Re: Q: Software for analyzing listserv and e-mail communication

Hi Jonas,

We've done quite a few qualitative (and partially quantitative) =20
analyses of email, forum and tracker data:

http://floss.syr.edu/publications

Particularly our last two ICIS papers (Decision making and Task =20
Assignment).  We've tried using HyperResearch but have recently =20
'retreated' to a manual coding process.  Others that come to mind are

You don't say what features you particularly want that aren't in the =20
current qual analysis (Atlas.TI, NVIVO etc), but I know what bugs me =20
about them in this context.

a) support for features of who spoke to whom (including info of their =20
user/developer status), and
b) understanding of time across documents (threads, querying codes by =20
time period and organizing series of coded events into episodes over =20
time).

What do you find to be missing?

I've been trying to develop a cross-artifact system using Ruby on =20
Rails, but I've had to put that aside at the moment, but the doc/=20
README_FOR_APP.txt, public/TODO.txt and doc/EventModel-small.png will =20
show you where I am eventually planning to go with it:

http://ossmole.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ossmole/flosseventbrowser/=20
trunk/

You might find the below interesting (posted today on the SOCNET list =20
in response to a query about qualitative network analysis (not =20
obvious what he meant by the question though!).  It looks interesting =20
for the to-from element, but maybe not the over-time element.  If you =20
do get a chance to check it out, perhaps you could post your =20
experiences here?

Cheers,
James

Begin forwarded message:
> From: "Robert T. Trotter, II" <robert.trotter-HBjXsy/[email protected]>
> Date: December 19, 2006 9:33:04 PM EST
> To: SOCNET-1sD4k/[email protected]
> Subject: "qualitative" network software
> Reply-To: "Robert T. Trotter, II" <robert.trotter-HBjXsy/[email protected]>
>
> *****  To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org  *****
>
> Several ethnographic data management programs have been mentioned =20
> (Atlas-ti, NUDIST, NVIVO, etc.). I would like to suggest another, =20
> ANSWR, for the following reasons.
> 1. It is free. You can download it from the CDC website (CDC.GOV) =20
> and install it. It is also supported by CDC, and is used =20
> internationally. http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/tools/software.asp
> 2. It supports all of the functions that are supported by the other =20
> ethnographic software programs (data entry, coding, search, and =20
> output) and includes additional ones that may be particularly =20
> useful for network analysis, including keeping track of who is =20
> speaking, as well as what they are talking about. It allows you to =20
> conduct some interesting matrix types of multiple code data output.
> 3. It has a function that allows it to export some codes to =20
> quantitative programs, which means that it can act as an =20
> interesting bridge to quantitative network programs like UCINET, =20
> PAJEK, etc.
> 4. It is free.
>
> This is the CDC description of ANSWR. I have also added the =20
> description of EZ Text, which some of you might be interested in if =20
> you used open ended questions in surveys and questionnaires.
>
>
> General Database Software
>
> AnSWR (Analysis Software for Word Based Records) <http://=20
> www.cdc.gov/hiv/software/answr.htm>AnSWR v6.4 is a software system =20
> for coordinating and conducting large-scale, team-based analysis =20
> projects that integrate qualitative and quantitative techniques.
> CDC EZ-Text <http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/software/ez-text.htm>CDC EZ-=20
> Text is a software program developed to help researchers create, =20
> manage, and analyze semi-structured qualitative databases.
>
>
> Bob Trotter
> _____________________________________________________________________
> SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social
> network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send
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On Dec 20, 2006, at 4:42 AM, Jonas Holmstr=F6m wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> I'm doing a qualitative study and a lot of my data is listserv and =20
> e-mail communication.
>
> Does anyone know of any software that can be used for analyzing =20
> listserv and e-mail communication?
>
> Most (all?) software used for qualitative studies are designed to =20
> deal with transcripts of interviews and/or documents.
>
> If anyone has done some quantitative studies using listserv data I =20
> would be interested in learning more about that as well.
>
> /Jonas Holmstr=F6m
>
> _______________________________________________________________
> Research assistant
> Department of Management and Organisation
> Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
> PB 479, FIN 00101 Helsinki, Finland
> Phone +358-9-43133246
> http://www.shh.fi/~holmstr
> http://oacs.shh.fi
> _______________________________________________________________
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