C O N S U LTA N T: B E TT Y Z O UC SS C R W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Beginning ATLAS.ti 5.5

Class Contents

What is ATLAS.ti Important TermsGetting StartedCodingDelete, Rename, Unlink CodesCoding Audio & Graphics FilesMemosLook What You Have DoneA peek at some more advanced tools

What is ATLAS.ti?

Data analysis software program for QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Create a project called a “Hermeneutic Unit”, that

contains all your data (interview text/images/audio), your findings, codes, and memos.

Read and select passages (or parts of image or audio) to assign codes or memos.

You can build networks and relationships within your codes, create a graphical view of how things are related to each other

Important Terminologies

Hermeneutic Unit The project you are working on. Everything relevant to this project.

Primary Documents (PD) Original documents such as field notes, transcriptions of interviews,

images and audio dataQuotations

Phrases, sentences, paragraphs…parts of the primary document that you find interesting or important

Codes Can be single word or a couple of words that signifies a quotation

Families Special collections of primary documents, quotations and codes

Memos A place for you to write down thoughts and emerging theories

Getting Started

(Recommended) Primary Word Documents should be saved as Rich Text File (.rtf)

Keep all primary documents in the same project folder (i.e. Project 1) If you are working on different computers, take all primary

documents with you.CSSCR Lab Computers

Save files on C:/Temp/ Do not work off of your thumb drive as it is easy to lose

work Save entire project with updated date to transport with you Back up everything!

Getting Started

See Demonstration

Assign Documents: Documents > Assign > Select document

Coding

A New Code: Highlight relevant text Codes > Coding > Open Coding (You can also right click) Type the code

Enter a list of pre-existing codes: Codes > Create Free Codes Enter all codes, separate each code with |

Select a code from list Highlight text Codes > Code by list > select the correct code

You can also link one quote to 2 or more different codes Auto Coding

Codes > Coding > Auto Coding Select Code / New Code Type in an expression, “college” Select “Confirm always” Selected PD/ All current PDs Select the text you want linked to the code

Delete, Rename, Unlink Codes

DELETE: Will delete the code and ALL links to that code. Click the bar in the right hand margin that marks the quotation Indicates the quotation linked to this code RIGHT CLICK, “delete” (See options in pop up window)

RENAME: Will rename ALL places where that code appears Click the code name in the margin Right click, “rename”

UNLINK: Will delete the link between one code and one quote Click the code on the right hand margin RIGHT CLICK, “unlink”, select the code to unlink it from*You can also do all of these things in Code Manager

MERGE CODES: Can merge two very similar codes, get rid of redundancies Codes List Icon > Select “Family Influence” as Target Code Codes > Merge Codes > In dialogue box, select “Family”

Coding Audio & Graphic Files

See Demonstration

Memos

Memos > Create Free Memo OR Attach Memo

Give a title, type your thoughts, interpretations, etc…

Can select type: Is it a memo, commentary or theory?

Save.

Look at What You Have Done!

Hierarchical Display of All Objects PD, Code, Memo Manager (List Icon)

Grounded: Code frequency; number of quotations the code is applied to Density: Number of links to other codes

Select PD, code or memo, write comments Print Codes Manager

Enter codes manager Click printer icon Select preferences (Open a text window, include code comments…) Do you want a list of the full quotations? Do you want only a list of the codes?

You can create an output of any PDs, Codes, Memos In PD/Code/Memo manager, click “Output” Codes-Primary-Document-Table (can see # of codes in each PD)

A simple quantitative content analysis tool Use selected PD Use ALL PDs, and it will export into an Excel file

A Peek at the Query Tool

Used for See all the quotes linked to a code or combination of

codesTools > Query Tool (Binoculars icon)

Double click codes to enter into Query field Specify OR

Place cursor on icons to see what it is

Families

You can create a family of PDs, Codes or Memos

PD Manager > Open Family Manager icon > Create a New Family > Name it (E.g. Low-income HS interviews) > Select PDs to put in the family

Code Manager > Open Family Manager icon > Same process as above (E.g. Affects College Choice: Cost, Distance, Size….)

Strategies for Coding as a Group

Scenario 1: Coding Sequentially Person A codes interviews 1-3, then hands entire

project to Person B to code interviews 4-6Scenario 2: Coding Simultaneously

Person A codes interviews 1-3 in Hermeneutic Unit A Person B codes interviews 4-6 in Hermeneutic Unit B Merge A and B for analysis

Tools > Merge with HU Follow instructions in pop-up windows

WARNING

Not many undo optionsIf you are using CSSCR labs, save files to C:/tempKeep ALL PDs with your working HU fileDoes not handle tables wellCan embed tables/graphs, but will code object as

a whole rather than individual cells or parts of graph

No easy way of importing excel files yet

See if you can find the “click when frustrated” button

Some Intermediate Tools & Concepts

Networks A graphical representation of

the complex relationships between different objects in you HU.

RelationshipsYou can specify the relationship between different objects.

HyperlinksLink codes to each other and quotations to each other and specify a relationship.Provide instant cross-referencing in the current document, and across different documents and file types.This increases quotation density!Atlas.ti Website & Tutorials:

http://www.atlasti.com/tutorials.html

Resources

Atlas.ti Manual PDF online: http://www.atlasti.com/uploads/media/atlman.pdf

Beginning Atlas.ti Quicktime Tutorial : http://julius.csscr.washington.edu/courses.htm

Atlas.ti Website & Tutorials: http://www.atlasti.com/tutorials.html

Creating an SPSS Output: https://www.amherst.edu/offices/it/teaching_research/resources/tutorials/atlas.ti