Demo Session 1: Collaborative Work and other digital possibilities in Qualitative Research

14:30 -16:00 (Johannesburg timetable) | In-person Session 

The differentiation of contemporary approaches to qualitative data analysis can seem daunting even for experienced social science researchers. Especially when they move in the data analysis process from general analytical strategies used in qualitative research to more specific approaches to different types of qualitative data, including interviews, text, audio, images, videos and so-called virtual data, discovering the domain ontology of the qualitative research field, we see that there are more than twice as many different classes of data analysis methods as qualitative research methods. This demonstration session critically reflects on the Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) process and the development of collaborative work and digital possibilities in qualitative data collection and analysis. Using our own extensive analytical and research project experience, the last research results and a literature review, we try to demonstrate the impact of new technologies and the world of digital possibilities on how we think about it. We also try to do the qualitative data analysis. The essence of this procedure is a dialectical interplay between the new world of digital technology and the classic methodology. The use of digital possibilities in qualitative research practices shapes the researcher’s identity and his analytical and research workshop. Moreover, it teaches collaborative thinking and teamwork and fosters the development of new analytical, digital and Information Technology (IT) skills. It is difficult to imagine contemporary qualitative research and data analysis in the humanities and social sciences. Opening to modern technologies in computer-based qualitative data analysis shapes our interpretation frameworks and changes the optics and perception of research problems.