Analysing Qualitative Data with MAXQDA

Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is a non-numerical method of analysing data. This method is used in various areas such as psychology, sociology, political science, ethnography, marketing research, public health, and other social sciences. Conducting qualitative research requires working with a large amount of data. In the age of technology, there are several tools to assist researchers with an enormous workload. Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) is created for this purpose. MAXQDA (the name is a nod to German sociologist Max Weber and qualitative data analysis (QDA)) is one of these software programs designed to be used in qualitative and mixed research. It saves time and helps you to get deeper insights into your data. The program website states:

“MAXQDA is a world-leading software package for qualitative and mixed methods research. Analyse all kinds of data – from texts to images and audio/video files, websites, tweets, focus group discussions, survey responses, and much more. Developed by and for researchers, MAXQDA is at once powerful and easy-to-use, innovative and user-friendly, as well as the only leading QDA software that is 100% identical on Windows and Mac.”

The latest version of the software offers the following features:

  • Import transcripts, documents, video, audio, images, surveys, tables, etc.
  • Create charts and tables
  • Reading, editing, paraphrasing, and coding data
  • Summarizing content
  • Statistical analysis of data
  • Linking, mapping, query, writing and annotation tools
  • Project data is stored in one project file

After collecting the data, MAXQDA lets you upload all the files you have – transcripts, audio/video, images, surveys, etc. with a simple drag-and-drop function. Your files are stored on “Document System,” where you can rename and organize them into different groups and sets. The groups can be named after the location or age, the gender of participants. Then you can assign all the files to those groups according to those criteria.  It is possible to regroup all the files as many times as you want.  There is a “memo” section where you can store your ideas, theories, field notes about the projects or particular files. The visual tools of the software make it easy to create tables, charts, and concept maps.  Fill them with your data, make connections and discover patterns. Another significant feature of MAXQDA is that it lets you bring quantitative data into your qualitative analysis and quantify it by showing a statistical analysis of your data.

Software such as MAXQDA manages a huge amount of data, saves time, and increases flexibility. By doing so, it saves researchers from frustrating manual tasks that take months to accomplish. Some might have difficulty adapting to visuals, interface, and various functions, but it can be your go-to software for analysing the data after using it a few times.

 

MAXQDA: Transcription

As mentioned above, MAXQDA lets you import transcripts into the  “Document System.” You can get transcripts using automatic transcription software such as Voicedocs. Voicedocs functions with the help of speech recognition technology that allows converting audio to text in a matter of minutes – around four times faster than a human transcriber. Register and try the software for free. 

 

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