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I would appreciate some direction regarding qualitative analysis and related software. I'm often consulted to analyze data from satisfaction surveys.  Typically I let the researcher deal with the responses to the open-ended questions (e.g., What did you like most about the program?).   A client has asked that I help her with a more sophisticated look at these write-in responses and possibly use a software program to assist us in finding themes, etc.  Any suggestions for software or names of consultants who have experience in qualitative research?  Thank you.
 

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Nancy Buderer, MS
Biostatistician & Research Consultant
nancy@budererdrug.com
419-297-9682
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The package that has been around forever it seems and everyone here turns to is Atlas.ti  http://www.atlasti.com/

Undoubtedly there are others.
Bob

Hi,

In addition to Atlas, which some of my qualitatively-oriented colleagues use, you might also check out:

   1. Dedoose: http://www.dedoose.com/

   2. Nvivo: http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx 

   3. Transana: http://www.transana.org/

Various qualitative colleagues of mine use these products and like them for different reasons. For instance, my colleagues have told me that Transana can be especially useful for audio and video data coding, Dedoose can be good for collaborations between researchers working at different sites, and so forth.

With best wishes,

Tor

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Torsten Neilands
Professor
UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-05-2013 12:44
From: Robert Gerzoff
Subject: Qualitative Analyses

The package that has been around forever it seems and everyone here turns to is Atlas.ti  http://www.atlasti.com/

Undoubtedly there are others.
Bob

I don't have recommendations for software or consultants, but I do have a couple of references that you should look at:

Travis D Leleu, Isabel G Jacobson, Cynthia A Leardmann, Besa Smith, Peter W Foltz, Paul J Amoroso, Marcia A Derr, Margaret Ak Ryan, Tyler C Smith, et al. Application of Latent Semantic Analysis for Open-Ended Responses in a Large, Epidemiologic Study BMC Medical Research Methodology. 2011;11(1):136.


O'Cathain A, Thomas KJ. "Any other comments?" Open questions on questionnaires - a bane or a bonus to research? BMC Med Res Methodol 2004: 4(1); 25.

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Stephen Simon
Independent Statistical Consultant
P. Mean Consulting
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This is also a potential application for text mining and cluster analysis to define the themes/categories.

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Patrick Spagon
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Nancy,

I have used NVIVO software and I have heard good things about Atlas.ti, but in my experience with qualitative data, I actually prefer to use multicolored pens and plain old paper. R software has some nice data mining packages for working with qualitative data that are worth looking into as well if you are familiar with R.

There are a lot of different qualitative approaches that you could use, and some software is better for certain applications than others. NVIVO was easy to understand and utilize when I tried it out. There is no software out there that will go so far as to conduct extensive analytics on qualitative data. That falls on the shoulders of the researcher and immersion in the data. Simple themes are easy to identify, but complex themes and connections require a level of thought and reasoning that computers just cannot handle.

Best of Luck,

Dan
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Daniel Butorovich
Research Analyst
Cochise College
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Hi Nancy,

If you have funds to purchase a "Cadillac," IN-SPIRE is designed to do this type of thematic analysis.
I believe that the cost might be nil if you are working on a government contract.

http://in-spire.pnnl.gov/

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Mark Lancaster
George Mason University
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Hi, Nancy,
I'd second what Daniel said, and add that you couldn't go wrong talking with an anthropologist.  You'll want a cultural or linguistic anthropologist, not a biological type (which is my academic background).  Biological or physical anthropologists are mainly biostatisticians and geneticists, of a sort, and don't often do the textual analyses you mention.

Research Methods in Anthropology is a good reference, and is pretty interesting even if it doesn't prove immediately useful.  It's something of a standard, so should be available in many libraries.  In case it isn't:
http://www.amazon.com/Research-Methods-Anthropology-Russell-Bernard/dp/0759112428

Best,
Dave

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David G. McBride, Ph.D.
Office of Epidemiology
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
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