Codebook Features

Central to the tasks facilitated by the Ethnonotes system is the code system around which an understanding of the data will be based.  Code systems should be structured, include clear code definition and description, and be flexible and open to modification as a project evolves (Miles & Huberman, 1994).  Ethnonote codebook features include mechanisms for creating new codes and hierarchical organizations of codes, layouts for documenting full definitions, descriptions, and exemplars of codes, and scripts for viewing and printing the codebook information (see Figure 4).  The records within the 'Keywords' file are drawn upon in generating the drop-down menus used in data coding and searching.  As records are added to or deleted from this file, the drop-down menus are dynamically updated.