David A Swain
Department of Sociology & Social Policy
University of Waikato,
Hamilton
New Zealand

Date: 26 October 2001
Time: 12.00-12.30

Qualitative studies tend to be small-scale for reasons including the difficulty of recording and using the varied kinds of data in appropriately organised and readily accessible ways. The review, analysis and writing-up of large-scale qualitative social research projects by a single researcher requires inter alia that the relevant data be presented for use as required by the researchers in a wide variety of connected and overlayed configurations. The innovative use of computer software is a key to achieving this in a large-scale qualitative project.

The project on which this methodological paper is based is a study of the influence on life chances and life trajectories of the intergenerational transmission of material and non-material resources through successive generations of genealogically linked families. The database comprises:

(a) records for some 2,500 genealogically-linked individuals over 11 generations and five centuries (mid-17th to 21st centuries)-comprising birth, marriage and death dates and locations plus associated events such as baptisms/christenings etc;
(b) more than 19,000 text records (including semi-structured coding of specified attributes) associated with the approximately 2,500 individuals and their marriages;
(c) approximately 600 photographic and other images;
(d) more than 170 data sources including source documents;
(e) approximately 350 historical documents including private letters and diaries; and
(f) approximately 30 general and specific historical events file containing typically between 40 and 150 events for a total of approximately 2,000 events which can be integrated with genealogical charts from the records described under (a) above.

This project has a number of unusual or unique methodological features, which are outlined.

It is only possible to run a project of this size and scope with the innovative use of a variety of software. This paper briefly outlines the research project as a context for a more comprehensive review of the integrated software strategy used for the project, and also outlines the specific programs used, with full-colour screen capture illustrative examples of their output. These are:

FTM (a specialised genealogical/family history database program);
GEDCOM ( a data file format and file import/export utility used to share data among co-operative researchers and with online data archives);

GeneLines (a specialised personal and historical events database program which integrates with FTM);

FlipAlbum (an images database program);

Qimage (a specialised image manipulation and print-efficiency program);

Adobe Photoshop (an image-processing program used to enhance the availability of detail from old and damaged photographs);

MS Word (used to write conference and journal papers);

NUD*IST (for indexing, organising and searching the larger text files); and

EndNote (a bibliographic database program which integrates with MS Word and has been adapted and customised to include specialised historical public and personal documents).