In this post, I introduce the moiré effect as a visual device for explaining three tricky and hard-to-grasp aspects of qualitative research: Abstraction, emergence, and the relationship between data and theory.
Read MoreCoding is easily misunderstood as the ‘basic’ or ‘essential’ function of qualitative data analysis software. In this essay, I discuss how this misunderstanding connects to the technical ease of coding in software; to wide-spread anxiety concerning doing methodologically driven analysis; and to common contexts in which software use is taught.
Read MoreGrammatically speaking, "coding data" implies that something is done to the data; applied to the data. Data are being coded; they become en-coded. However, qualitative researchers also use the term "coding data" when they describe processes in which they generate codes with, or from data. I think this is confusing. The term "coding data" characterizes one end on a continuum of coding practices: coding as sorting. When we describe how we build or reconstruct systems of meaning by analyzing data it may make more sense to say that we're "data-ing codes".
Read MoreIn this brief essay, I explore how research methods are not designed to solve problems - and why that's actually a good thing.
Read MoreAfter looking at my curriculum on question generation using QDA software, Daniel Turner (founder & director of the QDA software company Quirkos) pointed me to a recent article on CAQDAS pedagogy by Silver & Woolf. I was happy to see that the discussion around QDA software and teaching is picking up – and I think the article is a must-read for anyone reflecting on their own teaching strategies and teaching experiences. Daniel asked me whether I think that my curriculum is complementary to Silver and Woolf’s approach. I think it is – so I jotted down a few thoughts.
Read MoreThree elements are at play when
software is used to do qualitative research: Options, Methods, and
Functions. In this post I'll talk about their definitions, how they connect, and when their interplay can create issues for qualitative analysis workflows.
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