
grateful.  

Thanks very much,

Audrey

-----Original Message-----
From: Godfrey, Jonathan [mailto:A.J.Godfrey at massey.ac.nz] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 1:47 PM
To: 'T. Audrey Medina'; 'Blind Social Scientists List'
Subject: RE: [Social-sciences-list] Introduction and Question About
Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Thanks Audrey for your summary of options you've looked at for qualitative
analyses.

This is a great discussion topic. I have been asked a few times about
qualitative statistics packages and I've never had enough time or need to do
the looking for myself.

It is intriguing (but not entirely surprising) to me that none of the
companies you mention recognize their obligations under US law to provide
software and or solutions for university students. Maybe they'll find out
more if the TEACH Act gets through. Those of us living outside the US also
rely on the US law-makers and those organizations and individuals wishing to
take legal action using the US law because we do not have sufficient
legislation to make any progress, especially when the company is based
outside our own country.

While I am often appreciative of the creation of scripts for JAWS, it is not
the only screen reader in use today. In my opinion, development of scripts
for a single screen reader is only a stop gap measure. It is good that a
state-funded scheme exists to pay for their development, but I can't help
but feel that this lets the company off the hook with respect to
accessibility. 

I know that SPSS for example does have JAWS scripts and doesn't really
support any other major screen reader to the same extent, but at least the
JAWS scripts are part of the SPSS product, not some standalone project that
may or may not survive developments in the software. Ironically, the first
scripts I saw for SPSS were created outside the SPSS machine and they did
fail once SPSS changed significantly around 10-15 years ago. Those scripts
were offered on the FS website until only a few years ago even though they
were demonstrably redundant. In this respect, SPSS should  be applauded for
bringing the script development in-house.

Please keep us all posted with developments, both of scripts and any
alternative software being tested. I would suggest that anyone testing
software for accessibility think about testing it with NVDA as well as JAWS.
There are times when the way these two screen readers work differently. In
my experience, the top NVDA users find R easier to use than the top JAWS
users simply because of the way the screen readers switch between review and
active modes. (btw: I don't consider myself a top user of either screen
reader.)

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Social-sciences-list [mailto:social-sciences-list-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of T. Audrey Medina via Social-sciences-list
Sent: Wednesday, 18 March 2015 7:37 a.m.
To: 'Blind Social Scientists List'
Subject: Re: [Social-sciences-list] Introduction and Question About
Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Hi all,

I'm so glad other folks out there are interested in qualitative research
methods.  I only have a moment, but I'd like to send a brief update of what
I've learned about the software so far.

I have been looking into qualitative data analysis software to help me code
and analyse the interviews I conducted as part of my dissertation.  I
downloaded trial versions of the programs, combed through accessibility
blogs, and wrote to various companies.  Unfortunately, none of the four
programs I investigated appears to be very accessible with JAWS, though I
don't know about accessibility with Voiceover or other screen-readers.  I
received emails from representatives at ATLAS.ti, NVivo, Dedoose, and
hyperRESEARCH, thanking me for my interest and saying that their software is
not meant to be used with screen readers (only the folks at Nvivo sounded
vaguely apologetic and interested in improving accessibility).  I found one
other blind researcher in Italy who is using a much earlier version of
ATLAS, and she said that all of her accessibility information is in Italian.
Unfortunately, the folks at ATLAS cannot sell me an earlier version of the
software, and the current one does not work well at all.

So.the California Department of Rehabilitation has just contracted with
someone who believes he can write scripts to make Nvivo more accessible, so
that's what we're going to do.  I hope the scripts will be available for
other folks who would like to use them, and I will definitely help advocate
to make that happen.

Also, because the scripting will take a little while, I'm going to start
working with sighted RAs who will help me upload my transcripts and codes
into Nvivo and help me start combing through them as part of the analysis.
I am in the process of advocating with Nvivo to comp the cost of an extra
student license and server access so my RAs can upload the transcripts on
their own time and on their own computers.  I'll let you know if the folks
at Nvivo agree to give me any sort of discount.

Good luck to you all, and please be in touch with any questions.  I may be
slow in responding, but I will not forget you.

Best wishes,

Audrey

-----Original Message-----
From: Social-sciences-list [mailto:social-sciences-list-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Cindy Bennett via Social-sciences-list
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:24 PM
To: Elif Emir Öksüz; Blind Social Scientists List
Subject: Re: [Social-sciences-list] Introduction and Question About
Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Hi Audrey,

Thanks for your response! Since Elif is interested as well, I think it might
be beneficial to post your experiences to the list. I look forward to
learning more!

Cindy

On 3/15/15, Elif Emir Öksüz <social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I'll be taking qualitative research course next fall. I'll be 
> following this discussion. So maybe you can share your experiences 
> here.
> I'm also new in the list. I'm a first year doctoral student in 
> Counselor Education and Supervision at University of Cincinnati.
> Cindy I find your program very interesting and innovative.
>
> Elif
>
> 2015-03-15 20:48 GMT-04:00, T. Audrey Medina via Social-sciences-list
> <social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org>:
>> Hi Cindy,
>>
>> I have been struggling with qual data management programs for my 
>> dissertation.  Honestly, I've tried four programs without major 
>> success, but I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.  Please 
>> feel free to email me off list (medina at uoregon.edu), and we can 
>> commiserate and share ideas.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Audrey
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Social-sciences-list
>> [mailto:social-sciences-list-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On Behalf Of Cindy Bennett via Social-sciences-list
>> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 5:11 PM
>> To: Social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Social-sciences-list] Introduction and Question About 
>> Qualitative Data Analysis Software
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I am Cindy and just joined this list. I am a first year Ph.D. student 
>> at the University of Washington in the Human Centered design and 
>> Engineering program. We are a multi disciplinary program where social 
>> scientists, computer scientists, designers, information and data 
>> scientists, and people with all manner of backgrounds collaborate. We 
>> are broadly interested in researching and developing design 
>> strategies and technical systems that are more human centered. In 
>> other words, user friendly.
>>
>> Have any of you ever used software to analyze qualitative data? If 
>> so, I would love to hear from you before trying a bunch of options 
>> that may or may not be accessible.
>>
>> These softwares or websites allow you to upload documents that you 
>> plan to analyze qualitatively along with a code list. You can then 
>> read through documents and code them. Multiple people can mark up 
>> documents and the program produces data such as agreement statistics 
>> and how often certain codes are used. The reason I am a bit nervous 
>> to spend a bunch of time exploring programs before asking anyone for 
>> experiences is that these programs take uploaded files and convert 
>> them so they can be marked up.
>> So
>> I
>> am a bit nervous about accessibility.
>>
>> In any case, I will be trying out a few suggestions, but if anyone 
>> has experiences, please pass them on!
>>
>> 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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