The Fieldwork and Qualitative Data Laboratory offers training in the collection, management, and analysis of qualitative data.  We encourage the complementary use of qualitative and quantitative data, help investigators integrate both forms of data in their research, and are working to develop new strategies for the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Laboratory staff are available to train researchers to conduct systematic and effective fieldwork.  Topics include: ethnographic methods, qualitative interviewing skills, fieldnotes, focus groups, research design, techniques for eliciting cognitive domains, doing thematic analysis, and coding fieldnotes and other qualitative data.

Staff are prepared to help researchers with exploratory, discovery, verification, and confirmatory analysis of qualitative data. Analysis techniques include coding text, measuring intercoder reliability, and exploring conceptual themes. Staff are also familiar with other analytical techniques including cultural domain analysis, ethnographic decision tree modeling, and consensus and network analysis. Effective ways to present qualitative data are also covered. Both IBM and Macintosh-based platforms and software are available in the laboratory.