Qualitative+Data+Analysis+Software


 * Qualitative Data Analysis Software **

** Overall Comments ** There have been great strides over the years, but the two competitors continue to be Atlas and QSR (NVIVO, NUD*IST, etc.).

Atlas has roots in Germany and is more European in feel, also heavily used in Latin America, and certainly less tied to Microsoft and its associated program (MS Windows, MS Office Suite Programs), which can be an issue for some, depending on their computing styles and overall needs.

QSR is the descendant of NUD*IST which began about a decade earlier than Atlas -- and in Melbourne rather than Berlin. Originating in the Australian market, it has long been tied to the US market given the inevitable connections and networks across the English speaking world. And that led to QSR (the organization behind NVIVO, XVIVO, etc.) to long ago go with Microsoft as a platform. It is certainly more Microsoft oriented, more ready for conversation toward or working with Access, etc. (Similarly, the Europeans and Latin Americans are more oriented toward Open Office and while they are not major Mac users, they tend to be more Microsoft disdainers and much more commonly cite its monopoly power and clunkiness. While these things are essentially true, it is also true that Microsoft is simply a familiar standard for most computer users.) Lastly, because Australia is closely intertwined with the Chinese market, QSR has developed a much greater ability to work with character-based languages. But on the other hand, they only recently went to a German format. Atlas is the reverse...it definitely has a strong German presence and orientation, obviously, behind its international English format, as well as a strong tie to French and European users in general.

There are advantages to both and students would do well to explore both, or to learn from those who have used one or the other.

It would be good for our program to sponsor a panel at, say, AAR or APT (or IAPT) that looks at CAQDA from a PT point of view, showing the benefits of each package from a practical perspective (stories of actual use, powerpoint slides showing the programs and qualitative data) and specifically as practical theologians.

** Links to Other Information on Qualitative Data Analysis Software ** http://www.pressure.to/qda/ []