INSIDE ATLAS.ti - February 2015
Dear ATLAS.ti users,
With this winter dragging on in Berlin, I'm really looking forward to the summer. And with good reason: The ATLAS.ti User Conference is coming up in August!
In this month's newsletter, we will take a look back at how the first conference came into being in 2013 as well as a look forward at what you can expect from this year's events.
This year's theme is "Qualitative Data Research and Beyond," and we are already looking forward to hearing what in creative ways you are putting ATLAS.ti to good use in your research and work.
I remember fondly how we invited you to our first conference in Berlin. We had planned three days of intensive discussions about methodology, technology, practical applications, and theoretical considerations around qualitative data analysis with ATLAS.ti. We were ever so thrilled that attendees from more than twenty countries and four continents followed our invitation and gathered together to shine a spotlight on how our software impacts you.
Meeting the people who are using ATLAS.ti is always a great inspiration to the entire team here in Berlin and our trainers and consultants all over the world. With this second conference we want to continue what we hope will become a cherished tradition in fostering an interdisciplinary and cross-border dialog.
I hope to see many of you between August 26 and 28. Feel free to register already here.
Kind regards,
Jörg Hecker
Director of Business Operations
ATLAS.ti
NEWS
ATLAS.ti is the 2015 Platinum Sponsor of IIQM Educational Activities and Events
ATLAS.ti and the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (IIQM), based at the University of Alberta, Canada, have taken a step forward in strengthening an already productive partnership. ATLAS.ti sponsors a $ 3,000 cash price for each of the two annual winners along with a free software license and a training session. As such, ATLAS.ti is the 2015 Platinum Sponsor for all IIQM international educational activities and events. This involves ATLAS.ti support of the following:
The traveling Thinking Qualitatively Workshop Series (TQ2U). In 2015, the series will hold workshops in the UK, in the cities Dublin, Glasgow, and Manchester. March 16th-24th. Find more information here.
The Qualitative Methods Conference. This conference will take place this year in Melbourne, Australia. April 28th-30th. More information can be found here.
The Thinking Qualitatively Workshop Series. This workshop program is held in Edmonton, Canada. June 13th-19th. More information can be found here.
The Qualitative Health Research Conference. This year, the conference will be held in Toronto, Canada. October 19th-21st. More information can be found here.
The Qualitative Methods Master Class Webinar Series. In monthly webinars, renowned researchers and methodologists from around the world discuss their latest research and insights on qualitative methodology. See the webinar schedule and register here.
The ATLAS.ti-IIQM Dissertation Awards. Twice a year, a $ 3000 cash award is given to the best doctoral dissertations and master's theses employing qualitative research methods by ATLAS.ti together with a free license of the software and a training session. More information can found here.
This involvement in sponsoring the educational activities and events of IIQM, one of the world's leading institutions in the field of qualitative research, illustrates ATLAS.ti's commitment to the international development of qualitative methodology and across disciplines.
FREE group introductory webinars
These customized webinars are ideal for groups in process of evaluating ATLAS.ti, professors who want to introduce the software to their students, or people who would like us to give an overview of ATLAS.ti at professional conferences. Groups are invited to share their individual requirements and expectations so we can tailor the webinar to their needs. Please complete this registration form.
FREE introductory webinars
About once a week, we teach webinars that provide interested individuals with an overview of ATLAS.ti Windows and Mac. To join one of the next webinars, select the date of your choice and register here.
FREE Special Topics Webinars
Register for our webinars on specific tools and procedures with ATLAS.ti. Through these events, we explain how to approach coding, the use of surveys in ATLAS.ti, how to make the best use of visualization tools, analysis and output tools, and the team work process. Select the webinar of your choice and register here.
FREE Video Tutorials
Our video tutorials teach you how to use the different functions of ATLAS.ti Windows and Mac, from setting up a project to producing outputs. Access our video library here.
Premium courses: Online introductory Courses and Advanced Courses
In our premium online introductory courses, our instructors teach you how to implement an analysis project with ATLAS.ti the right way, avoiding unnecessary mistakes. In our advanced courses, which are taught by Dr. Susanne Friese, we help you move beyond coding into analysis and interpretation of the data. For more information, visit our Premium training website page.
Face-to-Face Courses
Face-to-face courses are taught in different cities throughout the world. For more information, visit premium.atlasti.com and atlasti.com/training/training-from-consultants
On-Site Courses
We can tailor a course exactly to your needs and teach it at your organization. Contact us for more information.
For all inquiries, please contact us at training@support.atlasti.com or call us to +1 541 286 4391 (U.S. Pacific Time).
FEATURE ARTICLE
A Look Back and a Look Forward: ATLAS.ti User Conference 2015
"Let's do this again!" That was the tenor when the international delegation of users, trainers, consultants, and developers parted ways after the inaugural ATLAS.ti User Conference in 2013. Attendees had travelled from all corners of the world - from twenty countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe - for three days of intensive discussions about methodology, technology, practical applications, and theoretical considerations centered around qualitative data analysis with ATLAS.ti.
This year, from August 26 to August 28, we are doing it again: The ATLAS.ti User Conference goes into the next round.
Before we look forward, let us take a look back. The conference was the brainchild of expert trainer Dr. Susanne Friese who wanted to create an inspiring environment that would allow attendees to (1) meet and exchange experiences with fellow ATLAS.ti users, (2) foster a healthy debate among ATLAS.ti trainers and consultants around training issues, and (3) shape the future of the software through open dialog with ATLAS.ti's developers.
She says: "I was asked to write a few words about how and why the idea for an ATLAS.ti conference was born. Reflecting on it, I was reminded about a recent "serendipity." I was searching for data of a study I had conducted in 1992 and looked through my old computer backups. I found a backup from 2003 and to my surprise all files still fit on a single CD ROM! Incidentally, I also found our first ideas for an ATLAS.ti conference - the Atcon 2000:
5.01.2000, 11:16: The 10th anniversary of Project ATLAS, whose spin-off product was the software package ATLAS.ti, has just been celebrated. ATLAS (Archive for Technology, Lived experiences, and AlltagsSprache, 1989-1992) was one of the most successful interdisciplinary research projects at Technical University of Berlin. Initiated by the Department of Psychology (Prof. Dr. Dr. Heiner Legewie) the project entailed close interaction between computer scientists, psychologists, linguists, and future users. At the end of the project, from 1993 onwards, the software continued to be developed and enhanced into its current format by its creator, Thomas Muhr, responding to a continuing dialogue between user and developer.
The user group has been growing steadily and today the software is being used all over the world by many major institutions and individuals engaged in qualitative research. So far, the email discussion group has been the only place where ATLAS.ti users could meet, exchange and develop ideas, seek help and share their experiences. We thought that it was time after 10 years to create an opportunity for users to leave cyberspace and to meet in real time at the birth place of ATLAS.ti in Berlin, Germany, at the ATCON 2000. We thereby extend a cordial invitation…..
There is nothing much to add to this text. Thomas Muhr and the ATLAS.ti project has always fostered dialogue between developers and users. With growth and increasing professionalization there is naturally more distance today and therefore it becomes even more important to create a space where people can meet in person to discuss issues and to exchange ideas. So I took up the idea again (as obviously there was no Atcon in the year 2000) and this time I pushed it so it actually became reality in the summer of 2013.
Personally, I am a trainer, consultant and teacher by heart, but also an academic. This, I guess, partly influenced the format. A great number of ATLAS.ti users are also academics and part of what they do is conduct research, go to conferences, present their research, write papers, and publish them. Often the question is posed: 'Can you recommend studies in my research area that have used ATLAS.ti (and have described how they have used it)?' The answer is: Yes, there are studies that mention their use of ATLAS.ti - but within the format of a paper there is little room to include a lengthy methodology section and to explain how the software was used. Thus, from research papers we learn little on how ATLAS.ti was implemented.
This I wanted to change. The focus of the conference presentations is on how ATLAS.ti is used, and the conference proceedings over time will hopefully turn into a nice collection of papers that users can consult if they want to learn about the various usages and implementations of ATLAS.ti (in addition to providing an opportunity for attendees to add another publication to their CV)."
The first volume of papers that discuss how ATLAS.ti is being used in concrete research examples is published with the Universitätsverlag of the Technical University Berlin and can be accessed here.
The 2013 ATLAS.ti User Conference
A keynote speech by Nicholas Woolf, ATLAS.ti trainer and consultant who coaches researchers on their projects, started things off. It was dedicated to the topic of "How To Use ATLAS.ti Powerfully" and dealt with the question how researchers can use the program throughout each project from start to finish without sacrificing the emergent nature of qualitative research. It set the tone for the conference with high profile speakers from the international ATLAS.ti research community that hosted research presentations, workshops and interactive roundtables.
The topics that threaded through the fabric of the conference were community, methods and teaching, and new formats:
Community : As the Director of Training and Partnership Development, Ricardo Contreras gave a glimpse of his behind-the-scenes work at ATLAS.ti where he had been developing - and continues to develop - innovative approaches to foster community among ATLAS.ti researchers and instructors.
Methods & Teaching : The manifest objective of the conference was to "foster dialog on qualitative methods". University professors,instructors as well as students shared their take on the challenges of using ATLAS.ti for different approaches. From coding relatively standardized documents using a pre-existing code scheme to more emergent processes which involved extensive memo-ing at the outset, the research examples ran the entire gamut. Ricardo Contreras and Jeanine Evers gave practical workshops on their teaching experiences with special considerations for integrating ATLAS.ti in the classroom as well as teaching across cultures.
New Formats : We had just launched ATLAS.ti Mobile, apps for iPhone and iOS and Android tablets, and Dr. Susanne Friese demonstrated how these new tools allow data collection and coding on the go. Friedrich Markgraf, lead developer for ATLAS.ti Mobile, sat in on the session and welcomed feedback.
In their conference report, attendees and speakers Jeanine Evers and Christina Silver highlighted the importance of "(b)ringing together developers and users of qualitative software (as) useful not only in sharing methodological and practical experiences and their implication on teaching, but also in considering future developments. Indeed, the ATLAS.ti development team were was? present throughout, and expressed genuine interest in users' needs in contributing to future developmental direction." You can read the full article here.
The 2015 ATLAS.ti User Conference: An Outlook
The 2015 User Conference will take place in ATLAS.ti's 's birth place again. While the last one took place at the Technical University Berlin, this year we invite you to the Abion Spreebogen Waterside Hotel in Berlin.
The hotel is located in Berlin between Mitte and Tiergarten, a very attractive location on the banks of the Spree River. From here, you can reach all the city's highlights within minutes or you can explore Berlin's waterways starting from the hotel's own pier, where ships take passengers through the region's canals and rivers.
On behalf of everyone at ATLAS.ti, Susanne Friese looks forward to another inspiring conference: "A lot of things were already done right at the first conference. The atmosphere was great, the setting invited small group discussions and exchange beyond the more formal conference sessions, exactly as I was hoping for.
This video shares a few conference moments.
What has changed this year is the venue. In order to concentrate more on content, we decided to "outsource" organizational issues and therefore, this year the conference takes place in a hotel. As last year, we will have one big room with cabaret seating where all delegates can meet and a number of smaller rooms. Food and beverages will be provided (and included in the conference fee) so that there will be room and time for informal meetings to discuss professional issues or just to get to know fellow ATLAS.ti users on a more personal level.
If you want to publish in the conference proceedings, this time we will ask you to submit your full paper after the conference (rather than before) as last time most people wanted to revise their paper based on what they have learned and discussed at the conference.
Once again I would like to include a pecha kucha session as it was well received and everyone was surprised how much and how well one can get across the major message of a paper in just 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Therefore, I would like to encourage everyone to accept the challenge and to submit an idea for a pecha kucha presentation. In addition to the audience - who I am sure of will be appreciating this format again - all presenters will be rewarded with a little something special. Last time, presenters received Swiss chocolates. This year…. well, you will have to come, present and see!"
Submit Your Paper!
Are you an ATLAS.ti trainer or consultant? Do you work on interesting research projects with ATLAS.ti and would like to share your experience with the ATLAS.ti community? We welcome your paper submission. Please fill out the abstract submission form.
The theme for this year's conference is Qualitative Data Analysis and Beyond.
These are the central themes for discussion:
Qualitative Data Analysis and Beyond - ATLAS.ti is a tool that can be used for applications beyond traditional qualitative data analysis. For example, students might use the program to take notes in class and organize those notes through coding; people working on a thesis (qualitative or not) can use it for doing their literature reviews; people working in planning or program evaluation can take advantage of the concept mapping features; professors may use it to teach any kind of courses that require a tool to organize material. We use it to organize and evaluate the submitted abstracts for the conference. Tell us how you are using ATLAS.ti beyond traditional qualitative data analysis.
Doing Research with ATLAS.ti - We also invite all of you who use ATLAS.ti for traditional qualitative data analysis to submit an abstract on their research project. The focus should be on the use of ATLAS.ti throughout the research process - starting with data collection, e.g. by using ATLAS.ti mobile, transcription, coding and further analysis. Further we are interested on papers that discuss the analysis of various data types (text, image, audio, video, geo data) and on issues related to assuring quality criteria and how you reported and presented your findings.
Methods and Methodologies - ATLAS.ti users come from a multiplicity of academic disciplines, use the software to research a variety of subject-matters, and approach their analysis guided by different methodological traditions within the qualitative paradigm. What are you studying with the aid of ATLAS.ti? What methodologies and subsequently methods are guiding your research? How does your disciplinary background shape the way you approach data analysis with ATLAS.ti? Tell us about your experience.
Teaching Qualitative Methods - Are you teaching a qualitative method class including the use of ATLAS.ti as an analysis tool? We invite you to share your experience, the do's and the don'ts, the successes and failures, and anecdotes and outcomes.
Please fill out the abstract submission form.
In addition to the regular conference sessions, we will offer a number of short workshops on special topics like photo voice, video analysis, or doing a literature review with ATLAS.ti. And last but not least, you will be among the first to see the brand new ATLAS.ti version 8.
Long story short: We'd love for you to join us in Berlin this coming summer. Register here!
FROM THE BLOG
Teaching Qualitative Research Methods with ATLAS.ti: Beyond Data Analysis
To round out this month's newsletter, we would like to share one of the articles from our increasingly popularATLAS.ti Blog.
The article "Teaching Qualitative Research Methods with ATLAS.ti: Beyond Data Analysis" aims at motivating professors to incorporate ATLAS.ti into their teaching curriculum in universities. It shares the authors' perspective on how to use ATLAS.ti in teaching university courses in different areas.
Abstract: During the spring, summer and fall 2013 semesters, graduate students in qualitative methods courses were required to use ATLAS.ti as a project management tool for their semester's work in order to develop the skills they would need to continue its use during the thesis phase of their programs. In these courses students are typically engaged in independent field work projects, in which they are reviewing the literature, collecting data, transcribing, and/or engaging in data analysis. Each of these phases were conducted within ATLAS.ti and shared with the instructor at regular intervals throughout the semester for feedback. By introducing ATLAS.ti during coursework, positioning it as a project management tool in addition to a data analysis tool, and supporting students' early experiences with its use, we anticipate that these novice researchers will be more likely to continue using the tool to support their work. Best practices recommendations include: providing adequate access and technical support, balancing methodological and technical instruction, creating meaningful student assignments, and providing effective feedback.
Trena M. Paulus, Ph.D., is a Professor of Qualitative Research at the University of Georgia in the College of Education. She holds her M.S. and Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Ohio University. Her research interests include digital tools for qualitative research and the application of conversation and discourse analysis methodologies to online talk.
Ann M. Bennett is a doctoral candidate in Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee. She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science, a B.A. in Classics, and an M.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on the use of anti-deficit frameworks to develop counter-narratives surrounding literacy achievement in impoverished and urban areas.
Read the full article online on the ATLAS.ti Blog.
