Transcript Arts Informatics Systems

Analytical Methods
Qualitative Data Analysis Systems
Concepts to be covered this
lecture
• Intro to QDAS Software
• N5: a "grounded theory"-based QDAS
What is Qualitative Research
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Focus groups
Case Studies
Delphi Method
Content Analysis
Action Research
Grounded theory: the process
• Initial reading and analysis accomanied
by “open coding” of the text (attributing
subjects and making annotations as the
text is read)
• Progressively more complex coding and
annotation of the text as ideas and initial
theories are explored
Grounded Theory: the process
• Axial coding: building relationships between
codes
• The role of QDAS systems: enhancing the
process of coding and researching the
material
• The risks: reification of the coding: the coding
takes on a life and meaning of its own
• The benefits: the theories are at all times
“grounded” in the underlying text, and the
annotations are open to scrutiny
The role of QDAS software
• Follow a disciplined approach obtaining
the research data
• Follow a disciplined approach to coding
the results
• Free-form exploration of themes and
ideas will then be easy
• QDAS is valuable in handling large
document collections
Coding
• The importance of thinking through the
coding strategy is important
• QDAS software like N5 allow free-form
exploration of content
• Nevertheless, the larger the body of
text, the more likely a consistent coding
approach will yield valuable results
TEXT UNIT
• You can choose the underlying
annotation unit at
– Lines
– Sentences *
– Paragraphs
VITAL DISTINCTIONS
• Whole-document coding
– A category is assigned to the "whole
contents" of a document
• Single text unit coding
– A category is assigned to a single text unit
only (ie the category is really only relevant
to that text unit only)
Coding & Analysis Phases:
• Phase 1: Open Coding
• Review: Building categories
• Phase 2: Coding and analysing by
categories: "thematising"
• Review: Start building/reviewing against
hypothesis
• Phase 3: Detailed analysis &
conclusions
Thematising
• The coding of the key concepts
• Using a tools such as N5 allows the
building of conceptual models above the
original content, but grounded in that
content
• Visual implementation of "boolean" logic
helps build concepts
Types of codes - Descriptive
• DESCRIPTIVE:
– "I think that copyright is a waste of time. I
don't have to worry anyway because no
one is prosecuted for what they do at
home. I put lots of stuff up on Napster."
– This might be coded:
• ANTI
• PRONAPSTER
Types of codes - Interpretive
• Your analysis/judgement comes into
play:
– "I think that copyright is a waste of time. I
don't have to worry anyway because no
one is prosecuted for what they do at
home. I put lots of stuff up on Napster."
• Could be coded:
– NAÏVE-ANTI
Ways of coding
• Reading and coding each individual
item
• Using search /find functions to locate
documents and code them
Postulating a hypothesis
• Eg: Students favour freedom of copying
over copyright restrictions
• But: our coding process is also about
building our sense of the data and
patterns of opinion and expression
Changing our hypothesis
• Our research focus and direction may change
based on the data we have at hand. This is
why the initial coding should be entirely
freeform
• At an early stage, review the coding and look
for consistent "categories" and labels
• Possibly: start tying in coding to relevant
socially constructed codes
For example
• Our hypothesis might change to:
– "Students favour copyright protection but
continue to use copyright-avoidance
systems".
"Closure"
• Saving and using results: system closure
• The fact that QSR NUD*IST makes a new
node with the answer to your search is an
important feature of the program. It is
designed to allow you to ask the question you
wanted to ask, in the data context you want to
focus on, and to save the answer so you can
ask another question based on it.
• This ability to save answers as more data in
your analysis system is a valuable aspect of
QDAS software
Common Themes
• Information Retrieval concepts apply
here: specificity and exhaustivity
• Boolean logic to refine your search for
codes and concepts
• QDAS shares many concepts with
contact management systems and Data
Mining systems
Context: Grounded Theory
• The objective of QDAS software is to provide
a record of the "process" through which the
qualitative analysis has been arrived at
• Because the coding from ground up is visible,
it can be interpreted and analysed to "prove"
the hypothesis by others as well
• Risks: reification - we do not know our own
inherent assumptions as we do the
codification: eg what is the meaning of "black"
and "white".
Popular systems
• Atlas/TI
• NUD*IST (N5/N6)
ATLAS/TI
NUD*IST
• More intuitive user
interface & hyperlinking
between coding
• Better visualisation
• Can process audio and
video data
• Flexible hierarchical
structure
• Mutability & flexibility in
coding: all structures
(memos, codes) can form
part of new conceptual
structures.
• Total text based.
• Some limitations on coding
(eg 1 memo per
document)
N5 WALK THROUGH