Using Computers in Qualitative Research Nigel G. Fielding and Raymond M. Lee (Eds).Publisher: Sage Publications Inc.,2455 Teller Rd.,Newbury Park,CA 9i32o;805-499-0721;FAX [phone] Year of Publication: 1991 Length: 216 pages Price: $19.95 (paperbound) Intended Audience: Anthropologists and other scholars interested in the application of computing to qualitative research

Abstract

This work by mostly British scholars presents 11 essays on qualitative computing, one of them an overview essay by the editors. An initial section surveys a dozen software packages such as Ethno, Ethnograph, and WordCruncher and discusses the application of Nudist and a package created at the University of Edinburgh for conceptual modeling. A middle section, "Implications for Research Practice," contains essays on integrating computing in methods courses; ethical issues and data protection; and methodological pitfalls such as reification. A final section, "Qualitative Knowledge and Computing" contains essays on ethnographic research, event structure analysis (by David Heise), and hypertext. A concluding essay by Michael Agar, "The Right Brain Strikes Back," presents personal experiences and a critical view of computing in qualitative research.