Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Plugin for Silva Elm's Sense Editor

Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) within the context of the Sense Outliner / Word Processor involves the collection and tagging of textual data into themes for consequent study.

Hinging on Sense's Notational functionality that enables lines and text snippets to be marked and coded, subsequent visualization is possible using the features provided by the Free QDA Plugin:

• Regular Expression Words and Phrases Search of documentation to retrieve text snippets.
• Coding is by tagging (linking) retrieved text snippets to Categories maintained within an editable Metadata Table.
• Whole lines may be coded.
• Coding involves no Markup Language or Special Symbols.
• Text snippets are in-line highlighted for visual indentification.
• Forward and Backward Navigation of Categorized documentation.
• Metadata may be transfered between documents by Text File.

Sense imposes no pre-determined methodology on the use of metadata categories allowing Sense's Viewpoints to be used to manually group coded documentation into a Category based tree-hierarchy for more focused QDA review.

ViewPoint's cloning allows material duplication at different levels of its category tree for lines and document branches with overlapping codes.

QDA Plugin functionality may be enabled for any normal (Default Editor Style) Sense document accepting material from both the main document and ViewPoints.

It provides category based filtering of marked documentation presenting results within three tabbed views that fully integrate into the lower of Sense's two Edit Environments:

• A "Tag Extracts" Documentation View.
• A "Tag Properties" View tabulating:
  • Category.
  • Notation comprising in-line Annotation and Comment.
  • Tagged Documentation.
  • Referenced (Source) Document.
• A "Tag Analysis" View comprising:
  • The Tabulation of Tagged Documentation.
  • The Tabulation of Categorizations and Occurrence.
  • Document Hyperlinks to:
    • Preview multiple tags in line context simultaneously within Modeless dialogs.
    • Navigate to source documentation.

Tabulations may be:

• Logically AND / OR / EXCLUSION / INCLUSION Filtered according to Category selection.
• Displayed either in full line context or as a (Tagged Text) snips only.
• Printed and Exported on a WYSIWYG basis to both Sense and other file formats supported by freely downloadable Plugins.

A comprehensive Help is provided with the QDA Plugin installation that becomes accessible via Sense's Help menu.