I have been investigating different types of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) because I need a way of both creating an Ethnographic Hypermedia Environment (EHE) and also managing the data I will create and collect. I am unsure as yet whether one package will be adequate for data collation and analysis and (re)presentation, but that is my hope. I don’t very much like the idea of using different software for each stage because I imagine that will involve importing and exporting the same data into different packages/systems and fear the time involved in doing so. Ideally, following the ideas of Weinberger (2007) in Everything is Miscellaneous and Wesch (2007) in The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version), I should be able to link to the same data in varying ways from and to different tools. For that reason, it is very important to me that the data is importable and exportable, with the potential to be “mashed up” in future. Sounds simple (and oh so very Web 2.0) but I’m finding that a lot of the CAQDAS packages are locked down, and although useful tools for the analysis stage, do not make it easy to share, exchange and build upon data to and from others.
In 2006, Lewins and Silver wrote a thorough working-paper guide to Choosing CAQDAS software and have also written a more formal step-by-step guide (2007). They give some general questions to ask when choosing a CAQDAS package (2006, p. 5), which I have found useful in guiding my own exploration and decision-making processes:
- What kind(s) and amount of data do you have, and how do you want to handle it?
I will have a lot of data in digital form. I plan on working with audio, video, paper documents, web-based documents, and combinations of those media. I want it to be accessible online and from a variety of devices (e.g. mobile devices as well as computers). - What is your preferred style of working?
I have a range of working styles. I prefer to have my data available at “point of need,” which for me means online (so I can’t lose it!). I work at odd times, and quickly forget things, and so I like having a way of recording ideas and “moments” in a way that lets me revisit and remember them later. However, when I’m working, that is, intensive-writing work, I like to plan on paper and be surrounded by sources and data, working through each “bit” until I’ve covered everything I had originally intended to. There’s a saying that you’re either a Mozart (who wrote, re-wrote and polished a piece bit-by-bit until it was perfect) or a Beethoven (who wrote in one go after extensive planning) when it comes to writing, and I am more of a Beethoven. - What is your theoretical approach to analysis and how well developed is it at the outset?
My theoretical approach to analysis is not well developed at this stage. I am still unsure as to what “analysis” actually is, and will be seeking advice. I’ve been told that “themes will emerge” and in order to facilitate this I intend to make use of “tagging” and folksonomies (Beer, 2007; Good, 2006; Marlow et al. 2006). It will be interesting to see how my own tags compare to those of my participants’, and what forms from the “tag cloud.” - Do you have a well defined methodology?
I am using Hypermedia Ethnography as methodology, which is well-suited to CAQDAS because all of my data will be in digital form. What is not well-suited to CAQDAS is the use of hyperlinking beyond the CAQDAS package itself. Ideally I would like to be able to make links between and within data, and beyond it to outside sources. - Do you want a simple to use software which will mainly help you manage your thinking and thematic coding?
Simple to use? Yes. But it’s not so much to manage my thinking as to manage data and the links between them. I am leaning more towards using this blog to manage my thinking, and would like the blog to integrate with the CAQDAS package but not necessarily be my CAQDAS or EHE solution. - Are your more concerned with the language, the terminology used in the data, the comparison and occurrence of words and phrases across cases or between different variables?
For this particular study, no. I know that a lot of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research focuses on the language but as this is an ethnographic study I am more concerned with (re)presenting the case studies in an accessible and rich manner. - Do you wish to consider tools which offer suggestions for coding, using Artificial Intelligence devices?
Yes! But, as mentioned above, I am also interested in the use of folksonomies and the “wisdom of the crowd” (Surowiecki, 2005) - Do you want both thematic and quantiative content from the data?
No, my data will be qualitative. - Do you want a multiplicity of tools (not quite so simple) enabling many ways of handing and interrogating data?
Yes! This is very important. - How much time do you have to “learn” the software?
Well, I would like to graduate some day. But I do have some time and am very familiar with online and offline tools. - How much analysis time has been built into the project?
6 months (and ongoing throughout fieldwork and writing, etc. Analysis will always be an ongoing process following an action-reflection cycle(CELT, 2008) - Are you working individually on the project or as part of a team?
I count my research participants as part of my “team” and would like for them to be able to access their data. This raises a lot of ethical issues and considerations (e.g. ability for password protection, different levels of permissions, etc.) and are important points to consider when choosing a CAQDAS / EHE solution. My supervisors should also be able to access the data and make suggestions. For the most part, though, I will be working individually. - Is this just one phase of a larger project – do you already have quantitative data?
This is not part of a larger project, but I am very interested in the potential for data-reuse by others, perhaps for different purposes, later on (see: Dicks et al.,2006; Mason et al., 2007). - Is there a package – and peer support – already available at your institution or place of work?
There are a number of researchers familiar with Nvivo at Murdoch University, but unfortunately no formal training or classes available (unlike SPSS!). Training courses are available from external providers for ~$600, and the software package itself costs roughly the same amount. The cost of the software is an important consideration – my student budget does not stretch very far.
I decided to seek advice from others at my university, my online networks, and from the “blogosphere” of reviews and commentary. From this, I narrowed the choice of CAQDAS/EHE potential solutions to 9 possibilities:
My comparison chart is available here: EHE Comparison Document
Some of the options above were designed to be CAQDAS programmes, the others for different purposes but adaptable to my needs. It appears that there is no “one stop” solution (NVivo comes close, but is not online solution nor available for Macs) and I may end up using a variety of tools. What I have found most difficult about this decision is the need to think ahead. My ideas are influenced by The Horizon Report which describes trends in technology and academia, and in recognising that this doctoral research is going to take place over a long period of time (relatively speaking), I want it to be as “current” at the end as it is at the beginning. Using tools that are going to be supported, sustained and developed throughout the project is very important, especially given the fast-changing nature of technology itself. I want to ensure that whatever “hub” I use, whatever archive or “portable brain” is as adaptable, extensible and flexible as possible. And within my non-programmer, non-web-designer capabilities!
References
Beer, D., & Burrows, R. (2007). Sociology And, of and in Web 2.0. Sociological Research Online, 12(5). Retrieved March 9, 2008, from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/5/17.html.
Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT). (2008). IDEAS – Action Research (AR). Retrieved March 20, 2008, from http://celt.ust.hk/ideas/ar/intro.htm.
Coffey, A., Renold, E., Dicks, B., Soyinka, B., & Mason, B. (2006). Hypermedia ethnography in educational settings: possibilities and challenges. Ethnography and Education, 1(1), 15-30. Retrieved March 9, 2008 from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a743885188~db=all~jumptype=rss.
Dicks, B., Mason, B., Coffey, A. J., & Atkinson, P. A. (2005). Qualitative Research and Hypermedia: Ethnography for the Digital Age. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Dicks, B., Mason, B., Williams, M., & Coffey, A. (2006). Ethnography and data reuse: issues of context and hypertext. Methodological issues in qualitative data sharing and archiving. Briefing Paper, United Kingdom: Qualidata. Retrieved from http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/hyper/QUADS/working_papers.html.
Dicks, B., & Mason, B. (1998). Hypermedia and Ethnography: Reflections on the Construction of a Research Approach. Sociological Research Online, 3(3). Retrieved March 9, 2008, from http://ideas.repec.org/a/sro/srosro/1998-34-1.html.
Good, R. (2006, February 1). Folksonomies: Tags Strengths, Weaknesses And How To Make Them Work. Independent Publishing News, e-Marketing Articles, Online Collaboration Reviews by Robin Good. Blog, . Retrieved March 9, 2008, from http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2006/02/01/folksonomies_tags_strengths_weaknesses_and.htm.
Lewins, A., & Silver, C. (2006). Choosing a CAQDAS Package. Working Paper.
Lewins, A., & Silver, C. (2007). Using Software in Qualitative Research: A Step-by-Step Guide (p. 304). Sage Publications Ltd.
Mason, B., Williams, M., Dicks, B., & Coffey, A. (2006b). Qualitative data archiving and reuse: mapping the ethical terrain. Methodological issues in qualitative data sharing and archiving. Briefing Paper, United Kingdom: Qualidata. Retrieved from http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/hyper/QUADS/working_papers.html.
Marlow, C., & Naaman, M. (n.d.). Boyd, d., Davis, M.: HT06, tagging paper, taxonomy, Flickr, academic article, to read. In Proceedings of the seventeenth conference on Hypertext and hypermedia (pp. 31–40). Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.danah.org/papers/Hypertext2006.pdf
Surowiecki, J. (2005). The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few. London: Abacus.
Weinberger, D. (2007). Everything is Miscellaneous. New York: Times Books.
Wesch, M. (2007). The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version). Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g.