Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Qualitative computing refers to the ensemble of technology and methodology for qualitative data analysis. Its development is rooted in qualitative sociology and the tradition of symbolic interactionism and is embedded in the evolution of computers. It goes beyond simple data management, incorporating features such as criticism of traditional approaches to data analysis, searching for new logical strategies for theory building, and innovative ways to visually represent multiple realities. Some criteria to differentially assess the software programs, among others, are ease of integration of all research process stages, type of data, process of searching units of analysis to read and review, memo-writing managers, categorization and code book access, analysis inventory and assessment, capability to export and import quantitative data, and options to merge data from different projects. At the beginning of the 1980s, researchers from the US, Australia, and Europe developed prototypes of different computer programs to work with qualitative data, called CAQDAS since 1989, which stands for Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis. Similar to computational sociology, it seeks to deal with data complexity but its aim is not to model an “artificial society” as the former does. Qualitatively driven strategies of handling digital data provide a relational and dynamic model for conceptually ... log in or subscribe to read full text