⚡ Match Highlights: qualitative/qualcoder

Overview

QualCoder is free, open source desktop software for qualitative data analysis.

How to Access QualCoder

Install QualCoder This link opens in a new window
Instructions for installing and using QualCoder.

Tutorials

Video Tutorials for QualCoder This link opens in a new window
Video tutorials from QualCoder, available on GitHub.
QualCoder guide from Temple University This link opens in a new window
This guide has useful tutorials and helpful explanations of QualCoder's AI iintegration.
QualCoder Tutorial from The Carpentries This link opens in a new window
A complete walkthrough for QualCoder from The Carpentries.
Qual Analysis with QualCoder from the University of Victoria This link opens in a new window
This guide goes step-by-step through the process of installing QualCoder and setting up projects. It's a very helpful starting point for new users.

QualCoder Survey Import
Instructions for working with survey data in QualCoder. These instructions are for QualCoder version 3.8.2; they anticipate a change in the upcoming 4.0 version.

Workshop Slides

An Overview of QualCoder: An Open Source Tool for Qualitative Data Analysis
This workshop introduces QualCoder, an open-source tool for qualitative data analysis. The session focuses on acquainting researchers with core features, including setting up a project, organizing data, and exploring basic coding and analysis workflows.

Workshop Recording: An Overview of QualCoder This link opens in a new window
Workshop presented for the Academy of Education Scholars at GW's School for Medicine and Health Sciences.

QualCoder Workshop Materials

Troubleshooting

Problems with Installation

The University of Victoria guide has useful information on installing QualCoder.

If you are using a Mac, you may get an error that Apple is now able to verify that [QualCoder] is free from malware that could harm your computer.

Click on Done
Go to the Apple menu
Select System Settings
Go to Privacy & Security
Scroll to the bottom. There is an error message that "QualCoder" was blocked to protect your Mac. Click on Open Anyway.
Select Open Anyway from the pop up message.

QualCoder Does not Connect with VLC

VLC Media Player is a free, open-source, cross-platform multimedia player and framework developed by the VideoLAN project. QualCoder requires VLC to be installed on your computer to enable the coding and playback of audio and video files.

In some cases, QualCoder may not connect with VLC. When you go to Coding > Code audio/video, you will see an error message that VLC is not installed.

Quit QualCoder.
Remove old versions of VLC (see instructions for Windows and Mac). You may need to find and remove any hidden files as well.
Ensure that you installed the correct version of VLC. For newer Macs, this is the macOS (Apple Silicon) version. For Windows, it's likely that you need the Windows 64bit version.
Allow Full Disk Access for QualCoder and VLC. On Macs, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access.

You may need to restart your computer before changes take effect.

More Resources

QualCoder Wiki This link opens in a new window
A user guide for QualCoder.
Free Tools for Qualitative Data Analysis Workshop from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign This link opens in a new window
An overview of free tools for QDA including Taguette and QualCoder.
Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis and Coding with QualCoder This link opens in a new window
"This article demonstrates the process of coding textual data, using QualCoder, a free and open-source software tool for supporting the qualitative data analysis process."
Brailas, A., Tragou, E., & Papachristopoulos, K. (2023). Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis and Coding with QualCoder. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(3), 19-31. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13230

Qualitative Data: Best Practices, Analysis, and Tools: QualCoder