Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) is a subjective form of text analysis where non-structured textual data, including interview transcripts, social media text, photographs, audio or video files, or almost any other information is closely examined to identify topics, narratives, structures, or themes. QDA can be done manually, on paper, but is typically performed with the help of software tools. If you are new to the technique, be sure to check out the theory guides on the left before diving into the software!
Related Techniques: Text Analysis, Social Media Analysis
This technique is part of the Analysis activity
Data Mining for the Social Sciences
by
Paul Attewell; David Monaghan
We live in a world of big data: the amount of information collected on human behavior each day is staggering, and exponentially greater than at any time in the past. Additionally, powerful algorithms are capable of churning through seas of data to uncover patterns. Providing a simple and accessible introduction to data mining, Paul Attewell and David B. Monaghan discuss how data mining substantially differs from conventional statistical modeling familiar to most social scientists. The authors also empower social scientists to tap into these new resources and incorporate data mining methodologies in their analytical toolkits. Data Mining for the Social Sciences demystifies the process by describing the diverse set of techniques available, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, and giving practical demonstrations of how to carry out analyses using tools in various statistical software packages.

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