Attending to the assumptions of a CAQDAS package

I really enjoyed learning more about Dedoose this week. For me, the 'ah-ha' came as I have reflected upon the assumptions that drove (continue to drive) the development of Dedoose. Much like our discussion around NVivo, the assumptions underpinning Dedoose do certainly shape how the features are presented, designed, and even described. I think this reinforces the point that as qualitative researchers it is important to spend time exploring the packages to determine whether they:

• Feel intuitive in relation to your approach to research and preferences; 
• Seem to be easily aligned/used in relation to your analytical framework and epistemic assumptions; and
• Are accessible (financially and practically - e.g., Dedoose requires the Internet).

 Time.

This all takes time, money, and then a bit more time.

Is it worth the time?

I think so. It can takes years to become 'fully' versed in all that a CAQDAS package allows you to leverage; however, in my experience, it is time well spent. Also, I would argue that a shift away from being bound to paper-pen (which is also a technology) allows not only for a chronicling of your research to be preserved, but also opens up new ways to think about interacting with data. For instance, the potential of directly coding media-based data or incorporating multiple transcripts within your view, pushes us to expand how we come to know. Yet, are their 'dangerous' consequences to this shift in location (e.g., where the 'actual' analysis takes place -- electronically or not)? Whether with a package or not, we remain the interpreters and the consequences (often unintended) of our interpretation is always already present. Consequences are something we must always consider, regardless of whether we use CAQDAS or not. Nonetheless, positioning reflexive practice as a core research practice allows us to make explicit the steps we take in our analysis and representation of findings. By doing so, we start to unpack the (often unintended) consequences of our research endeavor (a reality true of all research).