Last update: 6. October 2023

Software that can process audio and/or video sources is listed here also.

program: Aquad 8
author: Günter L. Huber
distributor: Verlag Inge Huber, Tübingen, open-source freeware (according to the conditions of GNU GPL v.3)
documentation: English manual German manual Spanish manual
download: free download according to the conditions of GNU GPL v.3
operating system: MS-Windows, MacOS
description: This version can process audio and video material, older versions cannot. Text interpretation by one-step coding with the data text and a master code list on the screen. Text interpretation by two-step coding with a print-out of your text with a master code list and highlighted text segments on the screen. Coding by clicking (into an automatically maintained master code list).
Variable lenght of codes, maximum 22 characters.
Word analysis: Counting of single words, analysis with word lists ("dictionaries"), differentiation of speakers "Speaker codes" allow to analyse parts of texts produced by different speakers (or answers to different questions).
Practically unlimited memos; copy text segments into your memos, retrieve them by text number, line numbers, code, particular key-word or parts of the memo text (full text search).
One, two or three level table analysis.
Linkage construction and analysis by clicking and drag-and-drop - no additional compiler and programming necessary.
Comparison of cases/texts by Boolean analysis of critical features. Also R programs/interface are available.

program: atlas.ti 8
author: Thomas Muhr
distributor: atlas.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH
documentation: Quick tour and manuals in English, German, and Spanish
tutorials: video tutorials in English, German, and Spanish
tutorials (also videos): Several guides in English, German, and Spanish
download: trial version
operating system: MS-Windows, Mac OS-X, Android, Apple IOS (ipad)
description: The website provides you with the features, often as PDF-files. Meanwhile atlas.ti has so many features that space does not allow to list these at this place. One highlight of the new version is that you can import survey data with a few mouse clicks into atlas.ti. Another one is the import of PDF files.

program: Automap 3.0.10.41
author and distributor: Kathleen M. Carley Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS), Institute for Software Research International (ISRI), School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
documentation: users's guide
download: Automap, MS-Windows 32 and 64-bit versions
operating system: MS-Windows
description: AutoMap is a text mining tool that enables the extraction of network data from texts. AutoMap can extract three types of information: content analytic (words and frequencies), semantic networks, and meta-networks.
AutoMap uses parts of speech tagging and proximity analysis to do computer-assisted Network Text Analysis (NTA). NTA encodes the links among words in a text and constructs a network of the linked words. AutoMap subsumes classical Content Analysis by analyzing the existence, frequencies, and covariance of terms and themes.  

program: EZ-TEXT 4.0
author: Conwal Incorporated (?)
distributor: CDC
documentation: manual
download: free
operating system: MS-Windows
description: CDC EZ-Text is a software program developed to assist researchers create, manage, and analyze semi-structured qualitative databases. Following data entry, investigators can interactively create on-line codebooks, apply codes to specific response passages, develop case studies, conduct database searches to identify text passages that meet user-specified conditions, and export data in a wide array of formats for further analysis with other qualitative or statistical analysis software programs. Project managers can merge data files generated by different interviewers for combined cross-site analyses. The ability to export and import the codebook helps to coordinate the efforts of multiple coders simultaneously working with copies of the same database file. Intercoder reliability between two coders is calculated.

program: HyperResearch 4.5.5
authors: S. Hesse-Biber, P. Dupuis, T. S. Kinder

distributor: Researchware, Inc.
documentation: tutorials
download: test version
operating systems: MS-Windows XP or newer, Mac OS-X 10.3 or newer
description: Easy-to-Use "Point and Click" Interface: featuring pull-down menus, click-and-drag selection, and keyboard shortcuts for those who prefer keyboard commands to mouseclicks.
Multi-Media Capabilities: HyperRESEARCH allows you to work with text, graphics, audio, and video source material. Displayed reports include hyperlinks to underlying source material.
Comprehensive Code-and-Retrieve Functions: HyperRESEARCH allows you to select any chunk of text (from 1 character to an entire file) and apply any number of code names to the chunk. Recall your codes by name, or select them based on proximity to other codes. View codes in context, in the margin of your Source (Text) Window; or create an exportable report that organises the specific data you ask for by case or by code name. Reports can be hyperlinked back to the original source material.
Code Annotation (Memoing) and Descriptions: Select a code reference on a case card, click the annotate button, and add up to 32,000 characters of information per reference. Use the Code List Editor to enter a code definition for any of your master codes.
Expanded Autocoding: Autocode multiple sources to multiple cases, looking for multiple phrases in a single pass. Specify a number of characters, words, or lines before and/or after the found phrases to be included in the chunk selected for autocoding.
Code Mapping: Use the Code Map Window to graphically represent relationships between your master codes.
Hypothesis Testing: Use the Artificially Intelligent "Expert System" provided by the Hypothesis Tester to perform in-depth analyses of your coded data to see whether the coding supports your hypothesis.

program: Kwalitan 7
author: Vincent Peters and Fred Wester
distributor: Kwalitan advies
documentation: in Dutch, the link to the English manual is dead
download: demo
operating system(s): MS-Windows
description: Kwalitan is a program for the analysis of qualitative data and is a special purpose database program and based on the grounded theory approach. Up to 25 codes can be attached to a text segment. Kwalitan gives an alphabetical overview of the codes already attached to the segments, together with their frequencies you can create a tree structure to establish the hierarchical structure of the codes. Codes and their combinations can be searched, also with boolean logic. A summary can be made of each segment, up to 1000 characters long. Four types of memos are available.
Kwalitan has some features for content analysis, e.g. frequencies of words, overviews of 'key word in context' and 'key word out context' Matrices of the frequencies of words or codes can be generated and analysed by statistical software.

program: MaxQDA or German MaxQDA
author: Udo Kuckartz
distributors: VERBI GmbH
download: trial 14 days, you must give your address
operating systems: MS-Windows, Mac OS-X, Android, iOS in English, German, and Spanish version (program and tutorial)
documentation: manuals in PDF format or video tutorials here, there are also video tutorials and webinars available.
description: MAXQDA is one of the most versatile programs with a lot of functions which cannot be listed here. It does have a lot of useful functions for mixed-methods approaches, and the support by manuals and videos is great.

program: Prospero 7.0 (PROgramme de Sociologie Pragmatique, Expérimentale et Réflexive sur Ordinateur)
author and distributor: Francis Chateauraynaud & Jean-Pierre Charriau
download: free download with registration required
operating system: MS-Windows
documentation: no
description: The whole website is in French, although Prospero can analyse texts language independently (English, Spanish, German). 

• pattern matching (including morphological and/or category queries),
• key words in context,
• spotting of modalities, citations, irony criticism (among others)
• networks of associated words
• category system (constructed - and shared - by the users) but no statistical inferences.
• measure of events (its importance, its scope, its power to reconfigure the data - ie difference before / after)  

program: QCAmap 2020
author: Philipp Mayring, Thomas Fenzl
distributor: coUnity Software Development GmbH, Klagenfurt, Austria
documentation: manual and Mayring's book
download: none, you work online, and it is free under open access conditions
operating system(s): web based
description: QCAMap is a QDA software package, no more information can be found on the website. However, the provided introduction and Mayring's book provide more information.

program: QDA-Miner 2023
author and distributor: Normand Peladeau, Provalis Research
download: full version for 30 days, called trial version
operating systems: MS-Windows
documentation: manual in English (version 5), French (version 3.0), and Spanish (version 3.2)
description: QDA Miner is an easy-to-use qualitative data analysis software package for coding textual data, annotating, retrieving and reviewing coded data and documents. The program can manage complex projects involving large numbers of documents combined with numerical and categorical information. QDA Miner also provides a wide range of exploratory tools to identify patterns in codings and relationships between assigned codes and other numerical or categorical properties. Documents are stored in Rich-Text Format and support font and paragraph formatting, graphics and tables. The close integration of this software with content analysis and text mining module (WordStat) and statistical software (Simstat) provides a unique support for mixed methods or any project combining the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data.

program: Quirkos
author : Daniel Turner
distributor: Quirkos Limited, Edinburgh, UK
download: MS-Windows or Mac OS-X full version for 30 days
operating systems: MS-Windows Vista or newer, Mac OS-X 10.7 or newer, Android 4.0 or newer, Linux
documentation: manual and video tutorial
description: Quirkos is a software package that helps people sort, manage and understand large amounts of text. It helps users tag or code relevant sections of text, and collate and compare themes across dozens of different text sources.

program: QSR NVivo
authors: Lyn and Tom Richards

distributors: QSR International
download: trial version a full version for 14 days
operating system: MS-Windows 7 or newer, Mac OS-X 10.9 or newer
documentation: tutorials
description: NVivo is one of the best known QDA programs with a lot of features that cannot be listed here. NVivo also works with audio and video material. New since NVivo 10: analysis of web pages and social media. The user interface is available in English, Chinese, German, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese.

program: Qualrus 2.1.0.3
operating system: MS-Windows
author and distributor: Edward Brent, Idea Works, Inc.
download: version with full functionality except saving a project date of release 2011
documentation: none
description: There are useful functions including the analysis of audio and video material, these are not listed here.

program: RCDA
author: Ronggui Huang
distributors: Ronggui Huang
download: free software
operating system: MS-Windows, Mac OS-X, Linux - requires R and GTK+ library
documentation: manuals in English and Chinese, video tutorials in English and French
description: An R package for Qualitative Data Analysis that uses URT-8 encoding. It includes a number of standard Computer-Aided Qualitative Data Analysis features. Besides, it is seamlessly integrated with R to some extent, RQDA and R make an integrated platform for both quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

program: The Ethnograph 6.0.1.0
author: John V. Seidel
distributors: Qualis Research
download: QualisResearch
operating system: MS-Windows
documentation: Quick tour basic in PDF format
The Ethnograph 6.0 for Windows PCs is a versatile computer program designed to make the analysis of data collected during qualitative research easier, more efficient, and more effective.
You can import your text-based qualitative data, typed in any word processor, straight into the program. The Ethnograph helps you search and note segments of interest within your data, mark them with code words and run analyses which can be retrieved for inclusion in reports or further analysis.
First launched in 1985, The Ethnograph was one of the first programs to pioneer computer assisted qualitative data analysis. Since then The Ethnograph has continued to be developed by qualitative data analysts for qualitative data analysts such as social scientists, historians, literary critics, health researchers, business and market analysts, legal researchers and others.
The Ethnograph will handle your project data files and documents whether your data comes in form of interview transcript, field notes, open-ended survey responses, or other text based documents.  

program: Weft QDA 1.0.1 (2006)
author: Alex Fenton
distributors: Alex Fenton
download: free download
operating systems: MS-Windows
documentation: manual as PDF-file
description: Weft QDA (written in Ruby) is a software tool for the analysis of unstructured textual data. It offers a simple interface to generic code and retrieve functionality, and includes a number of other tools that may useful in qualitative analyses. It is free, see the author's restrictions. A new version is not planned.
Mailing lists: Weft-qda-users@rubyforge.org
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