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Computer-assisted (or aided) qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) offers tools that assist with qualitative research such as transcription analysis, coding and text interpretation, recursive abstraction, content analysis, discourse analysis, [1] grounded theory methodology, etc.
CAQDAS is used in psychology, marketing research, ethnography, public health and other social sciences. The CAQDAS networking project lists the following tools a CAQDAS [2] program should have:
| Application | Type | License | Source | Last Release | Analyses | OS Supported | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquad | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2017-02 | Text, Audio, Video, Graphics | Windows | Coding, Sequence Analysis, Exploratory Data Analysis |
| Atlas.ti | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2022-07 [4] | Text, Audio, Video, Graphic, Social Networks | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Cloud (web-based) | Coding, Aggregation, Query, Visualisation |
| Cassandre | Web-based/server | Free – GPL | Open | 2018-10-09 | Text | All (java-based) | Coding |
| CLAN | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2019-06-10 | Text | Windows, macOS, Linux | Coding |
| Coding Analysis Toolkit (CAT) | Web-based | Free – GPL | Open | 2014-06-28 [5] | Text | All (web browser) | Coding |
| Compendium | Client | Free – LGPL | Open | 2014-02 | Text | All (java-based) | Coding |
| Dovetail | Web-based | Proprietary | Closed | 2021-08 | Text, Audio, Video | All (web browser) | Coding, Query, Visualisation |
| Dedoose | Web-based | Proprietary | Closed | 2016-12 | Text, Audio, Video | All (web browser) | Coding, Query, Visualisation, Statistical Tools |
| ELAN | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2018-12-12 [6] | Audio, Video | Windows, macOS, Linux | Coding |
| KH Coder | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2015-12-29 [7] | Text | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| MAXQDA | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2019-02-05 | Text, audio, video, pictures, webpages, social networks | Windows, macOS | Coding, Aggregation, Query, Visualisation, Statistical Tools |
| NVivo | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2023-04 [8] | Text, audio, video, pictures, webpages | Windows, macOS | Coding, Aggregation, Query, Visualisation |
| QDAcity | Web-based | Proprietary | Closed | 2024-04-05 | Text, PDF | All | Coding |
| QDA Miner | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2016-11 | Windows | ||
| QDA Miner Lite | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2017-01-12 | Text | Windows | Coding |
| Qiqqa | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2016-09 | Windows, Android | ||
| QualCoder | Client | Free – MIT License | Open | 2023-01-19 [9] | Text, audio, video, pictures | Windows, macOS, Linux | Coding, Query, Visualization, Analysis |
| Quantitative Discourse Analysis Package (qdap) (R package) | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2019-01-02 [10] | Text | Windows, macOS, Linux | Word extracting, statistical analysis, visualization |
| Quirkos | Client / Web-based | Proprietary | Closed | 2023-01 [11] | Text | Windows, macOS, Linux, [12] All (web browser) | Coding, Query, Visualisation |
| Requal (R package) | Client / Web-based | Free – MIT License | Open | 2023-05 [13] | Text | All (web browser) | Coding, Intercoder Agreement, Log |
| RQDA (R package) | Client | Free – GPL | Open | 2018-03 [14] | Text | Windows, macOS, Linux | Coding, Aggregation, Query, Visualisation |
| Taguette | Client / Web-based | Free | Open | 2024-04 [15] | Text | Windows, macOS | Coding |
| Transana | Client | Proprietary, used to be GPL [16] | Closed | 2017-11 [17] | Text, Audio, Video | Windows, macOS | Coding |
| XSight | Client | Proprietary | Closed | 2006 (abandoned) | Windows |
In 2019, the Rotterdam Exchange Format Initiative (REFI) launched a new open exchange standard for qualitative data called QDA-XML, [18] however, the Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS) Network Project had been formally stablished in 1994. [2] The aim is to allow users to bring coded qualitative data from one software package to another. Initially support was included in Atlas.ti, QDA Miner, Quirkos and Transana, and is now implemented in Dedoose, MAXQDA, NVivo and more. [19] Although this was not the first standard to be proposed, it was the first to be implemented by more than one software package, and came as the result of a collaboration between vendors and community representatives from the research community. Previously there was very little capability to bring data in from other software packages.
The CAQDAS Network Project hosts events on the use of CAQDAS packages for qualitative and mixed-methods analysis. They include: [2]
Such software helps to organize, manage and analyse information. [20] The advantages of using this software include saving time, managing huge amounts of qualitative data, having increased flexibility, having improved validity and auditability of qualitative research, and being freed from manual and clerical tasks. Concerns include increasingly deterministic and rigid processes, privileging of coding, and retrieval methods; reification of data, increased pressure on researchers to focus on volume and breadth rather than on depth and meaning, time and energy spent learning to use computer packages, increased commercialism, and distraction from the real work of analysis. [21]
Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This type of research typically involves in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations in order to collect data that is rich in detail and context. Qualitative research is often used to explore complex phenomena or to gain insight into people's experiences and perspectives on a particular topic. It is particularly useful when researchers want to understand the meaning that people attach to their experiences or when they want to uncover the underlying reasons for people's behavior. Qualitative methods include ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Qualitative research methods have been used in sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, communication studies, social work, folklore, educational research, information science and software engineering research.
In the field of computer network administration, pcap is an application programming interface (API) for capturing network traffic. While the name is an abbreviation of packet capture, that is not the API's proper name. Unix-like systems implement pcap in the libpcap library; for Windows, there is a port of libpcap named WinPcap that is no longer supported or developed, and a port named Npcap for Windows 7 and later that is still supported.
ATLAS.ti is a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software that facilitates analysis of qualitative data for qualitative research, quantitative research, and mixed methods research.
In the social sciences, coding is an analytical process in which data, in both quantitative form or qualitative form are categorized to facilitate analysis.
NVivo is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer software package produced by Lumivero. NVivo is used across a diverse range of fields, including social sciences such as anthropology, psychology, communication, sociology, as well as fields such as forensics, tourism, criminology and marketing.
XSight was a software for qualitative data analysis. Its last version was released in 2006, which was supported until January 2014. Developed by QSR International for qualitative data analysis (QDA), it is a tool for researchers or individuals who are undertaking short term qualitative research analysis on projects involving non-numerical data. Qualitative research can encompass business intelligence, marketing research or data analysis. It was superseded by NVivo 10 for Windows, which offers equivalent functionality with greater flexibility and enables researchers to work with more data types likes PDFs, surveys, images, video, audio, web and social media content.
TalkBank is a multilingual corpus established in 2002 and currently directed and maintained by Brian MacWhinney. The goal of TalkBank is to foster fundamental research in the study of human and animal communication. It contains sample databases from within several subfields of communication, including first language acquisition, second language acquisition, conversation analysis, classroom discourse, and aphasic language. It uses these databases to advance the development of standards and tools for creating, sharing, searching, and commenting upon primary linguistic materials via networked computers.
Transana is a software package used to analyze digital video or audio data. Transana used to be a GPL licensed software, but has become proprietary software in recent releases.
RQDA is an R package for computer assisted qualitative data analysis or CAQDAS. It is installable from, and runs within, the R statistical software, but has a separate window running a graphical user interface. RQDA's approach allows for tight integration of the constructivist approach of qualitative research with quantitative data analysis which can increase the rigor, transparency and validity of qualitative research.
CAT or Coding Analysis Toolkit was a web-based suite of CAQDAS tools. It is free and open source software, and is developed by the Qualitative Data Analysis Program of the University of Pittsburgh. According to the CAT website, the tool was decommissioned on September 13, 2020.
QSR International is a qualitative research software developer based in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. QSR International is the developer of qualitative data analysis (QDA) software products, NVivo, NVivo Server, Interpris and XSight. These are designed to help qualitative researchers organize and analyze non-numerical or unstructured data.
Aquad is open source computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). It supports analysis of text, audio, video, and graphical data.
The Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP) was founded in 2005 at the University of Pittsburgh in the University Center for Social and Urban Research. QDAP is a fee-for-service research laboratory that develops software and methods to support multi-coder annotation projects. In 2008, QDAP-UMass was opened at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Researchers at QDAP developed the Coding Analysis Toolkit (CAT), which is a free, open source, web-based CAQDAS package.
QDA Miner is mixed methods and qualitative data analysis software developed by Provalis Research. The program was designed to assist researchers in managing, coding and analyzing qualitative data.
Quantitative Discourse Analysis Package (qdap) is an R package for computer assisted qualitative data analysis, particularly quantitative discourse analysis, transcript analysis and natural language processing. Qdap is installable from, and runs within, the R system.
Cassandre is a free open source software for computer assisted qualitative data analysis and interpretation in humanities and social sciences. Although it refers, like other CAQDAS-software, to Grounded Theory Method, it also allows to conduct discourse analysis or quantitative content analysis. The software is designed as a server to support collaborative work. Formerly focused on semi-automatic coding, it now provides diaries assisting qualitative analysis.
KH Coder is an open source software for computer assisted qualitative data analysis, particularly quantitative content analysis and text mining. It can be also used for computational linguistics. It supports processing and etymological information of text in several languages, such as Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Specifically, it can contribute factual examination co-event system hub structure, computerized arranging guide, multidimensional scaling and comparative calculations. Word frequency statistics, part-of-speech analysis, grouping, correlation analysis, and visualization are among the features offered by KH Coder.
Quirkos is a CAQDAS software package for the qualitative analysis of text data, commonly used in social science. It provides a graphical interface in which the nodes or themes of analysis are represented by bubbles. It is designed primarily for new and non-academic users of qualitative data, to allow them to quickly learn the basics of qualitative data analysis. Although simpler to use, it lacks some of the features present in other commercial CAQDAS packages such as multimedia support. However, it has been proposed as a useful tool for lay and participant led analysis and is comparatively affordable. It is developed by Edinburgh, UK based Quirkos Software, and was first released in October 2014.
Marilyn Gray Richards is an Australian social scientist and writer who, with computer scientist Tom Richards, developed the software analysis packages NUD*IST and NVivo.
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