Jeremy Shtern has asked that I forward this announcement to the list. Note that Jeremy did not give me the exact starting times. Contact him directly at the address at the bottom of the message. Qualrus Qualitative Analysis Software I Wed. Oct 15 (morning) [pay what you can]. Organizer: Ed Brent, Professor of Sociology Missouri Univeristy, IdeaWorks. The morning portion of this workshop will give an overview of the qualitative analysis program, Qualrus, followed by hands-on demonstrations of key features, with a special emphasis on applications to Internet research. Example applications to be discussed include the analysis of open-ended responses in Internet surveys, the use of Qualrus to parse input for interactive natural language web interfaces, and strategies for automating or semi-automating the coding of text with scripts. Qualrus is easy to use because it was designed with the advice of internationally respected qualitative researcher, Howard Becker, relying on the concepts and methods from the qualitative literature and with careful attention to making the interface similar to familiar programs. It is more powerful because it uses intelligent computational strategies to do more for the researcher at each of the three major stages of qualitative research: coding, analysis, and application. Qualrus provides a wide range of tools to support diverse coding styles in addition to the customary coding of successive segments one at a time. Qualrus' categorizing tool (based on Howard Becker's preferred coding method) lets researchers sort segments into stacks and then apply codes to the entire stack simultaneously-supporting diverse research styles and emphasizing emerging concepts. A graphical interface displays standard and user-defined relations among codes in a semantic network. That network is then used to facilitate reasoning by the program. Qualrus also uses intelligent computational strategies to identify patterns in data, suggest codes to users, and learn from user responses, providing more intelligent help as the coding progresses. Researchers can code independently, with computer-assistance, or even apply codes automatically, at their own discretion-in some cases achieving dramatic gains in coding speed and accuracy. The automatic comparison of codes assigned by coders with those recommended by the program provides an ongoing measure of coding consistency throughout the project. Qualrus offers a range of tools specifically designed for the common tasks of qualitative research. Concept formation and the emergence of categories from the data are facilitated by the categorizing tool, while other tools help researchers identify codes that are good candidates for generalization or refinement. Still other tools compute commonly used summary statistics, perform Boolean searches, and test hypotheses. These diverse tools are designed to support many different styles of research. Multimedia support is included for text, rich text, and a wide variety of video, audio, and graphics formats. Results can be saved to HTML reports, and data can be both imported and exported to spreadsheets and statistical programs. Qualrus' powerful scripting language permits users to adapt the program to their own research style and to a wide range of practical applications. The versatility of this scripting language is illustrated by two specialized applications of Qualrus to non-traditional qualitative analysis tasks of grading essays for an introductory college-level course, and conducting a literature review. Qualrus Qualitative Analysis Software II Wed. Oct 15 (afternoon) [pay what you can] Organizer: Ed Brent, Professor of Sociology Missouri Univeristy, IdeaWorks With the byDesign eLab and eCommons/agora and McLuhan global research network: Dr Liss Jeffrey, with Jeremy Shtern, Univerity of Montreal, Christie Hurrell, York Ryerson Communication and Culture, Elic Chan, Sociology, University of Toronto. The afternoon portion of this workshop will extend and explore the functions and application of Qualrus with respect to a recent national e-governance consultation. Analysts from the Foreign Policy Dialogue/ Dialogue Politique Etrangere ( www.foreign-policy-dialogue.ca ) will present a case study on the uses of Qualrus for an online consultation.=20 This Dialogue is worth examination for at least four primary reasons: Linkage between government and civil society. The electronic side of the Dialogue was developed and hosted through a partnership between a civil society network (led by the byDesign eLab) and the Canadian Centre for Foreign Policy Development (CCFPD) at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Internatinal Trade (DFAIT). Innovation with new media in digital democracy. No national government had ever before invited its citizens to take part in the shaping of foreign policy online, normally considered the exclusive preserve of a small elite. The Foreign Affairs Minister, backed by the Prime Minister's Office, was instrumental in this process. Historical coincidence with major world events. The Iraq situation became a focal issue in the foreign policy concerns of most citizens, dominating media, public and government agendas, with significant impacts on the response to the invitation to shape longer range policies online. Ecology of information and communications media channels. The Foreign Policy Dialogue featured multiple tracks (including Minister's Town Halls, responses by regular mail, MP consultations, Expert round tables, a Youth forum, the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary subcommittee ) thus permitting some understanding of the contemporary practices of citizen and government policy dialogue, and the potential and actual uses of an ecology of channels of democratic discourse. This half of the workshop will report on the uses of these methods, notably the incorporation of Qualrus in the data analysis and reporting process. If eConsultation is to make a difference to democracy, then it is necessary to answer the question: How can policy relevant advice be extracted from the Internet-mediated communication of the public in a large scale consultation? In the course of this online consultation, thousands of Canadian citizens electronically provided their input into the process of foreign affairs policy formation through e-mails, answers to questions posed by the Minister, and discussion forums. To meet the challenge of analysis, the Foreign policy dialogue civil society partnership team used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. This workshop will report on the uses of these methods, notably the incorporation of Qualrus in the data analysis and reporting process. This seminar is about research, NOT just about technology. Morning and Daylong Qualrus workshops are taking place at: 40 St George Street, Bahen Building, University of Toronto, Bell University Labs BA 7256=20 (Just north of College Street on St George). Directions: walk down from St George subway station or walk along College Street to St george and turn north. Researchers are welcome, especially graduate students. For further information please contact Jeremy Shtern: jeremy@ecommons.net