Call for proposals

Reflecting on the future of QDA Software:

Chances and Challenges for Humanities,  Social Sciences and beyond

25 and 26 of August, 2016 at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Proposal deadline 15 November 2015

Conference goal

The purpose of this conference is to create a context for reflection and debate between developers and users of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) on the future directions and challenges for these software packages. We have invited the QDAS developers to present a paper and have received positive reactions from the developers of (in alphabetical order): ATLAS.ti, Dedoose, Feldpartitur, F4 analyse, HyperRESEARCH, MAXQDA, NVivo, Textifter, Transana, QDA Miner, Quirkos. We hope to meet all of them at the conference! The current Call for proposals is meant for QDAS users. We hope to meet all of you as well at the conference!

Themes

We are pleased to announce a call for conference papers from QDAS users on one or more of the following themes:

• big data and text mining
• compatibility across QDAS packages
• cloud-based platforms
• data security
• digital archiving
• data archives
• fully equipped software versus light versions
• open access/open source
• user-friendliness of software

For a selection of papers presented at the conference it will be possible to submit an extended version for publication in a special journal issue.

Organisation
The conference will be organized by KWALON (www.kwalon.nl), the Dutch network for qualitative research in conjunction with the Criminology Department of the School of Law of Erasmus University Rotterdam (www.esl.eur.nl/home ). The programme committee consists of Jeanine Evers (KWALON and Erasmus School of Law), Franciska de  Jong (Erasmus Studio, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands; www.eur.nl/erasmusstudio ) and Trena Paulus (Qualitative Research Program, Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy, University of Georgia, US;  https://coe.uga.edu/academics/degrees/phd/qualitative-research ).

Requirements for paper proposal
Your paper proposal should meet the following requirements:

• State clearly which theme(s) the paper will address and summarize the main points relevant to the theme that will be dealt with;
• Address both the chances and the challenges you see for QDAS regarding this theme, based on your own experiences with software use;
• Maximum length of 1500 words;
• Submit proposals to: kwalon@eversresearch.nl by November 15, 2015.

Please note the dates for the conference in your calendar: 25 and 26 of August, 2016.

Hope to see you in Rotterdam!