Free materials for qualitative workshops

We are running more and more workshops helping people learn qualitative analysis and Quirkos. I always feel that the best way to learn is by doing, and the best way to remember is through play. To this end, we have created two sources of qualitative data that anyone can download and use (with any package) to learn how to use software for qualitative data analysis.

These can be found at the workshops folder. There are two different example data sets, which are free for any training use. The first is a basic example project, which is comprised of a set of fictional interviews with people talking about what they generally have for breakfast. This is not really a gripping exposé of a critical social issue, but is short and easy to engage with, and already provides some suprises when it comes to exploring the data. The materials provided include individual transcribed sources of text, in a variety of formats that can be brought into Quirkos. The idea is that users can learn how to bring sources into Quirkos, create a basic coding framework, and get going on coding data.

For the impatient, there is also a 'here's one we created earlier' file, in which all the sources have been added to the project, described age and gender and occupation as source properties, a completed framing codework, and a good amount of coding. This is a good starting point if someone wants to use the various tools to explore coded data and generate outputs. There is also a sample report, demonstrating what a default output looks like when generated by Quirkos, including the 'data' folder, which includes all the pictures for embedding in a report or PowerPoint presentation.

This is the example project we most frequently use in workshops. It allows us to quickly cover all the major steps in qualitative analysis with software, with a fun and easy to understand dataset. It also lets us see some connections in the data, for example how people don't describe coffee as a healthy option, and that women for some reason talk about toast much more than men.

However, the breakfast example is not real qualitative data - it is short, and fictitious, so for people who come along to our more advanced analysis workshops, we are happy to now make available a much more detailed and lively dataset. We have recently completed a project on the impact on voter opinions in Scotland after the 2014 Referendum for independence. This comprises of 12 semi-structured interviews with voters based in Edinburgh, on their views on the referendum process, and how it has changed their outlook on politics and voting in the run-up to the 2015 General Election in the UK.

When we conducted these interviews, we explicitly got consent for them to be made publicly available and used for workshops after they had been transcribed and anonymised. This gives us a much deeper source of data to analyse in workshops, but also allows for anyone to download a rich set of data to use in their own time (again with any qualitative software package) to practice their analytical skills in qualitative research. You can download these interviews and further materials at this link.

We hope you will find these resources useful, please acknowledge their origin (ie Quirkos), let us know if you use them in your training and learning process, and if you have any feedback or suggestions.