THE ETHNOGRAPH: A computer program for the analysis of qualitative data

Abstract

THE ETHNOGRAPH is a computer program designed to facilitate the processing of qualitatively gathered sociological data. The purpose of THE ETHNOGRAPH is to manage some of the mechanical tasks of qualitative data analysis while freeing the researcher to concentrate on the analytical or thinking parts of the research. THE ETHNOGRAPH is not a concordance type of program, but concordance (or key-word-in-context) techniques can be used on ETHNOGRAPH data files. THE ETHNOGRAPH does not do the coding work for the researcher. But the programs do facilitate the coding work of the researcher.

This paper briefly describes the steps involved in using the programs. These include 1) formating the text, 2) using the XNUMBER program to number the lines of the text, 3) using the XCODE program to code segments of the text, 4) using the XMODIFY program to selectively or globally delete or replace coding categories, 5) using the XSORT program to produce an output file containing sorted, cross-referenced coded segments from the original data sets. THE ETHNOGRAPH can process various types of qualitative data including transcripts, fieldnotes, diaries, letters, etc.