Introduction to Transana (1 hour)

A quick overview of the scope of what you can do with Transana.  This lays the groundwork for the following sessions.

Bringing Data Into Transana (1 hour)

We will cover how to bring raw data into Transana and how to prepare for analysis.  While the emphasis will be on handling media-based data, we will also cover the much-simpler case of text-only data.

(We might also have a quick peek at how the upcoming Transana 4.1 will handle PDF data.)

Transcription as an Analytic Act (1 – 2 hours)

We will look at many different options for transcription, emphasizing the advantages of each.

Transana facilitates a wide range of transcript types that can be useful in different analytic scenarios.

Practice

You will bring one or more of your own media (audio or video) files into your copy of Transana.  You will then create one or more transcripts, and transcribe at least 30 minutes of media data.

You will use this data for additional practice for the remainder of the workshop, so participants are strongly encouraged to make sure to locate and transcribe data you find interesting and relevant.

Assigning Meaning to Selections : Coding and Categorization (3 – 3.5 hours)

Transana provides flexible and powerful tools for assigning analytic meaning to selections of your text, media, and still image data.  This week, we will explore the overlapping systems Transana offers to help you make sense of your data, Coding and Categorization.  These systems provide different tools that allow researchers to address the specific needs of their research, to fully support different qualitative techniques and methodologies, and to adapt to differing analytic needs as the qualitative analytic process moves forward.

Coding is the process of developing a coding system and applying codes to analytic selections within your data.  This system can be fast and flexible.

Categorization is the process of sorting your analytic selections into meaningful groups.  This system can be powerful, visual, and easily interpreted.

Together, they offer a powerful, flexible set of analytic moves that allow you to represent your data the way that works best for you, for your methodology, and for your analytic needs.

Practice

Practice analysis of the data you transcribed last week using both Coding and Categorization.  Explore both of these approaches enough that you learn their similarities and their differences.   Learn how these tools mesh with your research methodology and your analytic style, and begin to understand when you might choose one technique over the other and why.

Making Sense of Coded and Categorized Data (1.5 – 2 hours)

This week, you will learn how to use Transana’s Reports, Maps, and Graphs, which provide a number of tools for making sense out of data that we have coded and categorized.

Searches (0.75 hours)

We will explore Transana’s Search tools that allow you to explore your coding, categorization, and selection text in a variety of sophisticated ways.  We will also explore Transana’s Search Matrix tool.

Transana’s Writing Tools (0.5 hours)

Transana provides tools for a various kinds of analytic writing.  We will explore Notes for writing analytic memos, the Notes Browswer for exploring Notes, and we will introduce Research Journals.  Research Journals allow analytic and collaborative writing within the analytic tool, including creating first drafts of results and findings.  We will look at the importance of hyperlinks as a means to stay close to your qualitative data all the way through the qualitative writing-up process.

Practice

Use Transana’s Reports, Maps, Graphs, ane Search Tools to explore the data you coded last week.  Explore the steps involved in moving from coded and categorize data to a theoretical understanding of what your data has to tell you.  Explore Notes, the Notes Browser, Research Journals, and hyperlinks.

Advanced Analysis of Media Data  (1.5 – 2 hours)

While it is likely we will have mentioned these techniques in passing in earlier Workshop sessions, today we will focus on details of

* capturing and using multiple simultaneous media files to analyze complex environments,

* using multiple simultaneous transcripts to implement analytic layers, and

* making it possible for multiple researchers to simultaneously collaborate on qualitative analysis.

* analysis of online survey data.

* change propagation

Questions, Questions, and More Questions.  (15 minutes – 3 hours)

I’ll keep answering questions and demonstrating techniques as long as you keep asking questions.