Required?

Another question that I wanted to address. This course is not required, but strongly recommended. You may skip to certain parts of the course if you feel the earlier portions are not helpful to you or your research goals. Please let me know if this is the case and we can come up with alternative assignments.

Deleting a Blog

In response to Tom's question this week... If you would like to create multiple blogs to try out each platform and then delete the ones you do not want.

I found this link on deleting blogs in Blogger:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41387

This link is on deleting blogs in Wordpress:
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-do-i-delete-my-wordpress-blog

And this link is on deleting livejournal blogs:
http://www.livejournal.com/legal/privacy.bml
(look under "Changing your Preferences and Personal Information")

Most of these also have information on deleting your account as a whole as well.

Course Information

Digital Tools for Qualitative Research
Graduate Level, 1 hour, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Tuesdays, 9-10:48am (1/4-2/1)
Thursdays, 5-6:48pm (2/10-3/10)
RA 009

Course Description
This is a five-week introductory course on computer technology tools available to assist in collecting, organizing and analyzing data for qualitative research.

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of organizing data locally and externally, using digital notetaking tools, using tools to collaborate online, transcribing audio and video, as well as data analysis tools by exploring all the basic functions in a “hands on” approach. Through guidance, this course will help the researcher understand how these technologies can support their own research or project.

Relationship to other courses/curricula
Students currently enrolled in Ed P&L 800 are encouraged to attend.

Course Objectives
• Introduce students to the basic functions of technologies to assist in collecting, organizing and analyzing data during qualitative research.
• Provide students with the basic skills needed to complete the data analysis component of Ed P&L 967.
• Provide students with the basic skills to utilize computer technologies as they commence their own qualitative data research projects.

Course Requirements and Evaluation
75% required for “Satisfactory” evaluation
1. Attendance 25%
2. Class Participation 25%
3. Assignments 25%
4. Final Exam 25%

Special Needs
Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Office for Disability Services at 614-292-3307 in room 150 Pomerene Hall to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

Software/Hardware

For this course the following software will be loaded on to lab computers, but you may want to download/buy them yourself, so I am providing a list here.

1) Evernote (free download)
2) Zotero (free download)- keeps disappearing on lap computers
3) Audacity (free download)
4) MovieMaker (free download)
5) ExpressScribe (free download)
6) Transana (open source $50, but free trial available)
7) WEFT QDA (free download)

We will also be using the following hardware. Should you have these items and prefer your own personal equipment, feel free to bring yours to class. If you do not have your own, please visit classroom services to reserve yours for subsequent classes (*items with an asterisk are available for use by the university). I will bring a demo of each item. If you have a laptop, I highly recommend you bring it to class and use it there. It will save you time transferring work.

1) Flashdrive
2) Cell phone (optional- I will demonstrate with an iPhone)
3) Microphone* (only to enhance the microphone on your digital video camera or computer)
4) Digital Video Camera*
5) Tripod*
6) Digital Audio Recorder*

Session 5: CAQDAS

CAQDAS stands for Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software and is a great tool for qualitative research. CAQDAS has been criticized, however, for leaning toward the grounded theory approach and those who use it are encouraged to use it as a tool to help analyze more thoroughly rather than as analysis itself. You have read a document describing many commercially available CAQDAS and it is important to choose a software that helps you with your research rather than choosing one that is available and trying to make your research fit the tool. In this session, we will review the free program WEFT QDA. This program has all of the basic tools of the commercially available programs, but may not have certain features that you need for your research. This will, however, give you an idea of how CAQDAS works so that you can translate those skills to other programs, if you decide to use a different program.

We will use this manual as a guide to try to analyze the data we transcribed using ExpressScribe and Transana.

Final Exam- Add a final post to your blog in which you give feedback on the course including any tools you did not think were useful, tools you will definitely use and suggestions for additions. Also, feel free to add personal touches, such as a list of links that you have found during your work in this class or a profile which includes what you plan on researching. Please email me (angelone.1@osu.edu) when you have completed your final blog entry.

Session 4- Audio and Video Transcription

Now that you have recorded your audio or video, you will want a simple way to review your recordings, transcribe them, and code them to begin your analysis. Transana is a good, cheap tool (plus, there's a free trial download available) and I really wish I had known it existed when I was working on my Masters project. This program allows you to pause the video and transcribe as you review it. You can also attach notes or codes to portions of the video segment to make analysis easier later. If you only used audio, this software still works in the same way. There is also a free audio-only transcription software called ExpressScribe, which is free and simple to learn and use.

During this class, we will attempt to use the audio and video that we recorded in the previous class to practice transcription and analysis using ExpressScribe and Transana.

Assignment 4- In the next class, we will be looking at programs that analyze textual data, which can include transcripts created in Transana. There are many commercial programs available and it would be helpful for you to review the following website that summarizes them. When you are finished looking over the document, create a post to your blog in which you have looked further into one CAQDAS and provided more information on it.

Session 3- Audio and Video Recording

In your research, you may need to record an interview or an observation using either audio or video. There are two freely available and well known programs for this; however, please remember that there are many more that may suit your needs better.

Audacity- This is an audio recorder that can be used to record live audio if you connect a microphone to your computer, but it can also convert audio to a digital format if you choose to record your audio onto tapes. We will also be using a digital audio recorder that we can download directly to the computer. Be sure you export these recordings as a format that works with the transcription software (ExpressScribe) we will be using. wav and mp3 are safe for both windows and macs, but there are others.

MovieMaker- When recording video, will need to download it to your computer in order to save and analyze it. You may also want to edit it first, and this is what MovieMaker is good for. You can cut needless portions or add intros to portions to make them easier to find. This program is also helpful if you are planning to present your research. You can make a creative video using clips from your video and incorporating your voice, titles and transitions. This is basically a free version of Apple's iMovie, so if you are more familiar with Macintosh, the skills learned in iMovie are easily translated to MovieMaker. Be sure to save your movie in a format that is compatible with the transcription software we will be using (Transana). avi, mov (Mac) and wmv (Windows) are safe formats, but there are others. In addition, take a look at this website for tips on shooting quality video.

During this class, we will take sample videos (using a digital video camera- please bring your own (with a firewire cord or reserve from classroom services) and record sample audio (with Audacity and a digitial audio recorder- please bring your own (with a firewire cord or reserve from classroom services) so that we can practice using Audacity and MovieMaker and so that in the next class we can use this sample to practice transcribing. Please be sure to bring a flashdrive or external hard drive to class for this session so that you may save your files, since lab computers are wiped every night. Or, you can work directly on your laptop, in which case, please be sure to download Audacity and MovieMaker (both free) before class.

Assignment 3- In order to prepare for the next session, which is on taking the audio and video that you recorded and transcribing the information so that you can analyze it, please visit this website and watch all "Screencasts." These give an overview of the software Transana.