Harnessing Dedoose for Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Data Analysis

This seminar introduces you to harnessing Dedoose to accomplish qualitative and mixed-methods analysis.

 

The seminar follows the principles of ensuring analytic strategies drive the use of software tools as described in the CAQDAS pedagogy, the Five-Level QDA method, providing both theoretical understandings of the role of Dedoose in the analysis process, and practical experience with operating the software to accomplish a variety of analytic tasks.

 

You will be guided through the typical phases of an analysis and how they can be facilitated through the creative and systematic use of Dedoose.

 

This seminar provides you with a comprehensive introduction to Dedoose and how to harness its tools powerfully. It combines discussion, demonstration and hands-on practice, using sample data and (optionally) your own research data. It follows the principles described in Silver C & Woolf N (2019) The Five-Level QDA Method. Foundation entry. Sage Methods Foundations, which details the principles of harnessing tools like Dedoose powerfully.
 
The seminar is divided into four topics over the day, and includes the following teaching and learning activities:

 

1. Contextual illustrations – methodological and analytical principles, uses of Dedoose in different contexts (e.g. for literature reviewing, for analysis of empirical data collected for a specific study, for secondary analysis of qualitative materials) 

2. Software demonstrations – interface, architecture, components, actions and tools

3. Guided Instruction – step-by-step teaching in the operation of Dedoose and the use of tools for analytic tasks

4. Individual work - to consolidate understandings and put learning into practice in own contexts

You will be guided through the phases of an analysis and how to accomplish them using Dedoose tools creatively and systematically. This includes planning an analysis and creating structural frameworks to reflect initial research designs; familiarising with qualitative materials (at an in-depth interpretive level and at a higher content-based level); coding qualitative data using different analytic approaches (contrasting inductive, grounded approaches and deductive, topic or theoretically informed approaches); using software tools to capture reflections through writing, mapping and linking; organizing data to factual characteristics; interrogating patterns and relationships to identify themes, make comparisons and explore anomalies; and using visualisations to communicate findings in engaging and powerful ways.