Mixed methods, mixed tools

The use of computer software for integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis

Authors

  • Anna Kuznik Uniwersytet Wrocławski
  • Joan Miquel Verd Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
  • Christian Olalla-Soler Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jrds.32360

Keywords:

Mixed methods, quantitative translation, Camtasia, EdEt, Translation Studies

Abstract

We report on how two different software programs (Camtasia and EdEt) were used in the process of data conversion from qualitative to quantitative format. This process, known as quantitative translation of data, can be considered a specific kind of mixed methods analysis. We show the methodological and technical limits of the programs and the possibilities they offer for quantitative translation. We reflect on the role these software packages played in the different stages of data collection and data analysis of the studies described. Finally, we delve into the methodological and epistemological criticisms of the use of software for qualitative data analysis, concluding that they are meaningful warnings to avoid a misuse of software but do not apply when researchers adopt an interpretive approach in which they actively participate in the development and testing of categories.

Author Biographies

  • Anna Kuznik, Uniwersytet Wrocławski

    A graduate in French Studies from the Jagiellonian University of Cracow (Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie) in Poland, she was awarded a European PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) in Spain. A member of the PACTE research group since 2005, she has worked in the Department of Romance Studies (Instytut Filologii Romańskiej) of the University of Wrocław (Uniwersytet Wrocławski) in Poland since 2011. Certified translator of French and Spanish in Poland. Recent papers: “La traduction comme travail: perspectives croisées en ergonomie, sociologie et traductologie” (ILCEA [En Ligne], 27/2016, 16 pages); “Work content of in-house translators in small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Observing real work situations” (JoSTrans. The Journal of Specialised Translation, Issue 25, January 2016, 213-231); and “How to define good professional translators and interpreters: Applying the behavioural approach to studying competences in the field of translation studies"(Across Languages and Cultures, 16(1), 2015, 1-27, with Amparo Hurtado Albir).

  • Joan Miquel Verd, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

    Joan Miquel Verd is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona . UAB). Doctor in Sociology (2002), He is BA in Business and Economics (1996) and BA in Political Science and Sociology (1994). He is the director of the Centre for Sociological Research on Daily Life and Work (Centre d’Estudis Sociològics sobre la Vida Quotidiana i el Treball - QUIT) since 2013 and member of the Institute for Labor Studies (IET) since its founding in 2011. His main research interests are the analysis of social networks, youth labour trajectories and the connections between social protection and employment. Methodologically his work focuses on qualitative text analysis, mixed methods and computer assisted qualitative data analysis. His most recent publications are the book (2016) Introducción a la investigación cualitativa. Fases métodos y técnicas (with Carlos Lozares), published by Síntesis and the article (2016) “Employment instability and economic crisis in Spain: what are the elements that make a difference in the trajectories of younger adults?”(with Martí López-Andreu), published in European Societies.

  • Christian Olalla-Soler, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

    Christian Olalla-Soler earned a Degree in Translation and Interpreting at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and in Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language at the University of Valencia. He is currently working on his PhD dissertation entitled The cultural competence of the translator and its acquisition. Since 2012 he is member of the research group PACTE (Process of Acquisition of Translation Competence and. Evaluation). His research interests come within the following fields of research: translator and interpreter training, interculturality and ideology; cognitive processes in translation and interpreting, and empirical research methodology in translation and interpreting studies. He is member of the European Association of Methodology. Recent publications: “Procedures for assessing the acquisition of cultural competence in translator training” (The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, with Amparo Hurtado Albir, 2016, 10(3), 1-25), “Más allá del aula: El papel de la Asociación Española Universitaria de Traductores e Intérpretes en Formación” (Onomázein, 2015, 31(1), 52-65), and “An experimental study into the acquisition of cultural competence in translator training. Research design and methodological issues” (Translation and Interpreting, 2015, 7(1), 86-110).

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Published

2016-12-30

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Vol. 3 No. 1: Mixed Methods

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Articles

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How to Cite

Kuznik, A., Verd, J. M., & Olalla-Soler, C. (2016). Mixed methods, mixed tools: The use of computer software for integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis. Journal of Research Design and Statistics in Linguistics and Communication Science, 3(1), 76-109. https://doi.org/10.1558/jrds.32360