Data visualisation in software supporting qualitative analysis

Abstract

This text results from research developed in the Postgraduate Program in Education at the Tiradentes University (Unit), in partnership with the University of Aveiro, Portugal, in 2019 and 2020. The objective sought to describe how the Visualization of Data (VD) is represented in the analysis of qualitative data with the support of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS). To achieve this objective, we reached the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Seven software frequently used today, trying to understand the most frequent representations of HV in QDAS, their structuring, and how they can contribute to the phases of organisation and analysis in a scenario that can vary from small to large amounts of data. The results show that the QDAS can help the researcher visualise the qualitative data analysed with transparency through data visualisation representations that stood out in tables, charts, maps, and representations with movements. During the analysis, it was also observed that each software offers representations in different ways. The type of user/researcher interaction with the generated representations has been an exclusive phenomenon of digital technologies, which visually improves how scientific production knowledge can better circulate knowledge production.

Keywords

• QDAS; CAQDAS; graphical representations; qualitative research; digital technology; scientific production.