
For a small dataset it might still be realistic to sit on the floor with sticky notes, highlighter pens, and printed transcripts, or whatever the preferred manual method may be, but seeing as we are working with eight field sites and about 200 interview transcripts in total, it is inconceivable to manage and code it all by hand.īeyond relief, it has been exciting to learn about functions we had not been able to imagine before trying MAXQDA. Neither of us had used any qualitative software before, and felt a similar kind of relief when familiarising ourselves with the coding functions as when moving from referencing by hand to using referencing software, such as Zotero or Mendeley. However, it was rewarding to attend some basic training in how the programme is specifically suited for different types of qualitative analysis. Having used statistical software packages before, it felt somewhat intuitive to imagine how some functions, such as pulling out certain parts of the dataset, might work in MAXQDA.
#Does maxqda help with coding how to
Overall, it has been enjoyable to learn how to use a new software. This gave a good starting point for using a limited number of the available functions, the most essential being creating code systems, and coding interview transcripts.


Before starting, we had a short training session with a MAXQDA expert, in addition to watching numerous tutorials. Our qualitative analysis process has involved us working with a shared codebook but on a large number of interviews in different languages from each of the four countries in our study.
