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- Title
Computing in Qualitative Sociology.
- Authors
Gerson, Elihu M.
- Abstract
The emphasis to date in computing support for qualitative research has been on handling field notes. But we want support for theory construction too. Efforts to find something useful have been discouraging. The available database managers are not oriented toward text or conceptual data structures, nor do they provide the facilities for rapid reorganization and comparison which are the heart of theory construction. Outline managers are not primarily word-processing tools: rather, they are database management tools. Using an outline manager as a concept database is quite simple. A top-level outline has major conceptual areas arranged as a list of topics. Analysis is drastically simplified by this database. Different analytical arrangements can be explored by trying out different outline structures. Revisions and elaborations can be made by moving, expanding, and deleting the appropriate pieces of outline structure. Similarly, whenever two topics seem related we insert cross references at the appropriate points in the outlines. Crossreferencing in a standardized format makes it possible to use the outline manager's "search" function to find items with a particular keyword, and then go onto trace relationships via the cross-references associated with the keywords.
- Subjects
DATABASE management; DATABASES; QUALITATIVE research; DATABASE searching; ELECTRONIC data processing; MANAGEMENT information systems
- Publication
Qualitative Sociology, 1985, Vol 8, Issue 2, p194
- ISSN
0162-0436
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/BF00989473