Bridging the Gap Between Methodology and Qualitative Data Analysis Software: A Practical Guide for Educators and Qualitative Researchers

The interpretative and flexible nature of qualitative research is one of its hallmark strengths, yet this can pose a significant obstacle for researchers who wish to incorporate computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS), especially for educators of CAQDAS and researchers who may have abandoned CAQDAS following past frustrations. We seek to help qualitative researchers and teachers by illustrating how CAQDAS can be used to follow specific analytic strategies (e.g. inductive and deductive analysis, category identification and synthesis, and qualitative model building). To bridge the gap between qualitative methodology and CAQDAS, this article provides guidelines for researchers to familiarise themselves with widely used qualitative analysis strategies, and learn how ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, and NVivo can be used in each phase of the qualitative analysis process. By effectively translating analytic strategies into CAQDAS features, CAQDAS can greatly facilitate data management, analysis, and collaboration when software features are harnessed to realise analytic strategies.