QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS WITH ATLAS.ti 8 WINDOWS Ricardo B. Contreras, PhD Applied cultural anthropologist Director Training & Partnership Development Corvallis, OR USA training@atlasti.com training, sales and general inquiries: +1 (866) 880-0231 (toll-free US and Canada)

Course program Outline Conceptual introduction Day 1 Hands-on work Creating the project Setting up a project Data segmentation What does ATLAS.ti do? Day 2 Qualitative research Coding Qualitative data analysis Memo writing Data-level work in ATLAS.ti Day 3 The objects of an analysis project Analysis and outputs Analysis tools Conclusion

What atlas.ti? Software in the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS category). Software that facilitates the qualitative analysis of research data. Software that helps making the analysis process: Organized Transparent Integrated Grounded in the evidence Software that facilitates the triangulation of research data collected through multiple methods of data collection, such as: Semi-structured/unstructured interviews Focus groups Field notes/observations Archival research/literature reviews Photo-voice/photo elicitation methods Ethnographic videos Twitter/Evernote/reference management software

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CHARACTERISTICS Natural setting Researcher as key instrument of data collection Multiple methods Complex reasoning through deductive and inductive Focus on participants’ meanings Emergent design Reflexivity Holistic account Creswell 2013:45-47

Qualitative Data analysis: analytic strategies Sketching ideas Taking notes Working with words Identifying codes Reducing codes to themes Counting frequency of codes Relating categories Relating categories to analytic framework in literature Creating a point of view Displaying the data Data analysis in qualitative research consists of preparing and organizing the data (i.e., text data as in transcripts, or image data as in photographs) for analysis, then reducing the data into themes through a process of coding and condensing the codes, and finally representing the data in figures, tables, or in discussion. Creswell 2013:180

DATA LEVEL WORK WITH ATLAS.ti: A CONVERSATION WITH THE DATA Codes Networks Memos Comments Quotations Segmenting the data Writing Coding Diagramming

The objects of an analysis project Documents Quotations Codes Memos Links Networks Groups THE OBJECTS They exist in relation to each other Object must be integrated in the analysis project Avoid a compartamentalized approach

Objects of the project: the Primary documents Sources of information Different formats: Text Graphic Audio Video Google Earth No size limitation

Objects of the project: Quotations Segment of the document Quotations can be of any size Quotations are independent objects: they may or may not be linked to codes Quotations can be hyperlinked within and across documents

Objects of the project: codes Word or short phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a portion of language-based or visual data (*). Codes are normally linked to quotations (but they do not have to be). Coding can be done manually or automatically. Codes can be grouped with each other and can be Represented semantically in network views. * Saldaña, J. 2009:3.

Objects of the project: memos Analytic memos are somehow comparable to researcher journal entries or blogs-a place to “dump your brain” about the participants, phenomenon, or process under investigation by thinking and thus writing and thus thinking even more about them. (*). Spaces for integration. Spaces for reflection. Spaces for making sense. Memos can be linked to quotations, codes and other memos. * Saldaña 2009:32.

Objects of the project: links Links are the connections between elements of a project, e.g.: Links can be of two kinds: A document and a group First-order or semantic A document and a code Code to code A code and a quotation Quotation to quotation (hyperlink) A memo and a code Second-order or non-semantic: All other links A code and a code A quotation and a quotation

Objects of the project: networks Graphical representations of linkages Two types of networks: Unnamed linkages Named linkages (semantic) Visualization of how pieces are coming together Concepts maps, cognitive maps, folk taxonomies

Objects of the project: groups Grouping of documents, codes, memos and networks Grouping according to shared attributes and characteristics Groups allow for interrogation across cases and conceptual domains

Analysis tools Word clouds/Word lists Code co-occurrence explorer Co-occurrence table Query Tool Splitting codes Code-PD table

Analysis tools: Word cloud Word frequency counts of: Documents The documents within a group A quotation/set of quotations The quotations linked to a code The quotations linked to the codes within a code group

Analysis tools: Word Lists Word frequency counts of: Documents The documents within a group A quotation/set of quotations The quotations linked to a code The quotations linked to the codes within a code group Tables in ATLAS.ti format and Excel

Analysis tools: the co-occurrence explorer Qualitative exploration of code co-occurrences Co-occurrences: two codes code the same quotation or quotations that touch each other (e.g, one within the other or one overlapping the other) Co-occurrences are spatial associations between codes Co-occurrences tell about the context

Analysis tools: the co-occurrence table The table shows number of times two codes co-occur with each other The table shows an indicator of the intensity of the co-occurrence between two codes (c-coefficient) From the table, it is possible examine the quotations in which two codes co-occur The table can be exported into Excel

Analysis tools: the query tool It retrieves data in the form of quotations by codes or combination of codes, across documents or combination of documents Codes are combined with codes through Boolean, Semantic and Proximity operators Documents are combined with documents Through Boolean operators

Analysis tools: code-document table Code frequency counts Number of quotations by code or code family across documents or document groups Number of words that make up the quotations linked to a code, or code group, across documents or document Output in Excel

Analysis tools: splitting codes Redistribute the quotations linked to one Code across a set of sub-codes Allows to move from the general to the Specific Allows to build categories

Teamwork Unlimited number of coders Collaboration in server Collaboration across computers Unique user IDs for each coder Merging projects two by two Project resulting from merging contains work from all coders Note: Inter-rater reliability tool not Available as of January 28 2017

References cited Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Densin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of qualitative research. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (4th ed., pp. 1-19). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Saldaña, J. (2009). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc. Silver, C., & Lewins, A. (2014). Using Software in Qualitative Research: A Step-by-Step Guide (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Thank you! ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH Hardenbergstr. 7 D-10623 Berlin Germany training@atlasti.com training, sales and general inquiries: +1 (866) 880-0231 (toll-free US and Canada)