Running head: Unit 4-1

Dimitrios V. Siskos
This paper is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Qualitative Research Methodology-Unit
4-1
SMC University
School of Management
Dr. Albert Widman
April 16, 2013

Table of Contents
DQ#1.. ........................................................................................................................ 3
DQ#2....................................................................................................................................... 4
References .................................................................................................................................. 6

DQ#1
In the previous years, the use of software as a data analysis tool was considered mainly as part of
quantitative research methodology. Cambra & Wilson (2011) explain that this phenomenon happened
because researchers spent much more time in planning how to collect data, rather than planning how to
analyze data. In contrast to what was believed during the past, a number of recent literature have illustrated
ways in which specialized software can be employed to analyze qualitative data (Coviello, 2005).
It is widely known that the rejection of reliability and validity in qualitative inquiry during the previous
decades (Morse et al., 2002), made the research seem insufficient. Therefore, the main challenges that led
researchers into using software tools for qualitative data analysis was the need to enhance the validity of the
findings (Smith & Firth, 2011) and to enrich research with reliability as well as objectivity (Cambra &
Wilson, 2011). For example, Kikooma (2010) used N-Vivo, a computer assisted qualitative data analysis
software (CAQDAS), in a social constructionist study so as to code data and address validity threats.
Some of the main advantages of using software for qualitative data analysis are that it saves valuable
time for the researchers, increases flexibility, classifies information and develops conclusions (Cambra &
Wilson, 2011). Baugh, Hallcom and Harris (2010) highlight these benefits, inferring that CAQDAS usage
saved valuable time in conducting their research as well as it extended their ability to organize, track and
manage data.
A distinct advantage of specialized software usage in data analysis is that it enables virtual teamwork
(Sinkovics et al., 2005). According to Ashmores (2012) research, virtual teams which used data analysis
software in the past improved the quality of their findings, the teams culture and the orientation toward
change.
Given that software usage allows graphical display of the project information (Cambra & Wilson,
2011), it is easier for the researcher to explore content analysis, interpret results and generate explanations.
Mavrikis and Geraniou (2011), which used software Transana in order to investigate ways to encourage

students to identify and express rules in a computational environment, came in touch with multiple
perspectives of the project and resulted to complex and systematic conclusions.
Moreover, CAQDAS assists the researcher by aiding a more accurate and transparent picture of the
complex data as well as by providing a holistic audit of the analytical processes (Catterall &c Maclaran 1998;
Welsh, 2002). Wickham and Woods (2005) recommend the use of such programs as they allow researcher to
examine all data of the research, to make a detailed audit and to ensure the transparency of the qualitative
research. For example, Carcary (2011) used N-vivo to manage the 387 pages of single spaced interview
transcripts and to audit the whole procedure.

DQ#2
When Park (2006) accomplished data collection procedure through interviews, the next step was to use
a method to analyze them. Firstly, he transcribed data into rich text format files using Microsoft Word and
afterwards he loaded them into N-vivo software to organize and code the transcripts. The researcher based on
Moustakas (1994) data analysis techniques, following seven data analysis steps.
During the horizonalization step, the researcher used open coding to collect every significant statement
which described how the phenomenon was experienced by the participants, creating a list for each of them.
The impact on research was to ensure that there were no repetitive and overlapping statements within that
lists (Kerr, 2009), making the dissertation seem more credible. Moreover, it allowed researchers to examine
all divergent perspectives and different meanings of data. The next step of data analysis was to cluster 29
different meanings into seven categories, forming the coding index, which was used as a means of
organizing the whole dataset of research (Smith & Firth, 2011). In the next three steps of data analysis, the
researcher constructed a textural-structural description for each participant, using textual descriptions to
reveal what happened and structural meanings to reveal how the phenomenon was experienced (Kerr, 2009).
In that way, he succeeded to effectively reduce the meanings of the experience to their basic structure.
During the next step and in order to validate findings, the researcher asked the participants to evaluate the

personal portrait of their experiences, suggesting changes. Eventually, the researcher exploited the open-code
categories and applied axial coding to involve a regrouping of the data (Babbie, 2013). By that means, he
attempted to create a holistic view of the data, integrating all individual textual-structural descriptions into a
universal report of the experience representing the group as a whole (Park, 2006).
Despite the tendency to believe that software distracts the investigator from the line of inquiry (Cambra
& Wilson, 2011), the aforementioned technology programs changed positively the data analysis process.
Similar to most recent approaches, the researcher employed specialized software in order to systematically
index and code qualitative data, retrieving it in many different ways (Weitzman & Miles, 1995). During the
first phases of data analysis process, Park (2006) employed N-vivo to identify the already coded data and to
parse them into seven subgroups. Without the use of a software tool, it would take much time and would
demand a lot of work to achieve that goal. Moreover, complex and instant executable queries also employed
in later stages of process in order to construct combinations of textural-structural descriptions. To establish
validity, N-vivo allowed numerous active links to participants so as to online evaluate their portraits
constructing, in every stage of the process. The same audit trail on paper would demand references on each
stage of process and would require participants to physically find each folder and access each relevant piece
of paper (Kikooma, 2010). Overall, the impact of latest technology on data analysis process was significant
in Parks (2006) research as it carried out such operations with speed and consistency (Weitzman & Miles,
1995).

References
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