Improving outcomes with Qualitative Data Analysis Software: A reflective journey

Abstract

Now more than ever, qualitative social work researchers are being called upon to conduct increasingly complex, multifaceted, and intersectional research. Given the heightened complexity of social work research, it is necessary that scholars learn strategies to streamline the research process and digital tools for qualitative research are a mechanism to do so. In this paper, I share insights gleaned from personal experience working with Qualitative Data Analysis Software, specifically MAXQDA 12, to support a larger study that explored the social lives of older gay men. This paper highlights the various functions of MAXQDA 12 and how qualitative social work researchers can use the program to improve the research process and outcomes. Despite the rapid growth in production of digital tools for qualitative research there remains a dearth in studies that explicitly address how digital tools are used in the extant literature on qualitative research. This paper sheds light on this noted gap in the literature by exploring the functionality of MAXQDA 12 and how it can be applied to improve qualitative social work research.