By Adesina Wahab

A study by a team of researchers has shown that qualitative data analysis done using a combination of digital tools and manual methods yields greater output than analysis done using only one method.

The researchers who conducted the study are Ugochukwu Simeon Asogwa of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Hannah Ifedapo Maiyekogbon of the University of Bournemouth, United Kingdom, Dr Margaret Offoboche Agada-Mba of the Department of Mass Communication, Pan African University, Lagos ,Nigeria, and Oluwaseyi John Jemisenia of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The study’s results further showed that for perceived efficiency, productivity, collaboration, identification of complex themes, and visualisation techniques, participants who used digital software scored higher than those who used the manual method of data analysis.

However, for perceived depth of analysis, coding flexibility, reflective quality, and integration of contextual knowledge, participants in the manual method group scored higher compared to those in the digital software group.

Based on these results, the researchers suggested that a well-rounded strategy that uses the benefits of both approaches is recommended to provide thorough and complex qualitative research results.

To arrive at the result, the researchers used a quasi-experimental design and examined 150 participants, who were then divided into two groups: those proficient in digital software and those skilled in the manual method. They then conducted an intervention in which participants analysed a qualitative dataset using their preferred method.

The study was published in the special issue of Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, a Scopus-indexed journal established by Dr Gever Verlumun, a Nigerian communication scholar from the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A grant from the Centre for Advanced Internet Studies, Bochum, Germany, supported the special issue titled “Digital media and research in 21st-century society: Assessing the current trends and projecting the future.” The research article title is “Can the Digital Software Method Outperform the Manual Method in Qualitative Data Analysis? Findings from a Quasi-experimental Research.”