Introduction to MAXQDA for Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative analysis software can assist with the analysis of data. In this assignment, you will use MAXQDA analysis software, which is used for qualitative data analysis, as well as some specialized quantitative analysis such as quantitative content analysis. This software can be used to analyze interview and focus group transcripts, documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts by inductively coding the data and developing themes using the process of thematic analysis, specific to your selected qualitative design.

General Requirements:Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

• Use the MAXQDA software you downloaded in Topic 5 of this course.
• Download the transcript “TS Focus Group” using the link shown below as well as available in the Topic Resources for this topic.
• Refer to the document, “Getting Started – MAXQDA 2020” attached to this assignment.
• Code the transcript focusing on addressing, or answering, the research question shown at the top of the transcript document. Please do not use the “lexical coding process for coding words and phrases”, which is used in quantitative research.
• This assignment will be scored based on full completion of the preliminary steps and assignment tasks followed by submission of the required deliverable.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.

Directions:During Topic 5, you downloaded MAXQDA and read the MAXQDA Getting Started Guide from within MAXQDA at https://www.maxqda.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/GettingStarted-MAXQDA2020-EN.pdf. Please note the Guide is updated to the 2020 version. While vastly similar, you may notice some differences in the appearance of the interface. Pay particular attention as you read pages 12-24 of the Getting Started Guide.

Watch a Getting Started Video Tutorial at

for instruction on coding and the coding system in MAXQDA.

Use the instructions on pages 12-13 of the Guide to import the transcript document “TS Focus Group” into the software.

Read instructions on pages 19-24 to do the following:

1. Activate all documents.
2. Use the coding feature to practice assigning codes to the quotes in the transcripts.
3. To code the document, you will highlight sentences or long phrases, which you believe address the research question shown at the top of the focus group transcript. Assign a code name to the highlighted text. Then add a description for the code. Each code will show in the “code system”.
4. Export the coding system and coded segments for one code in Excel.
5. Double click on one code to activate and export the coded segments as an Excel table.
6. Submit the MAXQDA output in EXCEL and the reflection paper to the gradebook.

Write a reflection (250-500 words) describing the following:

1. The value of using MAXQDA for doing coding and thematic analysis.
2. The challenges you faced in downloading and using MAXQDA to do coding.
3. How you overcame those challenges.

Submit the following items to the gradebook for this assignment:

1. Coded transcripts and code system showing your highlighted sentences and phrases. Include the code name and description
2. The Excel output from MAXQDA from coding the transcript of the focus group: coding system and coding segments for one code.
3. Your reflection on the use of MAXQDA.

TS Focus Group.m4a
Jodee: [00:00:03] So the first question that I have and please anyone feel free to jump in I interject
I may ask some of you specifically. So the first question is How does political correctness influence
the transition plan.
TS2: [00:01:15] As far as political correctness is concerned I think you know something that we
always have to take a look at with families especially when we’re working with them is the
terminology. So like are we going to say the right thing to the parents. Are we not going to say the
right thing especially with the laws and regulations changing so often and parents not being up to
date on terminology. Sometimes the political correctness of it all comes into play.
TS2: [00:01:43] Also with taking a look at the transition plan and what the student actually wants to
do. Being realistic about what the student is going to be able to do. And I actually said it instead of
saying that. Instead of saying that a student can or cannot do something you have to be politically
correct about it.
Jodee: [00:02:17] Does anyone have Any thing else that they would like to interject regarding how
political correctness influences the transition process.
TS1: [00:02:24] Well I can add to that. Yeah I think really it is important that we present ourselves
as ethical professionals and that helps build that trust relationship with the family and also with the
staff that we’re working with and having those Pre meetings where you talk with your staff about
the best way to handle a difficult situation and how to present information let the student also
advocate for themselves. It’s really important and that’s really sort of best-practice. So when you are
working with them knowing the correct terms making sure you’re up to date on the legal
requirements making sure you have a way to document or help the student participate in the
meeting itself. Can really make a difference when a parent is not really trusting the school. The
student can speak for themselves anyway and how you help that happen. It makes a big difference.
Jodee: [00:03:34] Does anybody else have any anything else to share on from that perspective as
you’re holding a transition meeting. How does that factor into it.
TS7: [00:03:46] You know there are also and I think we talked a lot about this in my one on one
interview. It is you kind of have to break it down as far as the area that the student wants to go is
just two different components that I think of. You know I want to be that NFL football player or I
want to be policemen whatever it is and being able to break down the skills and what interests that
child in that job. And so you have to be able to be politically correct in breaking that down without
making them you know feel like oh she’s saying I can’t be that in real life. And then also another
piece that I feel is important that we have to really tiptoe around it. If we have to state providers that
are attending the meeting. And oftentimes parents will say well I’m just going to get a check from
this date forever. So my kids not really ever going to do anything.
TS1: [00:05:08] So you know to kind of pair off of what you had just said. So sometimes it goes
back to that you have those challenges and oftentimes those challenges stem from working with one
another. And you know very secondary true special education teacher is the one that’s responsible
for filling out that secondary transition plan. What are some of the challenges that you as transition
specialist have with regard to that political correctness being able to guide the student to their goals
on the secondary transition plan. Because quite often you maybe your role is in telling the team. I
don’t think that this is best suited for this child and here’s why. Based on the assessments. That
they’ve been given. Can anybody speak to that. Or. Other members of the team with regard to a
student transition.
TS6: [00:06:57] I think sometimes there are differing opinions as to where the level is of the child
or what they’re able to do and whether it’s the parents doesn’t think there are teachers things to try
and do it or you know what the student wants to do something know. You know and trying to
bridge that gap and come to a consensus and change.
Jodee: [00:07:27] So what are some strategies that you can use to guide the team and getting
everybody on the same page so to speak.
TS4: [00:07:41] I think what’s always important is to remember that this is not a time for your
feelings about the students or you know your feelings about the family or any of that. The idea is to
remain objective. For me remaining objective in the process take out hopefully take out any type of
feeling of bias. You know I can try to remember to encourage that within the staff. And my hope is
that somebody can see things objectively that we’re not saying this student can’t learn were just
saying that there will be struggles you know so it’s me that can help facilitate that discussion in a
more productive way.
Jodee: [00:08:32] that objectivity that you talked about Michelle is really important.Does anyone
else have anything they’d like to share?
TS3: [00:08:42] I think also it’s important to work with a child in an area that they’re really good in
but you have a child who is graduating and they are getting a completion certificate. They’re not
even getting a diploma so for example their math skills are not Anywhere where they need to be as
a potential veterinarian. So we had a student that wanted to be a veterinarian and there was no
WAY. then how do you have the child find a job that is still within that field like maybe a vet tech?
I mean it’s just something like within that field that they’re really interested in then you can talk to
the family about the different options. That’s within their skill set but also to do a job that they
really want to do in their life dream.
TS5: [00:09:57] I think that it comes down to just having that philosophy with your staff that. We
are looking for a route. You were looking for a way to say yes you know what I mean you were
looking for a way for what this child and the parent wants looking for a way to say yes and meet
their needs. So number one just the culture Of your faculty your special ed director whoever is in
the meeting. But I think it’s all about the pre meeting. I think you really got to meet ahead of time.
Get on the same page knowing what the kid wants to do and say What are some options we can
think of ahead of time so that it’s not the moment you’re just trying to figure it out right then.
Jodee: [00:10:55] Yeah and you know what and just to kind of pair off of what you said to have
that pre-meeting that was something that actually came up in our in our last focus group in terms of
Do you do the pre meetings with or without the parent. And what can be some of those challenges?
TS4: [00:11:42] Yeah I just I just said that. Yeah I mean it’s always a concern about predetermination of some kind. So yeah it’s always difficult. If they know that you’ve had a discussion
and you’re like no no no nothings determined so Yeah it’s hard.
TS1: [00:12:05] Well one of the things that we did was we often would have parents survey so the
parents were giving input and we kind of just met to collaborate. We had a collaboration meeting. It
wasn’t like a pre transition meeting. It was a collaboration meeting where we went over the parents
surveyed the student survey and we did those annually so that we were always updating them. And
that was part of our assessment process. But another thing too is to even just brainstorm
opportunities for situational assessments so that when you actually go into the meeting there are
some common language that could present to the parent and say maybe if this is a student’s interest
how do you feel about trying this or that and getting the g parent to get feedback as far as. Have you
ever say if the student wanted to go to college but their scores aren’t going to be high enough yet
maybe you could convince that you could talk to the parent about it an assessment such as going
online to the community college and taking a pre assessment for placement. If the student wanted to
be in food service maybe there’s an opportunity for them to volunteer at a nursing home or
something like that where you could actually do a situational assessment with a kid in a common
setting and you can set that up during that transition meeting as a suggestion. Following up on that
at a later date with some actual data and then it doesn’t really make it seem like you’ve
predetermined anything. You’ve just made suggestions and you’re following through does that make
sense.
Jodee: [00:14:04] so let me ask you guys, What are some ways that you can help to collaborate
with that secondary special ed teacher and getting that student back on track.?
TS3: [00:14:38] I think you have to find out why they’re refusing.
TS7: [00:14:46] Yeah. Yes. Yes. It goes back to the initial relationship and you got to find whoever
that person is that can really connect with that student. And a lot of times. You have to find out why
and sometimes finding out that it’s sometimes extremely difficult you know because we know when
kids are getting ready to graduate go out into the real world. In reality they are scared to death
because they don’t know if they can succeed. So we can do things to build their confidence and have
somebody that really has a good relationship with them and just start the conversation. So that’s
often helpful.
TS3: [00:15:34] I think you need to find out why there has to be a reason they’re not interested and
they’re just afraid to take those next steps.
Jodee: [00:15:56] I’d like you guys to provide an answer to this scenario. If you have a student
who’s struggling with his or her teacher how would you handle this.
TS6: [00:16:10] Well I think it has to start with a conversation with the teacher to find out you
know what’s going on from their perspective and then also having a conversation with the students
as to what’s going on. You know to get their perspective and try to get everybody to look at things
and it kind of goes back to that objectiveness that was talked about earlier. You know we’re being
objective here and what can we work out as we’re almost like a mediator at that point.
Jodee: [00:16:56] Ok so TS2 I’m going to put you on the spot. What are some ideas that you have
about that.
TS2: [00:17:04] I personally think as a transition specialist I will look at it from a different point of
view. They’re going to run into issues and problems on the job where as a teacher we’re not going to
be able to step in and help them. I would try to educate them a little bit better in communication
skills and how to deal with problems in the workplace. Pair it to something like problems in the
classroom and have them go self advocate for themselves and actually confront the teacher although
it really does depend on the level of the student as well. I mean you know depending on where
they’re at and like cognitively could be the difference of what we decide to do with them but if we’re
talking in general that’s what I would do I would try to give them some kind of a skill base for
working with them. I may even contact their speech therapist if that’s someone that’s in play to do
some social stories some role playing with them.
Jodee: [00:18:02] TS5 did you have something that you wanted to add to that I know you had
asked about The population.
TS5: [00:18:08] Yeah I mean I definitely like what she was just saying that part of it you have to
think about everyone. you’re going to deal with different personalities and different scenarios in the
real world in a job. And so I think a big part of that is to help them figure out what skills it is to
communicate with somebody that’s there superior. In this case that teacher or you know a boss. And
so I think dealing with that unless situation is really serious. You know I think that. That’s the first
step in you’re a mediator and really trying to flush out what’s between the teacher and the students.
Jodee: [00:18:46] OK so how can you provide support to one another. For example the transition
specialist to secondary specialist teachers when transitioning a student to higher education. Because
I know want to learn the differences between vocational and higher ed transitions so. So this is
specifically related to your higher ed transition.
TS4: [00:19:19] Oh I’m sorry this is this is TS4. I was just clarifying. So how do we support the
secondary special education teacher.
Jodee: [00:19:28] Yes. How would you support the secondary special education teacher and in
working with transitioning a student to higher education.
TS4: [00:19:41] Well I mean I would I would hope that they would already have some frequent
contact with a case manager with say a counseling department within their school. Because a lot of
times you can help facilitate getting that students signed up for a college visit or. You know of you
know how do they get accommodations on the ACT or SAT those kinds of things. If you can
provide that information maybe to the secondary special education teacher who may or may not be
the case manager. then they can be more aware of those things as they come up again for another
student.
Jodee: [00:20:25] Does anybody else have any anything that they’d like to add into that.
TS3: [00:20:36] When we transition a lot of higher ed kids like to a four year institution or even to
like a two year but when we did we would even have the students sit in on classes so they would sit
in on some freshman level classes with a transition specialists or the special ed teacher to kind of
see what it feels like and then when get a better idea of what they need in the classroom to help
them with that piece to and you know they wouldn’t sit right next to them, they would sit A couple
rows back and do that a couple times that the kid could get used to it. we were in really close
contact with the counselors at the university or a junior college and to make sure that we had a plan
for them if if they’re anxious or if they couldn’t access the curriculum for some reason or couldn’t
talk to their professor. They had someone to go to to help with that. So involve the parents too the
parents to come down and talk with counselors. And so there’s a lot of work to be done when it’s a
higher ed institution. It is almost like job coaching.
Jodee: [00:21:46] Does anybody else have anything to add to that.
TS7: [00:21:51] I think about the importance that you can them with a disability resource center.
Show them that way. They know what their services will look like in that setting. Like those
situations with assault centers around you were they were really good at working with students was
very high functioning and had autism and really worked with the family to transition to that. And
they did a fantastic job.
Jodee: [00:22:20] Thank you for bringing that up. And that’s that’s an excellent point. Go ahead
TS1.
TS1: [00:22:24] Well I was going to say also working with the VR case manager on that is really a
useful thing because they can be very helpful especially if the child is going to college if they’re
going to a university. It’s harder to get VR involved because they want to see evidence that they’re
going to be successful and higher learning. I have had some students go to four year universities one
actually went out of state and is still working on completing a degree. But it hasnt been without
issues that it really help them learn how to contact the disability resource center getting the parents
involved and understanding even the parents not even understanding that they can’t have the same
relationship with the school staff that they would have had at the high school level. I found a lot of
parents didn’t understand how their role would change and how no one will talk to the parent only
to the student. And so that takes a certain amount of preparation not only for the parent but for the
student to learn how to ask for that support. There has to be a lot of coaching on that.
Jodee: [00:23:42] So as a transition specialist, what do you feel is the most difficult part in trying to
complete transitioning kids through high school?
TS4: [00:24:06] I think sometimes is helping them self advocate appropriately in terms of kind of
theoretical you know kind of answer to you. I think that’s kind of the hardest part of them You
know not complaining. But you know you know or whining about something but specifically
knowing how to request support or discuss what their strengths and weaknesses are in an
appropriate manner.
Jodee: [00:24:39] Any difficulties with trying to get them to go from IDEA to ADA.
TS1: [00:24:55] sometimes I know that I used to use graphic organizer and actually have an activity
where they had to actually compare IDEA and ADA supports So that it was actually something that
would be included in their portfolio because I had to make a portfolio. And so it was kind of in their
toolbox so they could see what could they provide what couldn’t they provide. And that was when I
was a teacher and as a specialist I provided some of those resources to the teacher.
Jodee: [00:25:36] Anybody else have anything to share on that.
TS5: [00:25:40] I was going to say that I think that comparing the two. I love her idea that such a
great idea and I think so for the students to realize that what they’ve been receiving possibly for you
know 10 years is it’s going to be available on the same level it’s going to change. And then having
the parents see that as well. You know we’ve talked a little bit with the university but it’s still true.
Like when they go to a job the parent can’t come in and say you know I need you to accommodate
them coming in late every day or whatever. So I think that both the student and the parent be
educated on differences and how to advocate because I think when it when they leave high school
they have to advocate for themselves.
TS3: [00:27:06] Well I was I was just I was going to say what a great idea that was for the flow
charts. I didn’t really have any issues with it except I mean the parents truly understand the
differences. But once once we explained that to them they seemed fine so but I like the flowchart
idea.
Jodee: [00:27:22] So what what are some of the collaboration challenges as a transition specialist
that you all encountered when working with parents on transitional goals.
TS6: [00:27:44] I think it’s just a matter of finding a way to get them to understand that you are
preparing them for their post-secondary environment. And you didn’t realize that they do something
and they’re not going to necessarily lose their check.
Jodee: [00:28:06] And does anybody have any issues with maybe the unrealistic expectations. And
ideas on how to work through that with the parents.
TS6: [00:28:26] I think that’s where you have to focus on the data and the skills and keep the
objectivity. This is what we know the student has strengths in this is what we know their abilities
are their skill level and looking at that to help prepare and understand.
Jodee: [00:28:52] Anybody else have anything else that they want to interject on that one.
TS3: [00:28:57] Well I think you see it from the other end too that they’re not involved when you
get them to be involved in the transition plan. you see over involvement and being unrealistic and
then you have the other one saying you’re just going to take care of this right. They can do anything.
No you need to be a piece of a part of this. So I you know I ran that a couple of times we had to
discuss what their role was to control the school’s role. To put it all out there so they understood.
Jodee: [00:29:25] Very good points. Anybody else want to chime in on that one.
TS2: [00:29:29] I think something else too that I’d like to bring up is as a transition specialist we
often get some kind of flack that we don’t know the student as well as the special education teacher
does. So you know that’s another issue with parents as we are the specialist in the area. We have all
these great ideas but you don’t know my child like I know my child because I’ve grown up with I
have had my child ever since they’re a young special education teacher has them every single day
you come in randomly. That’s the other I think challenge that we often see.
TS7: [00:30:03] And that’s that’s I think where that collaboration with the secondary special ed
teacher and allowing them to support you also comes into play too.
Jodee: [00:30:25] How can you as a collaborative team form those relationships and provide
support to parents of students with autism or any other disability as they’re transitioning from
secondary to that higher education setting.
TS2: [00:30:46] I would say it’s taking the time to really get to know the students. You know I
mean you definitely want to bond with your team and have a strong team together. But if you truly
know the student and you go into the classroom and you get to know who they are that’s going to
help formulate a lot better the collaboration process because you’re all going to be on the same
page.
Jodee: [00:31:09] Anybody else have anything else that they want to interject.
TS5: [00:31:13] I was going to say I looking at it as a process and not an event, that is really
important. It’s like there’s not one day that you’re doing that transition plan but like you’re looking
toward for over a year before we get to that point. For me it’s so like what she just said about going
in and getting to know the students. You know who’s going to transition so you’re preparing for
that. Teachers are preparing. The student and the parents are preparing. It’s not just a one meeting
that we fill out this plan.
Jodee: [00:31:50] Anybody else have anything that they want to add to that.
TS4: [00:31:56] Well the only thing I would add would be making sure maybe everyone kind of
alluded to that but make sure that you use Access or gain the parent perspective or any of that kind
of stuff so that they feel like they their voice has been heard perhaps help to make it a little bit more
collaborative effort.
Jodee: [00:32:17] OK so here’s a question to poses for all of you here. A student enters the high
school setting, special education teacher meets with them fills out the transition plan, The student
goal is written. When. Are. You brought in to collaborate. At what point is the transition specialists
supposed to be integrated to start that collaborative process. Is it something that comes from the
special ed teacher to you or do you keep track of those students coming in and then go and meet
with the case managers.
TS7: [00:33:04] I think it depends on what district you’re in because not every district has
somebody specific just for transition a lot of times it is left up to the special education teacher/case
manager. You know different people do a different way. And I’ve seen it done both ways where the
case manager takes care of things. Otherwise there’s a communication plan like three months ahead
of when the IEP is due where you’re doing your initial assessments getting to know the kid and
starting to collect some evidence to work into the transition plan.
Jodee: [00:33:47] TS3 did have something you wanted to add.
TS3: [00:33:54] Um like she was saying, not everybody has that position so it’s almost as if their
case manager becomes a transition person for a while. And they already know that child. So they’re
pretty much in it from the beginning. It’s like a lot of districts don’t have the money to have
someone and they can’t help all of them either. The kids they have to service so a lot of times they’re
brought in senior year. You know or they’re brought in to sign off on certain things and the IEP
team decides the child things like that they’re going to they need a job coach their senior year. You
know the transition person would come in and say OK you know we can we can do that piece. This
is how we’re going to transport the child or whatever they’re going to do. But in a lot of times the
case managers are there from the beginning.
TS4: [00:34:35] So it is the secondary transition plan a tool to foster collaboration.
TS4: [00:34:44] It can be and it should be.
TS7: [00:34:47] I mean you would hope so because you’re who you want to go off of the staff
member doing so well and assign components of that transition plan to their responsibility for
supporting developing good skills and work toward the goals.
Jodee: [00:35:05] So just a few more questions here. What are some suggestions that you all might
have to increase that collaborative process between one another?
TS6: [00:35:56] I think it is a good idea to increases collaboration.
TS4: [00:35:59] This is TS4 and I’m new to you I’m new to my district and new to my state so and
also my buildings haven’t had somebody dedicated to them for a while so kind of getting back in
and in reminding them of of what you know is expected of them regarding to transition has been a
good process but maybe a little slow process but a lot of times I’ve just been there to talk to them
and see what I can do to help them. You know I mean I’m just kind of sometimes i maybe a little bit
in their face or maybe too much but I’m always there kind of offering support and validating their
struggles and all of that kind of stuff that they have. And just offering you know what is it that you
think you need. You know how is it related to transition that I can help. And unlike maybe some
other people I have that luxury to be able to do that right now.
Jodee: [00:36:53] Anyone else.
TS3: [00:36:59] Well I was going to say I’m kind of what TS4 is saying is to clarify roles so that
everybody knows what everybody’s job is and what their role is in the transition plan that helps with
collaboration. Just to remind everyone I think every time. OK so you’re in this role and this is what
you’re going to do for the child and what you’re going to do for the parent…that way. And this is
what we do for each other and this is how how we’re going to communicate. I think it’s good to do
that up front and make sure everyone’s clear about that.
Jodee: [00:37:25] Anyone else have anything that they want to add to that.
[00:37:31] So as a transition specialist do you feel adequately prepared to transition students with
disabilities to higher education or if you don’t. What are some things tools resources those types of
things that you would need in order to be able to effectively do that in your opinion. This is all Your
perception.
TS2: [00:37:56] Money. I think money. I mean I think honestly as a transition specialist we
wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t feel that that we were qualified enough to be able to assist
students transition out of high school. However at the same time we do have a lot of limitations.
Money is definitely one of them. Also resources as far as I know I’ve had a lot of difficulties getting
job coaches assistants that sort of thing to help the transition process run a little bit. Well there it
really when it comes to public education it really does come down to funds funding.
TS7: [00:38:43] And I had kind of the opposite experiences I had the opposite experience where we
readily had money available to us to help support developing the transition plan taking it out into
the community getting the work place skills that they needed. Things like getting your food
handlers card taking them on tours of different either universities technical school whatever
specifically pertained to them and transportation wasn’t an issue because it happens to be that with
some of the old transportation funds when they were expiring we were able to by transition buses.
So we didn’t have to worry about about setting something up the transportation and being on a
limited schedule. We had readily available transportation.
TS6: [00:39:55] Wow. Good for You! That’s awesome!
Jodee: [00:39:57] Anybody else have anything else that they want to add to that.
Jodee: [00:40:04] And so last question is who you speaking to kind of what TS7 just mentioned
with district support but what are some of the supports that you would need from your district in
order to foster that collaboration process with one another providing those resources for transition
services.
TS3: [00:40:31] Oh I think training is important for especially people that are new to special
education and new to transition I think training is really important that they know how to write
those plans and how to service the kid the best.
TS6: [00:41:01] Really just knowing the resources are available. Well it kind of goes back to the
training and knowing what resources are available and what all the different options are that are
available for the students.
Jodee: [00:41:16] Anybody else have any final thoughts that they’d like to share?
MAXQDA 2020
Getting Started Guide
Support, Distribution:
VERBI Software. Consult. Sozialforschung. GmbH Berlin, Germany
www.maxqda.com
Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any means without written permission
from the publisher.
MAXQDA is a registered trademark of VERBI Software. Consult. Sozialforschung. GmbH, Berlin/Germany; Mac is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. in the United States and/or other
countries; Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; SPSS is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation in the United States and/or other countries; Stata is a registered trademark of Stata Corp
LLC. in the United States and/or other countries.
All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners and may
be registered in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.
We thank ResearchTalk for providing example data used in this Getting Started Guide.
ã VERBI Software. Consult. Sozialforschung. GmbH, Berlin 2019
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
The MAXQDA interface …………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Starting MAXQDA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
The user interface……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
A few notes on data storage and saving ……………………………………………………………………………. 10
Important keywords ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
Import and explore your data ………………………………………………………………………….. 12
Importing data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
Exploring data ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
Search your data …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Color-coding and memos ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Code your data ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
Coding data segments …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
Analyze your data …………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
Activating documents…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Retrieving all segments coded with one code …………………………………………………………………….. 23
Using visualizations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
Conduct mixed methods analyses ……………………………………………………………………. 26
Defining document variables …………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
Entering variable values ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
Transforming code frequencies into variables …………………………………………………………………….. 28
Using document variables in your analysis …………………………………………………………………………. 29
Further literature ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 30
Goodbye ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31
Introduction
5
Introduction
Welcome to the MAXQDA Getting Started Guide! As no one likes to read long introductions and
manuals, we tried to make this one as short as possible to help you get started as quickly as possible.
The guide will enable you to start your analysis and make your own experiences with MAXQDA. We
will focus on the actual usage of the program, and not on the presentation of different analysis and research methods. If you want to find out more about those, we have provided a list of useful publications in the chapter “Further literature”. As you may know, there is an endless number of different
qualitative methods. But most of them can be conducted with the help of MAXQDA as they all follow
the same basic structure as pictured in this illustration.
Introduction
The vast majority of qualitative analysis
methods work with categories. These
can either be created from within the
data or based on prior knowledge of the
data, existing theories, or recent research results. Categories are often also
named codes or keywords, but whatever
the name, they all have the function to
organize and systematize the data, often
even working as analytical codes. Analytical codes are the result of an analytical
process that exceeds simply determining
a topic, and this is what we refer to as
Codes in this guide. Coding data can
take a long time, but don’t worry: there
are many different ways to make use of QDA (qualitative data analysis) software. It’s not always necessary to code your data in order to analyze it with MAXQDA; you can also use it simply for organizing
your data or searching for words and word combinations.
6
Starting MAXQDA
The MAXQDA interface
Starting MAXQDA
When opening MAXQDA, you will see a window on the top left that lets you type in a user name or a
user abbreviation (which can be more practical in your later work).
To create your first MAXQDA project, click New Project, name your project and save it to a place of
your choice. The best location for a MAXQDA project is in a local folder on your computer, not on a
network drive or on a USB flash drive. You should also avoid saving your project in folders that are synchronized by a cloud service like iCloud, Dropbox or Google Drive. These services may compete for access to the project database while it is open in MAXQDA.
Enter your name or initials
here
Double-click on the file
name to open a recently
saved project
The MAXQDA interface
7
MAXQDA 2020 project files have the file ending MX20. You can also recognize these files in Windows
Explorer or Mac Finder by the description “MAXQDA 2020 Project”.
MAXQDA uses Projects, like Excel uses workbooks (.xlsx), and Word uses text documents (.docx). Nearly
everything you import to or create with MAXQDA (like your Codes and Memos) will be saved in Projects.
The right side of the start screen provides you with several links, for example the option to open up the
MAXQDA online manual, watch MAXQDA video tutorials or send feedback to the MAXQDA team.
8
The user interface
The user interface
Once you successfully created and saved your first MAXQDA project, the following screen will appear
with the four main windows still mostly empty.
The division into four windows makes working with MAXQDA very easy: as you can see, the first window (1) in the upper left corner contains the Document System, the window below (2) contains the
Code System, the window in the upper right corner (3) is the Document Browser, and the fourth window (4) is called Retrieved Segments. (Don’t worry if you only see three windows. The fourth window is
hidden when you start MAXQDA for the first time, because you don’t need it at the beginning of your
analysis.)
The MAXQDA interface
9
These four windows make up MAXQDA’s basic structure. You can rearrange them by swapping the
windows’ sides, or by displaying the windows in three instead of two columns. You can change those
settings in the main menu with the four symbols on the “Home” tab.
Click on one of these four icons
to hide or display windows.
You can rearrange the
layout of the windows here.
These tabs (some programs may call them “ribbons”) are located at the top of the MAXQDA window
and offer access to many of MAXQDA’s features. On the “Home” tab you can open or close individual
windows and arrange the screen according to the work you intend to do. On top of that, you can “undock” individual windows from the four-window structure and drag them to a different position or
even a second computer screen. To open and close the windows, you can click on the button for the
respective window(s), or simply close a window by clicking the “x” symbol in its upper right corner.
Now, let’s return to the four main windows! All the files you wish to work with will be imported into
the Document System window. In case you use codes and subcodes, you can manage them in the Code
System window. You can view and edit your data in the Document Browser. The Retrieved Segments
window is where the results of your retrievals will be displayed later on.
10
A few notes on data storage and saving
A few notes on data storage and saving
MAXQDA administers everything you import, comment, or define in one single file, the Project file. So,
once you create it: one project = one file. As we learned earlier, those files end in MX20 (older versions’ projects end in MX18 or MX12).
In order to ensure that your project is always safe, please read the following box:
Please note: MAXQDA automatically saves everything that is imported or created by the user(s). However, you should still make sure to create daily back-ups via the option Save Project As, which you can
find in the “Home” tab and save them on a secondary storage device.
To sum up, the Project file contains all the data material you need to work on your research project,
bachelor thesis or master thesis. But there’s an exception to every rule: if you use a lot of audio or video
files, the Project file may become too large, even after importing only a few video files. The standard
setting therefore automatically embeds pictures and PDF documents only up to a certain file size (5
MB), whilst audio and video files are saved separately. Of course, you can change these settings. But
when your Project file becomes too large, it may be difficult to exchange it with others.
The MAXQDA interface
11
Important keywords
Here are some of the most important keywords you should know for your work with MAXQDA:
Projects are the system files, or “work units” in MAXQDA. They contain all imported data, like texts,
PDFs, pictures, tables as well as the codes, memos, comments you created.
Documents are those units that you want to analyze. They can be interviews, focus group protocols,
video or audio recordings, articles from scientific journals and many more.
Codes are your most important analysis tool. They can be assigned to anything you consider worth
marking, be it text segments, sections in a photo or parts of a video.
The Code system or Code tree describes the entirety of all codes and subcodes which can be ordered
hierarchically.
Coding is the act of assigning a code to a marked segment of your material.
Coded segments are those material segments that have been assigned a code.
Memos basically serve as your records. You can note your ideas, assumptions, and questions for your
next analysis steps, or formulate first hypotheses regarding possible connections in the data.
Comments are shorter than memos. You can use them to assign comments like “contradictory”, or
“important part!” to coded segments.
Overviews are tabular presentations omnipresent in MAXQDA. There are overviews of coded segments, memos, variables, links and so on. All MAXQDA overviews follow the same principle and allow
easy access to individual elements so that you don’t lose track of your data.
12
Importing data
Import and explore your data
Importing data
Before we learn about the different ways to import your data let’s have a closer look at the Document
System window.
This is where you will find
all your documents.
okumentverwaltung.
Compile sets of documents
according to certain criteria.
When you right-click the word Documents or the symbol next to it, a large context menu will open.
You can see a part of it here:
Create a new folder to
subcategorize your
documents.
There are several import
options, but Import
document(s) is the best
one for now.
Alternatively, you can go via the “Import” tab menu and click on the appropriate symbol for your data
type, e.g. Transcripts, or – even easier – drag and drop the files from Windows Explorer or Mac Finder
into the Document System window. On the “Import” tab you will see additional options to import special types of data, including importing documents from spreadsheets, focus group transcripts or creating a text directly in MAXQDA.
Import and explore your data
13
In the way that your computer lets you create folders to organize your files, MAXQDA’s New document
group function lets you create document groups to organize your documents. Right-click a document
group and choose Import document(s) to import them or drag and drop your documents from one
group to the other.
Exploring data
Analyzing qualitative data does not really work without you knowing the data. So MAXQDA makes it
easy for you to look through your files: simply double-click on a document in the Document System
window, and it will be opened in the Document Browser, looking roughly like the interview transcript in
the following example:
Paragraph numbers make it easier to discuss certain segments in a team (“Have a look at the comment
in paragraph 4!”) as well as coding whole paragraphs at once. You can also use the paragraph numbers to quote your data sources. If you need a more precise numbering of your data, you can change
the display to line numbering at any time by right-clicking in the text and selecting “Convert to Line
Numbering”.
In the example above you can see three colored vertical stripes, as well as a yellow sticky note symbol
next to the text. The latter shows that a memo has been attached to that paragraph. The vertical stripes
are the so-called coding stripes symbolizing which code the text was assigned to (in this case long
codes ending on “..Interests”, “..Career” and “..Parents”). To view the whole code name, simply enlarge the coding column by dragging the grey line next to the coding stripes to the right.
14
Exploring data
What is a memo? Memos serve to create notes and records to attach them to texts, text segments,
document groups, images, audio or video files, and even codes – just like you would do with “real” sticky
notes.
When you open a text in the Document Browser for the first time, that sector will still be empty as you
have not coded nor created a memo yet. Just try to create one now: double-click somewhere in the
memo sector and a memo dialog window will automatically open. As we will talk about memos in
more detail later, this is all you need to know for now.
In the very top of the Document Browser, a toolbar shows you the most important features.
Zoom
out
Print
Search Settings
document
Original
size
Zoom
in
Show
sidebar
Export displayed
Edit mode
document
If you import and open a PDF document in the Document Browser you can use a few additional settings. You will see that you are provided with icons, which enable you, for example, to zoom in or out
or to jump to the next page of the PDF file.
First
page
Next
page
Bookmarks
Previous Last
page
page
Fit to
window
Optimal horizontal size
At some point of your research, you may wish to print a text including the paragraph numbers (or save
this display as a PDF with a PDF printer). To do so, chose the symbol Print document or use the shortcut
key Ctrl+P (on Windows) or cmd+P (on Mac). The print menu will give you a variety of choices for the
design of your print:
Import and explore your data
15
Chose the margin size
Define a header or footer
Choose whether to display
codings and/ or memos
Maximum coding column width
intended for print
16
Search your data
Search your data
The exploration phase of your research may call for the necessity to search your documents for certain
words. In MAXQDA, word search can be done locally in each of the four main windows, that means in
one window at a time. You will find a magnifying glass symbol in each window to enter the search
word upon click. MAXQDA will display the term’s frequency, and you will be able to navigate from
each hit to the next to view its context by using the arrow keys.
A more powerful tool than the local search is the Lexical search (to be found in the “Analysis” tab). The
Lexical search enables you to search several documents at a time; it is not restricted to opened documents.
In this example, all available documents will be searched for the term “family”.
As soon as the window opens you can enter as many search items as you like at once. Use the return
key to end your entry or add a new search string. Each search item is placed in a new line. The standard
setting follows the “OR” logic, i.e. as soon as one of the search items is found, it will be listed as a hit.
Clicking an item in the results table that lists all search hits will show you the relevant paragraph in the
Document Browser window.
Import and explore your data
17
Color-coding and memos
Sometimes you may want to mark something in a text or note comments, hypotheses and further
ideas, before you have even started thinking about categories and the general direction of your analysis. Just like you may then highlight passages in a book or stick a sticky note to a page, you can use the
Highlight coding function in MAXQDA to mark texts with five colored, virtual pens (red, blue, green,
yellow, and purple). You can find the color-coding icons at the top of the Document Browser window.
Highlight coding
You can select any text part with your mouse and then click one of the symbols to highlight it with the
color of your choice. The difference to highlighting in “real life” is that it is much easier to find those
passages again in MAXQDA than to skim through a book. How to retrieve coded segments created
with Highlight coding, will be described further down in Data analysis.
As we learned, color-coding is a useful tool to mark important things even before the explicit coding
process. Another useful tool is the Memos function. With the help of In-Document-Memos you can attach memos to any place in any document. Select any part of a document, right-click on the highlighted selection and use the context menu to create a new memo for you to fill with your thoughts
and ideas:
18
Color-coding and memos
You can put in a title for the memo, assign a matching symbol for the type of memo, and link it to certain codes.
Similar to color-coding, it is simple to retrieve Memos. You can find all types of memos and a special
memo search feature on the “Memos” menu tab. The search results are displayed in MAXQDA’s Memo
Manager, where you can easily manage, edit and filter all your memos, e.g. by only displaying memos
you have written during a certain time period.
Code your data
19
Code your data
Coding data segments
As we learned earlier, the central work technique among most analysis methods is Coding the data.
But what does this mean? Coding describes the process of selecting part of the data material, for example a paragraph or one part of an image, with the mouse (just like in Word or other programs) and
assigning a code to it. This is principally the same as tagging contents, but coding in empirical social research includes much more than that.
So, what is a code then? Your first associations may be of secret services and their coding and decoding
machines, or of codes as strictly regulated mappings as in Morse codes. Both associations are misleading! In the context of qualitative research a code is more of a label used to name phenomena in a text
or an image. In technical terms, a code is a character string that can consist of up to 63 characters in
MAXQDA, be it several words or more cryptical strings like “CR128”. In social research, codes can possess different meanings and take on different functions in the research process: there are factual codes,
thematic codes, theoretical codes and many more (see Kuckartz & Rädiker 2019, Richards 2014). From
simply looking at the code itself, its role in the research process is not always clear: it could be of minor
importance or play a key role. Only its context or framing will shed light on that.
So, how can codes be created? Simply right-click the root of the Code System in the Code System window and choose the option New code from the context menu. Alternatively, you can select the corresponding symbol in the toolbar in the upper right corner or hover over a code and click on the green
plus symbol that automatically appears.
Use the magnifying glass symbol to search
for a certain code. The icon on its left lets
you create new codes.
20
Coding data segments
A dialog window to define your new code opens:
Name your code (in this case
“Money and Financial Issues“),
assign a certain color to it (in
this case blue),
and use a code memo to note
the code’s meaning, when you
intend to apply it, or possible
issues with that code.
How can I assign a code to a certain document section? First, you select a section with your mouse (if
you want to mark the whole paragraph, just click the paragraph number). Then you either drag and
drop the marked section onto a code, or the other way around, i.e. you drag the code on the selected
section. Once you did that for the first time, you will see that the number next to that code in the Code
System, showing how many times a code has been used, changed from “0“ to “1“. If you look at the
Document System you will see that the number of coded segments in a document is displayed next to
each document as well.
Code your data
21
MAXQDA offers you other coding possibilities; you can access them via right-clicking a selected section
in the document or via the icons in the toolbar Code, which is located at the top of the Document
Browser window. The toolbar looks like this:
Recently
used code
Code with
a new code
Code
highlighted
segment
Open
coding
mode
Code
in-vivo
Highlight
coding
Undo
code
emoticode
The code that you used last is always displayed on the very left. If you click the red coding symbol on
the right, it will assign this code to a selected text section. Each of the following icons refers to a different coding function; you can for example click the Undo code symbol and then choose one or several
codes from a drop-down list.
The context menu in the Document Browser contains even more coding options, which you can see
when you right-click into a marked text section:
Create a new code and assign it to the
highlighted segment.
Code with recently used code.
All activated codes will be assigned.
Codes that are assigned at this section will be listed.
22
Activating documents
Analyze your data
Activating documents
Maybe you saw the option Only in activated documents earlier in the dialog window for the Lexical
search and asked yourself what that means. Activation is one of MAXQDA’s key concepts: it means
that you can select documents (and/or codes) for your analysis and then work only with the selected
items. How does the activation work? This is very simple: in every document’s or document group’s
context menu you will see the option Activate right at the top. More experienced MAXQDA users will
simply click the document or folder symbols to activate the document or a document group.
You can immediately see if a document or group is activated. Both the name and the symbol will be red
and a red arrow will appear in front of them. Further below, MAXQDA’s so-called Status bar displays
the total number of documents currently activated. Should you wish to limit your search to certain
texts, activate them first and then chose the option Only in activated documents in the dialog Lexical
search.
Activated codes
-> 10
Activated documents
è
-> 10
Retrieved coded
segments -> 21
è
How can I reset the activation? Simply go to the Document System window and click the icon Reset activations on the toolbar. Alternatively, you can click the document or document group symbol again.
Analyze your data
23
Retrieving all segments coded with one code
Coding isn’t everything and your analysis is certainly more than just coding. At one point you will want
to stop coding and start looking at the results of that process. The easiest way is to retrieve all segments assigned to one specific code. If you, for example, do a research based on interviews, you may
ask: “What was said about a certain topic and who said what?” The magic word to get exactly those
answers is Retrieval. In MAXQDA such a Coding Query works – similar to the Lexical search – via activations.
Activate all documents that you want to include in the Coding Query, as well as those codes assigned
to the segments you are interested in. Activation of codes works just like the activation of documents
(right-click the code and choose the option Activate or click the symbol in front of the code name). All
coded segments found will appear in MAXQDA’s fourth main window, the Retrieved Segments window. Below every segment you will see the segment’s source information . In the example below, the
segment can be found in paragraph 6 of document “Jamie“.
The source info does not only tell you which document a certain segment is from, it also lets you go directly to that document: simply click the document name, and the document will be loaded to the Document Browser window with the coded segment right at hand, so that you can easily view it in its context.
24
Using visualizations
Using visualizations
Visualizing results is one of MAXQDA’s strengths which is why we want to include this chapter in a
Getting Started Guide. There are several ways to visualize data in MAXQDA, starting with the possibility
to assign individual colors to codes and documents. This does not only help you with the visual organization of your data, but colors can also be given certain meanings. MAXQDA is the first QDA software
to allow the use of emojis as a code symbol. This may be particularly useful to overcome language barriers, for example when working in international projects.
The visualization tools also allow you to show data connections in a comprehensible way. The most
used visual tool is the Code Matrix Browser, which you can open via the “Visual Tools” tab.
Analyze your data
25
So, what does the Code Matrix Browser show?
The columns list the different documents; in this case each document is one respondent in a survey on
life satisfaction. The respondents were for example asked about issues they encounter on a daily basis.
You can see here that all of them mention emotions, but that only two of the respondents mention
money-related issues.
26
Defining document variables
Conduct mixed methods analyses
Defining document variables
One of the most important MAXQDA features is its support of mixed methods approaches. For every
document in the Document System a whole set of attributes (that is, variables as used by statistics programs) can be managed. You can, for example, record personal data or background information for
interviews as variables or variable values, and use them for your mixed methods analysis. The option List
of document variables in the “Variables” tab will open the following dialog window:
Go to
data editor
Create new
variable
On opening, you will see that several variables have already been defined. These are the so-called system variables whose values are automatically set by MAXQDA and cannot be changed. The option New
variable lets you define further variables. The most common variable types are Text (like “teacher” or
“student” for the variable “occupation”) and Integer (like whole numbers for the variable “number of
children”). You can define new variables anytime.
Conduct mixed methods analyses
27
Entering variable values
To enter values for the Document variables, use the toolbar in the List of document variables and switch
to the Data editor.
The toolbar lists the most used
functions, e.g. returning to the
variable list.
Simply click the column heading to sort the
data according to that column’s content.
Double-click to enter a value.
The document variables table can be exported to Excel or SPSS format, which means that you can continue working on them with statistics programs like SPSS or Stata and conduct a statistical analysis.
28
Transforming code frequencies into variables
Transforming code frequencies into variables
The frequency of segments assigned to a certain code can be transformed into a variable, which will
receive the code’s name. Right-click on the preferred code and choose Transform into a document variable in the context menu. In the following example, the code “Significantly positive” has been transformed into a variable:
Nothing has been assigned the
code ”Significantly positive“.
3 passages have been assigned
the code “Significantly positive“.
Conduct mixed methods analyses
29
Using document variables in your analysis
Quantitative and qualitative data can be connected in a variety of ways. The easiest way is to choose
the document variables as selection criteria when you run a Coding Query. This will enable you to compare sociodemographic characteristics like “What did single participants over 50 say about XY?” or
“How did the suggestions by participants in a partnership compare to those who are single?”. The relevant selection can be made with the function Activate by document variables in the “Mixed Methods”
tab.
First, choose a variable from the list on the left (in this case: Marital status), press the arrow and then
choose the variable value on the right (in this case: single). As soon as you click Activate, all documents
with matching variable values will be activated in the Document System, in this example all interviews
with respondents who are not in a partnership.
30
Using document variables in your analysis
Further literature
Charmaz, Kathy (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory. 2nd ed., San Francisco: SAGE Publications.
Corbin, Juliet; Strauss, Anselm (2015). Basics of Qualitative Research. Techniques and Procedures for
Developing Grounded Theory. 4th ed., San Francisco: SAGE Publications.
Kuckartz, Udo; Rädiker, Stefan (2019). Analyzing qualitative data with MAXQDA: Text, audio, video.
Heidelberg: Springer.
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-15671-8
Kuckartz, Udo (2014). Qualitative Text Analysis. A Guide to Methods, Practice and Using Software.
London: SAGE Publications.
Kuckartz, Udo (2014). Mixed Methods. Methodologie, Forschungsdesigns und Analyseverfahren.
Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-531-93267-5
Richards, Lyn (2015). Handling Qualitative Data. A Practical Guide. 3rd ed., London: SAGE Publications.
Woolf, Nicholas H.; Silver, Christina (2018). Qualitative Analysis Using MAXQDA: The Five-level QDA
Method. New York, NY: Routledge.
31
Goodbye
We hope this Guide helped you get started with MAXQDA. Of course, MAXQDA offers a whole range
of further analysis functions and tools. To name a few examples, you can:
v create literature reviews
v transcribe audio and video files
v import and analyse Twitter and YouTube data
v analyse focus groups
v visualize data or results
v conduct a quantitative text analysis with MAXDictio
v generate reports and statistical frequency tables
You can find a wide range of resources on our website www.maxqda.com
v free introductory webinars
v online manual
v video tutorials
v list of upcoming workshops
v professional MAXQDA trainer database
v research blog, user forum, and more…
MQIC – MAXQDA International Conference
The annual MAXQDA International Conference brings together MAXQDA users from all over the world
in Berlin, Germany. The conference offers a rich program that covers everything related to MAXQDA
and mixed methods research. It’s a unique opportunity to network with other MAXQDA users and get
to know the MAXQDA development team. Find out more at www.mqic-berlin.com.
32
Notes