Common Support Solutions

Terminology

Source

A source is a body of data such as field notes, the transcript of an interview, a videotape, a graphic image, or an audio recording. Each data file is treated by Qualrus as a separate source, and a single study may have many sources, including very large text, video, graphics, or audio files.

Segment

A segment is a contiguous section of a source that is coded by the researcher. Often, it represents a coherent concept. Segments can overlap one another or be nested within one another two or more levels deep.

Code

Codes are summary categories the researcher uses to classify different segments. Every project has a list of the possible codes that may be applied, such as "freshman" or "negative attitude".

Getting Started

• It's important to organize your Qualrus project correctly from the start. First, decide where you are going to save your project files. In this folder, create a subfolder called "sources" and copy all of your source files there. It is important that you do not edit or move your source files once you start coding them in Qualrus. This will corrupt your coding.
• Also, consider how your sources themselves are organized. Generally, it is easier to use many smaller sources than one big source. For example, if you are coding 20 interviews, it is easier to put each interview in a separate source, instead of cramming them all into one document. This will allow the program to run faster, while increasing your options for analysis.
• You will also want to plan on backing up your project often. This means using the export function. See instructions for using this function below.
• Think about how you will set up your coding structure before you start. Consider how you will analyze the data and make sure to code accordingly. Don't just assume you'll be able to pull out the data you want without organizing your codes correctly. If you have questions about coding structure, please contact us and we can help get your pointed in the right direction.

I can't input a source. What do I do?

Solution #1: Location, location, location.

All Qualrus source files must be located locally. What this means is that you cannot pull a source from off of the network, or from any type of removable media.

To save your sources locally:

1. Open the folder that contains your source document.
Copy (or cut) the source document.
2. Paste the source document into a folder on your computer. We recommend that you copy the source into a folder called "sources" inside the folder your Qualrus project files are saved.
3. From there you can add those documents to Qualrus as a source (Sources-->Add existing source-->Find file-->Open).

Solution #2: Pay attention to format.

Qualrus accepts sources in many formats; however, there are some formats that Qualrus can not accept. Qualrus accepts the following formats:

• Text sources: .txt, .rtf
• Picture sources: .bmp, .jpg
• Video sources: .avi, .mpeg, .mpg, .wmv, .m1v, .mpe, .mp4
• Audio sources: .aif, .aifc, .aiff, .asf, .au, .wma, .midi, .mid, .mpa, .wav, .mp3, .snd, .rmi
• HTML sources: .htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml, .shtm, .shtml

There are a couple of common file types that Qualrus does not support: .pdf and .doc. You will need convert documents in these formats into a .txt or .rtf file before bringing them into Qualrus.

How do I move my project to another computer? How do I backup my project?

One of the most important things to learn in Qualrus is how to export your project. Exporting creates an exact copy of all your project files and sources files. We recommend you export your project often as a method of backing up your project. The technique can also be used if you'd like to work on your Qualrus project on different computers.

To export:

1. Open the most up to date version of your Qualrus project.
2. Click "File-->Export-->All project files".
3. A box will pop up asking where you want to save the project. This will create a folder that has the same name as what you type in the box for the file name. This folder will include all of the Qualrus project files and all of the sources. Save this folder temporarily on the desktop or in a backup folder.
4. If you're exporting your project in order to back it up, you may want to name each exported project something slightly different, like "My Project June 12" so you can keep multiple backups.

Using the categorize tool

In the drop down menu near the top of the Categorize tab, select "All Segments".

In the right, you will see all of your segments in the "Workspace". These are the "Sheets". For each sheet, you can click the tabs and see the text, source info, codes applied to the segment, and in which stacks the segment belongs.

Let's create a stack. In the upper left window, if you hover over the first icon, it will say "New Stack". Click that icon.

Now you have a new stack. You can click where it says "Stack 1" under the icon, and you can rename the stack.

Now, let's put some sheets in a stack. You will notice that in the lower left, there is a box that says "Stack 1" or the new name of your stack. Drag one of the yellow icons (sheets) from the right ("workspace") into the empty box under where it says "Stack 1" in the lower left.

Drag as many other icons into the stack that seem like they would be in the same category. Now you have a stack.

In the lower left box, you can select any code from your project from the drop down menu. You can then click the rubber stamp to apply that code to all of the sheets within that stack. To do this, you may need to open the code editor and create the code that you want to apply if that code does not yet exist. You can also delete the selected code from the stack by selecting a code from the list and clicking the second icon.

Now, let's assume you want to look at segments that are only in a list (not all the segments).

1. First, you've have to create a list. The easiest way to make a list is to do a QTools-->Search about what you are interested in (all segments containing a certain word, for instance). Then in the QTools "File" menu, you can click "Save to - List". Give the list a name.
2. Now go to the categorize tab within the QTools menu. In the upper left drop down box, you should see your new list. Select that list and then only the segments that comprise that list will be shown in the the "workspace" to your right.
3. Follow the instructions above to continue working with the categorize tool.