The History of the Development and Propagation of QDA Software

Authors

Urszula Wolski PhD, University of NorthamptonFollow

Abstract

In the 1980s researchers began to develop software for the analysis of qualitative data. Since then such computer packages have transformed the nature and practice of qualitative research. This paper identifies and examines the processes that led to the development of a QDAS community from the perspective of social worlds theory. Based on interviews with developers and propagators of qualitative data analysis software (QDAS), this paper discusses its history and development, illustrating how a community emerged from the intersection of two social worlds, the computing world and the social science world. It shows use of QDAS spread to the wider social science community via informal and formal social networks, and the ways in which the simultaneous development of communications technologies enabled its further expansion.

Keywords

QDAS, CAQDAS, Propagation of QDAS, Social Networks, Invisible Colleges, Interactive Technologies, History of QDAS, Qualitative Data Analysis, Diffusion of Innovations

Author Bio(s)

Urszula Wolski is an Associate Lecturer at the University of Northampton. Her research interests are in new technologies for social research, qualitative research methods, new religious movements and the sociology of sport. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: urszulawolski90@gmail.com.

Publication Date

3-6-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2984

Recommended APA Citation

Wolski, U. (2018). The History of the Development and Propagation of QDA Software. The Qualitative Report, 23(13), 6-20. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2984