TRANSANA BASIC’S
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Transana is designed to allow researchers to work with large collections of data files. It provides tools and metaphors for organizing, analyzing and retrieving data, analytically important segments of these data, and transcripts associated with media files.
Library
The Library node in Transana is where you organize your source of media data in Transana. Each of your source audio and video files is represented as an Episode. An Episode contains a media file and can be associated with a Transcript that is linked to the media file contents. You group related Episodes into Libraries; the Library describes the logical connection among sets of Episodes.
Collection
Analytic data, extracted from raw data, falls under the Collections node within Transana. The basic unit of analysis in Transana Basic is the Clip of your media data. Clips are portions of Episodes that you identify as analytically meaningful. Clips are organized into thematic Collections. With time, your Collection structure will likely reflect the theoretical understanding of your data you develop through your qualitative analysis. The Collection containing a Clip indicates one aspect of what is analytically significant about that Clip.
Keyword
Your coding structure is developed under the Keywords node within Transana. Clips can be coded through the assignment of Keywords. A Keyword is a label that you define that represents a concept that you want to identify within your data or study. Clips can have multiple Keywords. Keywords are organized into Keyword Groups. Your Keyword structure can also reflect the theoretical structure of your qualitative analysis.
Implications
First, Transana works through the process of making selections in your data. You select a portion of text or a transcript or a media file or a PDF or a still image. This selection is your analytic unit.
Second, you may have noticed that Transana provides two ways to indicate what is analytically significant about selections from your data. You can code your selections using Keywords and you can categorize by placing them in Collections. Both of these options provide you with ways to indicate what is analytically significant about a selection, and give you tools for manipulating your selections as you proceed with your analysis and achieve insights into your data.
