Need help to justify using Excel for Masters thesis

[Fleur]

Hi there,

I have used Excel to analyse my in-depth interviews for my masters
research.

I created a database with multiple variables for which I entered the
corresponding quotes for each of the companies I interviewed. It has
been a fantastic method of organising and sorting my quotes, but the
problem is .....

I NEED TO BE ABLE TO JUSTIFY why I have used Excel as a data
management tool for managing text (not numbers) as opposed to using
other specialty data management products such as ETHNOGRAPH, CAQDAS or
NUD*IST.

I need a couple of good references of authors who have written about
and supported the use of excel in managing qualitative data, or
research work that supports the benefits of using Excel in this
manner.

If any body can please help, please email me on:


(e-mail address removed)


Thanks!!!!

Fleur Brown

 

[J.E. McGimpsey]

Hi there,

I have used Excel to analyse my in-depth interviews for my masters
research.

I created a database with multiple variables for which I entered the
corresponding quotes for each of the companies I interviewed. It has
been a fantastic method of organising and sorting my quotes, but the
problem is .....

I NEED TO BE ABLE TO JUSTIFY why I have used Excel as a data
management tool for managing text (not numbers) as opposed to using
other specialty data management products such as ETHNOGRAPH, CAQDAS or
NUD*IST.

I need a couple of good references of authors who have written about
and supported the use of excel in managing qualitative data, or
research work that supports the benefits of using Excel in this
manner.

If any body can please help, please email me on:


(e-mail address removed)


Thanks!!!!

Fleur Brown

If you can't find anything with a Google search (I didn't find
much), I think you're going to have to make this one up. Certainly
XL can be used as a database (and I know a few engineers who use it
as a word processor), but the text-management capability of XL is
pretty slim compared to dedicated packages or a general database
application like FileMaker or 4D (which I believe is still free to
students).

Doesn't mean it can't be done (you obviously have), but convincing
others may be difficult.

OTOH, I have to wonder why you need to justify your selection. If
you can demonstrate data integrity, who cares what format it's in?