Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Nov 2010)
Introduction to the KWALON Experiment: Discussions on Qualitative Data Analysis Software by Developers and Users
Abstract
In this introduction to the KWALON Experiment and related conference, we describe the motivations of the collaborating European networks in organising this joint endeavour. The KWALON Experiment consisted of five developers of Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) software analysing a dataset regarding the financial crisis in the time period 2008-2009, provided by the conference organisers. Besides this experiment, researchers were invited to present their reflective papers on the use of QDA software. This introduction gives a description of the experiment, the "rules", research questions and reflective points, as well as a full description of the dataset and search rules used, and our reflection on the lessons learned. The related conference is described, as are the papers which are included in this FQS issue. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101405
