Tool: ATLAS.ti

Information adapted from ATLAS.ti website

What is ATLAS.ti?

ATLAS.ti is a software workbench that helps you perform qualitative analysis on large amounts of text, graphics, audio, or video. ATLAS.ti supports a wide range of data formats, including most common text formats (including .txt, .doc., .docx, and .pdf), “dozens” of graphic and audio formats including .wav and .mp3, and many common video formats. You can also import data from Twitter or Evernote, surveys, or a reference manager.

What can ATLAS.ti help you do?

ATLAS.ti lets you code, link, and visualize your data. It claims several unique features, including an interactive margin area, and a quotation level tool which “offers an analytic level below coding and better supports inductive, interpretive research approaches like grounded theory, hermeneutic, discourse analysis, sociology of knowledge, or phenomenology”. You can read more about what ATLAS.ti offers here.

How do you get it?

The Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC) has ATLAS.ti installed on the Winstat computer, and SSCC offers limited support. You can download ATLAS.ti from its website for a fee. More information about the cost of obtaining ATLAS.ti can be found here.

What else should you know?

The website offers a number of tools to get you started. You can download user manuals and how-to documents for features like sharing a project with a team, there are video tutorials on topics such as coding and creating outputs, and there’s even a library of articles from  ATLAS.ti users on a variety of topics. The ATLAS.ti Research Blog is another helpful resource.