Choosing qualitative data analysis software

This chapter section by Eben A. Weitzman guides readers through some of the important considerations when choosing appropriate qualitative analysis software.

Part of a larger chapter on qualitative analysis, which covers a range of topics from the conducting of rigorous qualitative research to the drawing and verifying of conclusions, the information is presented with easy-to-follow steps and exercises.

Excerpt

"Specifically, there are four key questions to ask and answer as you move toward choosing one or more software packages:

1. What kind of computer user am I?
2. Am I choosing for one project or the next few years?
3. What kind of project(s) and database(s) will I be working on?
4. What kind of analyses am I planning to do?

In addition to these four key questions, there are two cut-across issues to bear in mind:

• How important is it to you to maintain a sense of “closeness” to your data?
• What are your financial constraints when buying software, and the hardware it needs to run on?" (Weitzman, n.d.)