Software

         NVivo

Features: Coding, thematic analysis, text search, visualization, integration with SPSS and Excel.

Supports multimedia, social media, and survey data.

         Atlas.ti

Features: Code management, co-occurrence analysis, network visualization, team collaboration.

Supports documents, images, audio, and video.

         DeDoose

Web-based; focuses on mixed methods research.

Efficient for collaborative research and real-time data updates.

         MAXQDA

Features: Mixed methods integration, code mapping, visual tools, statistical analysis.

Supports quantitative-qualitative integration and survey analysis.

         Quirkos

Visual interface optimized for small-scale qualitative projects.

Real-time coding visualization and simplicity in use.

         QDA Miner Lite - Qualitative Data

Free version of QDA Data Miner; allows importation of common file types (Office Suite, PDF, HTML, RTF). Coding uses a tree structure. Allows for Boolean text searches.

         Computer Aided Textual Markup and Analysis (CATMA)

Good for projects where there s not a lot of coding or when a data dictionary is not needed.

Offers graphical interface for tagging and marking up text; also includes a natural language based query builder to create and run queries. Support is available in multiple languages. Useful for data visualization projects.

         Cassandre

Free tool, but limited to use with text analysis (such as content analysis procedures). Also allows for interactivity between users.

         HyperRESEARCH

Supports theory building and hypothesis testing.

Integrates with HyperTRANSCRIBE for transcription.

         transana

Specialized for video/audio qualitative analysis.

Timeline-based coding, ideal for discourse and conversation analysis.

         GenAI (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)

GenAI can support qualitative data analysis (QDA) as an assistive tool, not a replacement for methodological rigor. Its utility lies in enhancing efficiency and exploratory analysis through the following functions:

1. Data Familiarization

Summarization of large text corpora (interviews, focus groups, open-ended survey responses).

Extraction of salient themes or recurring concepts.

Identification of outliers or unusual responses.

2. Coding Assistance

Suggesting initial open codes based on inductive analysis.

Highlighting co-occurring phrases for axial coding.

Providing semantic categorization or clustering based on meaning similarity.

3. Thematic Analysis Support

Grouping codes into candidate themes.

Providing explanations for potential theme interrelations.

Comparing across cases or participant groups.

4. Pattern Recognition and Discourse Analysis

Detecting patterns in word usage, rhetorical devices, sentiment shifts, or discourse markers.

Suggesting frames or narrative structures in textual data.

5. Data Querying

Allowing researchers to pose specific questions to the data (e.g., What reasons do participants give for quitting their jobs? ).

6. Visualization Preparation

Generating input formats for word clouds, frequency tables, or code co-occurrence matrices.

7. Memoing and Reflexivity

Assisting in the writing of analytic memos.

Prompting reflexive questions to challenge assumptions.

8. Cross-Linguistic Analysis

Translating or comparing meaning across languages (with caveats regarding cultural nuance).

 

Limitations:

Lacks epistemological grounding (e.g., cannot understand phenomenology, constructivism, or critical theory).

Risk of introducing bias via language model priors.

Does not replace interpretive depth, triangulation, or context-aware analysis.