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Beginning ATLAS.ti 5.5. Consultant: Betty Zou CSSCR Winter 2010. Class Contents. What is ATLAS.ti Important Terms Getting Started Coding Delete, Rename, Unlink Codes Coding Audio & Graphics Files Memos Look What You Have Done A peek at some more advanced tools. What is ATLAS.ti ?.
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Beginning ATLAS.ti 5.5 Consultant: Betty Zou CSSCR Winter 2010
Class Contents What is ATLAS.ti Important Terms Getting Started Coding Delete, Rename, Unlink Codes Coding Audio & Graphics Files Memos Look What You Have Done A peek at some more advanced tools
What is ATLAS.ti? • Data analysis software program for QUALITATIVE RESEARCH • Create a project called a “Hermeneutic Unit”, that contains all your data (interview text/images/audio), your findings, codes, and memos. • Read and select passages (or parts of image or audio) to assign codes or memos. • You can build networks and relationships within your codes, create a graphical view of how things are related to each other
Important Terminologies • Hermeneutic Unit • The project you are working on. Everything relevant to this project. • Primary Documents (PD) • Original documents such as field notes, transcriptions of interviews, images and audio data • Quotations • Phrases, sentences, paragraphs…parts of the primary document that you find interesting or important • Codes • Can be single word or a couple of words that signifies a quotation • Families • Special collections of primary documents, quotations and codes • Memos • A place for you to write down thoughts and emerging theories
Getting Started • (Recommended) Primary Word Documents should be saved as Rich Text File (.rtf) • Keep all primary documents in the same project folder (i.e. Project 1) • If you are working on different computers, take all primary documents with you. • CSSCR Lab Computers • Save files on C:/Temp/ • Do not work off of your thumb drive as it is easy to lose work • Save entire project with updated date to transport with you • Back up everything!
Getting Started See Demonstration Assign Documents: Documents > Assign > Select document
Coding • A New Code: • Highlight relevant text • Codes > Coding > Open Coding (You can also right click) • Type the code • Enter a list of pre-existing codes: • Codes > Create Free Codes • Enter all codes, separate each code with | • Select a code from list • Highlight text • Codes > Code by list > select the correct code • You can also link one quote to 2 or more different codes • Auto Coding • Codes > Coding > Auto Coding • Select Code / New Code • Type in an expression, “college” • Select “Confirm always” • Selected PD/ All current PDs • Select the text you want linked to the code
Delete, Rename, Unlink Codes • DELETE: Will delete the code and ALL links to that code. • Click the bar in the right hand margin that marks the quotation • Indicates the quotation linked to this code • RIGHT CLICK, “delete” (See options in pop up window) • RENAME: Will rename ALL places where that code appears • Click the code name in the margin • Right click, “rename” • UNLINK: Will delete the link between one code and one quote • Click the code on the right hand margin • RIGHT CLICK, “unlink”, select the code to unlink it from *You can also do all of these things in Code Manager • MERGE CODES: Can merge two very similar codes, get rid of redundancies • Codes List Icon > Select “Family Influence” as Target Code • Codes > Merge Codes > In dialogue box, select “Family”
Coding Audio & Graphic Files See Demonstration
Memos Memos > Create Free Memo OR Attach Memo Give a title, type your thoughts, interpretations, etc… Can select type: Is it a memo, commentary or theory? Save.
Look at What You Have Done! • Hierarchical Display of All Objects • PD, Code, Memo Manager (List Icon) • Grounded: Code frequency; number of quotations the code is applied to • Density: Number of links to other codes • Select PD, code or memo, write comments • Print Codes Manager • Enter codes manager • Click printer icon • Select preferences (Open a text window, include code comments…) • Do you want a list of the full quotations? • Do you want only a list of the codes? • You can create an output of any PDs, Codes, Memos • In PD/Code/Memo manager, click “Output” • Codes-Primary-Document-Table (can see # of codes in each PD) • A simple quantitative content analysis tool • Use selected PD • Use ALL PDs, and it will export into an Excel file
A Peek at the Query Tool • Used for • See all the quotes linked to a code or combination of codes • Tools > Query Tool (Binoculars icon) • Double click codes to enter into Query field • Specify OR • Place cursor on icons to see what it is
Families You can create a family of PDs, Codes or Memos PD Manager > Open Family Manager icon > Create a New Family > Name it (E.g. Low-income HS interviews) > Select PDs to put in the family Code Manager > Open Family Manager icon > Same process as above (E.g. Affects College Choice: Cost, Distance, Size….)
Strategies for Coding as a Group • Scenario 1: Coding Sequentially • Person A codes interviews 1-3, then hands entire project to Person B to code interviews 4-6 • Scenario 2: Coding Simultaneously • Person A codes interviews 1-3 in Hermeneutic Unit A • Person B codes interviews 4-6 in Hermeneutic Unit B • Merge A and B for analysis • Tools > Merge with HU • Follow instructions in pop-up windows
WARNING Not many undo options If you are using CSSCR labs, save files to C:/temp Keep ALL PDs with your working HU file Does not handle tables well Can embed tables/graphs, but will code object as a whole rather than individual cells or parts of graph No easy way of importing excel files yet See if you can find the “click when frustrated” button
Some Intermediate Tools & Concepts • Networks • A graphical representation of the complex relationships between different objects in you HU. • Relationships • You can specify the relationship between different objects. • Hyperlinks • Link codes to each other and quotations to each other and specify a relationship. • Provide instant cross-referencing in the current document, and across different documents and file types. • This increases quotation density! Atlas.ti Website & Tutorials: http://www.atlasti.com/tutorials.html
Resources Atlas.ti Manual PDF online: http://www.atlasti.com/uploads/media/atlman.pdf Beginning Atlas.tiQuicktime Tutorial : http://julius.csscr.washington.edu/courses.htm Atlas.ti Website & Tutorials: http://www.atlasti.com/tutorials.html Creating an SPSS Output: https://www.amherst.edu/offices/it/teaching_research/resources/tutorials/atlas.ti