Guided Tour - Analytic Memos

Another tool frequently used during qualitative analysis is analytic memoing. Analytic memoing allows a researcher to create descriptions of analytic content and process which document analytic decisions and changes in thinking through time.

In Transana, this process is facilitated through the use of Notes. Notes are plain text records which can be attached to series, episode, transcript, collection and clip records, where a researcher can record analytic reasoning and can document changes in analytic understanding over time.

A note attached to a clip might describe what the researcher thinks a particular segment of video shows, or why that particular clip is important to the analysis. A note attached to a collection might explain how that collection fits in with the overall theory being developed during the analysis, and could describe how the researcher's conceptualization of the part of the theory the collection represents has changed over time as the researcher has gained a better understanding of what the data has to say.

The Notes Browser allows researchers to explore all of their analytic notes in one place. This facilitates exploration and thinking across analytic memos and across categories of notes, helping a researcher to synthesize scattered individual thoughts into a coherent theoretical understanding. The Notes Report is generated within the Notes Browser, and the episode- and collection-based text reports can include notes.