Choosing an appropriate digital tool for a qualitative or mixed-methods analysis

There are literally dozens of digital tools available to facilitate the analysis of qualitative data. If you work or study at an institution that has a licence for a particular product, you’ll often be able to harness it effectively for your needs. If this isn’t the case, or if you are in the position to choose a digital tool for a specific project, navigating the options to make an appropriate decision can be tricky. This session is designed to help.
First, the range of options are outlined and some important factors to inform your choice are discussed. The focus is primarily on dedicated digital tools designed specifically to facilitate qualitative and mixed-methods analysis – collectively known as Computer Assisted Qualitative Data AnalysiS (CAQDAS) packages, or QDA software. We include discussion of:
· free and open-source tools (FLOSS), low-cost or Lite versions, as well as commercial products
· tools for analysing text, those that focus on still and moving images, and those that handle many different forms of data
· tools that facilitate quantitative approaches to qualitative data (e.g. content analysis, text mining, etc.), those that facilitate qualitative approaches to qualitative data (e.g. IPA, Grounded Theory, Thematic Analysis etc.), and those that facilitate linguistic approaches (e.g. Discourse Analysis, Lexical Analysis, etc.)
· different genres of AI tools for qualitative analysis
As well as providing an overview of the range of options, the aim of this session is to outline key considerations in making appropriate choices between the options. To do this we discuss several methodological and practical questions that can inform decisions and can be used as a framework to navigate the breadth and diversity of the CAQDAS field.

Speaker: Christina Silver is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey and Director of CAQDAS Networking Project.