Computer tools for analysing textual data. Methodological and practical considerations. (French only)

I would like to share with you a literature review that I did on the computer tools available for analysing textual data. Please note that it’s only available in French at the moment.

It is much appreciated by many of my students and clients, and provides important methodological guidelines, particularly when using analysis software such as (among others) MaxQda.

It can be downloaded for free from ResearchGate, via the link below.

In this literature review, I explore the software tools available for analysing textual data. Given their recent boom, and the explosion in the amount of textual data available (increasingly numerous and increasingly digitised), this seems like a subject worth exploring, especially as these tools influence the way research is conducted, and researchers still have many questions about their use.

I am exploring two types of tool: CAQDAS and lexicometric tools, because they seem to be the most promising and the most widely used in the social sciences and humanities. The goals are to help promote the best possible use of these tools and the technology available for research in the social sciences and humanities, to clarify the choices and issues involved, to explore the ways in which social science researchers can take advantage of existing tools and make informed use of them, and to promote a better understanding of these tools.

I am fully convinced that a solid methodological eclecticism and a pragmatic and solid use of these tools is a promising path for research in the social sciences and humanities.

I hope you find it useful! 🙂