Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.1
Qualitative data analysis software
variety of database programs to test my perceptions of the frequency of certain
behaviors, to test specific hypotheses, and to provide new insights into the
data. ATLAS.ti, HyperRESEARCH, NVivo, AnSWR, and EZ-Text are some
programs that are well suited to ethnographic research (see Figure 4.1).
These database programs allow for the development of emergent themes. In
addition, these tools help the ethnographer visualize and organize the data into
“bins,” or categories. FileMaker Pro, spreadsheets, and similar programs are
less suitable for field notes, but are useful for more limited data sets and manip-
ulations, such as name, address, sex, ethnicity, date, and time. Fixed fields do
not allow for the addition of new fields that emerge along the way as the ethnog-
rapher learns more about the multidimensional nature of the topic and the
field. (See Weitzman & Miles, 1995, for a detailed review of qualitative data
