Εισαγωγή στην ποιοτική ανάλυση δεδομένων με το... (Modern Greek)

Η διαδικασία της ποιοτικής ανάλυσης των εμπειρικών δεδομένων περιλαμβάνει συνήθως ένα αρχικό στάδιο κωδικοποίησής τους. Η κωδικοποίηση αποτελεί μια διαδικασία συστηματικής μετάβασης από το επίπεδο των ανεπεξέργαστων εμπειρικών δεδομένων--όπως απομαγνητοφωνήσεις ατομικών συνεντεύξεων και ομάδων εστίασης--στο επίπεδο μιας αφαιρετικής τους αναπαράστασης, μέσα από ένα σύνολο κωδικών/κατηγοριοποιήσεων που αντιστοιχούν σε τμήματα των εμπειρικών δεδομένων. Τις τελευταίες τρεις δεκαετίες έχουν αναπτυχθεί πλήθος εφαρμογών λογισμικού για την υποστήριξη της διαδικασίας ποιοτικής ανάλυσης. Σ 'αυτή την κατηγορία ανήκουν τα προγράμματα CAQDAS, τα οποία χρησιμοποιούνται, για να υποστηρίζουν τη διαδικασία ανάλυσης, που διεξάγει ο ίδιος ο ερευνητής. Επειδή τα ποιοτικά εμπειρικά δεδομένα είναι συνήθως εκτεταμένα και η ανάλυσή τους ιδιαίτερα χρονοβόρα και επίπονη η χρήση μιας εφαρμογής λογισμικού κρίνεται περισσότερο από απαραίτητη' η χρήση του λογισμικού διευκολύνει ιδιαίτερα την ερευνητική ομάδα να οργανώσει τα εμπειρικά δεδομένα και να ολοκληρώσει την διαδικασία ανάλυσης με ένα συγκροτημένο και συστηματικό τρόπο. Στο παρόν άρθρο επιδεικνύουμε τη διαδικασία της ποιοτικής ανάλυσης μέσα από ένα παράδειγμα κωδικοποίησης κειμενικών εμπειρικών δεδομένων, αξιοποιώντας ένα νέο και εύχρηστο λογισμικό ανοικτού κώδικα, το Taguette. Η αξιοποίηση κατάλληλων εργαλείων ανοικτού κώδικα κρίνεται ιδιαίτερα σημαντική στο πλαίσιο μιας οικολογίας ανοικτής εκπαίδευσης. Το άρθρο εν κατακλείδι αναδυκνεύει ζητήματα εγκυρότητας και ποιότητας στην ποιοτική έρευνα. Nowadays, Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) tools are becoming an integral component of most qualitative research projects and qualitative researchers are encouraged to use such tools to improve the quality of their work. The idea of this paper sprouted in the land of academic teaching. The main concern of the authors is how to efficiently introduce university students and novice qualitative researchers to the practice of qualitative analysis with the aid of an appropriate software tool. There is a plethora of standardized methods and techniques that have been developed and used for analyzing qualitative data. Qualitative data analysis often entails a procedure where the raw textual data, such are the transcriptions of semi-structured interviews, are organized and coded in higher-order descriptive or conceptual categories. As Chenail (2012) highlights, by conceptualizing coding as a process of creating maps for the vast empirical data, qualitative data analysis can be understood "as a form of knowledge management" where the researcher "transforms data into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom, maintaining the scientific rigor and the artistic aplomb to produce a systematic and creative product." (p.248) In this article, we demonstrate the process of coding textual data, using Taguette, an open-source software. Using open-source tools is crucial for building an open education ecology and removing barriers in accessing learning and research resources. We aim to introduce novice qualitative researchers and undergraduate students of qualitative methods to the process of coding in a clear and concise way. For a more extended discussion of coding as a decision-making process addressing critical questions, like what to code, how many codes to develop, or what types of coding sets to use, see the related work of Elliot (2018). Initial coding of the raw empirical data is a fundamental step found in many standardized qualitative methods, such as Thematic Analysis, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, and many others. Taguette is a recently developed free and open-source software application compatible with most operating systems. Also, it provides an easy-to-use interface without requiring a learning curve for researchers to familiarize themselves. Therefore, is ideal for all researchers and especially newcomers to qualitative inquiry. However, as an introductory software in its initial phase of development, Taguette does not provides (yet) the full array of utilities and features usually available in the commercial CAQDAS packages. Nevertheless, Taguette provides all the basic functionality needed for coding textual qualitative data produced from interviews. focus groups, or any other means. Coding is usually the first step researchers take in the process of qualitative inquiry. "Coding is an almost universal process in qualitative research; it is a fundamental aspect of the analytical process and the ways in which researchers break down their data to make something new." (Elliott, 2018, p. 2850). The coding process mirrors the systematic way of the researcher's journey from the level of the raw empirical data (like interview transcripts, observational notes, narrative accounts etc) to the level of their abstract representation. This is achieved by identifying and tagging data segments using meaningful labels, or codes. A code is a tag we attach to a data segment, whether that segment is a word, a sentence, a paragraph, or a bigger quotation. Code names should be concise and indicative of the data segments they attempt to represent. Each code corresponds to a unit of meaning, a recurring pattern, anything that the researcher begins to recognize in the data as an independent unit of analysis: "In qualitative data analysis a unit would be a single undivided entity upon which you direct your analysis and express the qualities you perceive in that element." (Chenail, 2012b, p. 266) Alternative terms used for codes are categories, topics or themes. "A theme captures something important about the data in relation to the research question and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set." (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 82). All these terms are used interchangeably to describe the same thing: something in the data that makes sense for the researcher to be identified as a unit of analysis. However, usually the terms category and theme are used at a hierarchically higher level to describe a group of codes that are somehow linked or interrelated. That is, the first round of analysis involves creating codes (firstorder categories), while subsequent revisits of the coded corpus involve grouping codes into categories, or themes, at a higher level of analysis. "Being able to systematically work through qualitative data in order to identify common threads of meaning, to group these together into categories of meaning and to then cluster these into higher-order themes is a skill which all qualitative researchers ought to acquire." (Willig, 2013, p. 178) It is extremely crucial for the whole process of qualitative analysis, and in particular for the initial coding of the empirical data, to be performed in a systematic way, which can contribute significantly to the quality of the overall inquiry. This is facilitated by using CAQDAS software like Taguette, which renders the whole process more trustworthy and transparent. Taguette software is accessible at https://www.taguette.org/. There are two options for installing the software, either as a local application on the user's computer or as an online application on a webserver to which an entire research team has access. The advantage of a local installation is that of a higher degree of data security, as the database is stored locally on the user's computer. The disadvantage is that no more than one researcher can work simultaneously and collaboratively on the same project. This paper concludes by discussing issues of quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research with a special focus on employing CAQDAS tools to enhance the overall quality and research rigor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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