Researchers engage in projects involving interpretation of unstructured or semi-structured data for a variety of reasons. These might include exploration, description, comparison, pattern analysis, theory testing, theory building or evaluation. Methodologists routinely urge researchers to assess the fit between purpose and method, with the choice to use a qualitative approach being determined by the research question and purpose, rather than by prior preference of the reseacher.

Qualitative data analysis is an interpretive task. Interpretations are not found - rather they are made, actively constructed through social processes. Data collection in qualitative research is not something easily separated off from data analysis.

The purpose of this workshop is to assist researchers uncover and systematically analyze complex phenomena hidden in text and multimedia data. The program provides tools that let the participants to locate, code, and annotate findings in primary data material, to weigh and evaluate their importance, and to visualize complex relations between them. Throughout the workshop, computer aided qualitative analysis software : ATLAS.ti will be used to consolidates large volumes of documents and keeps track of all notes, annotations, codes and memos in all fields that require close study and analysis of primary material consisting of text, images, audio, video, and geo data. In addition, it provides analytical and visualization tools designed to open new interpretative views on the material.