Abstract
Ethnographers can generate large amounts of data in multiple formats, and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) can aid with both management and analysis. It does not do the analysis for the researcher, however—the researcher is always in control of the analysis. In this chapter, I first define CAQDAS and briefly describe its history. How CAQDAS can be used to manage and analyze ethnographic data is then discussed. The following topics are focused on: (a) importing data, (b) portability of project files, (c) the influence of data organization on analysis, (d) coding, (e) memo writing and other features, and (f) reflexivity. Detailed information about how CAQDAS was used in three recently published health ethnographies is presented. The chapter concludes with identifying—and challenging—some fears around CAQDAS use. For example, early concerns from the 1980s about distance from one’s data is no longer present in recent CAQDAS programs, but overcoding is identified as a current issue. Health ethnographers are encouraged to learn more about CAQDAS, identify and discuss its use in publications, and critically reflect about how they use CAQDAS programs.
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