Stop Word Lists

Stop word lists are collections of commonly used words, such as definite and indefinite articles, conjunctions, or numerals. Such words are usually redundant elements when analyzing a text, since they do not carry much meaning. For that reason, it is advisable to exclude them from the analysis. MAXQDA allows you to create as many stop word lists as you’d like, as well as to edit and manage them.

By default, each newly created MAXQDA project contains predefined stop word lists for different languages, e.g., English, German, and Spanish.

The stop word list window

To manage the stop word lists open MAXDictio > Stop Word Lists.

The following window will open:

The stop word list window

The Stop Word Lists window is divided into two sections:

• Left side – Stop Word Lists: This pane displays all available stop word lists grouped into two categories:
  • Current project: MAXQDA saves these lists in the project file, so they stay available when you open the project on another computer or share it with collaborators.
  • In all projects: MAXQDA stores these lists locally on your device. You can access them in any project on the same computer, but they won’t travel with the project file.
• Right side – Excluded Words: This pane displays the words included in the currently selected stop word list. From here, you can:
  • Add new words to the list using the Add Word button.
  • Remove words with the Delete Word button.
  • Search within the list using the magnifying glass.

  The list of excluded words is always displayed in alphabetical order.

Creating a new stop word list

To create a new stop word list in your current project, click the icon in the left pane, as shown below.

MAXQDA adds a new list under "Current project" and automatically opens it in the right pane. By default, it's named "New list." If a list with that name already exists, a sequential number is added.

You can rename the list immediately: double click its name to activate editing mode, or right-click it and select Rename.

The new list is now ready for you to add and manage the words you'd like to exclude from analysis.

Adding a comment to your list

When creating a list, you can add comments to document its purpose, such as the criteria used to build it or the type of text it was designed for.

To add a comment, hover over a list's name and click the Comment icon that appears (see image below).

• Clicking the icon opens a comment field for your notes. Click OK to save or Cancel to discard.
• After saving, you can hover over it to see a preview of the comment.
• To edit or delete the comment, click the icon again.

Adding new words to a stop word list

There are several ways to add words to your stop word list, depending on where you are in MAXQDA:

• Directly in the stop word list window: Select the list you want to edit. Then click the Add Word button at the top right, or type directly into the editable field labeled New Entry… that appears in the list itself. Press Enter to add the word. You can repeat this process to add as many words as you like.
• From a word frequency list: If you're working with a word frequency list, double-click the green icon next to a word to add it to your active stop word list. To add several words at once, highlight them and click the Add to stop word list icon in the toolbar.
• From other MAXQDA tools: In tools like the Word Cloud, right-click on a word and choose Add to stop word list to exclude it directly from there.

Keep in mind:

• Words are automatically sorted in alphabetical order.
• Duplicate entries won't be added again.
• You can include word combinations, like "Nelson Mandela" or "Rosa Parks."
• Stop word lists are only case-sensitive if the specific function you’re using has case sensitivity enabled. If not, words will be matched regardless of capitalization.

Managing stop word lists

To manage a stop word list, right-click the list name to access a menu with various options.

Copy to Other List — Copy all words from the selected list into another list in your project.

Save as Global List — Save a list "In all project" to use it across projects on the same device.

Export — Save the list as a TXT file (UTF-8) to archive or edit it outside of MAXQDA.

Duplicate — Make a full copy of the list, useful for testing changes without altering the original.

Rename — Click to rename the list. You can also click the list name twice (slowly) to edit it directly.

Delete — Remove the list from your project. This action can't be undone, so be sure before confirming.

Using stop word lists across projects

If you have created a stop word list locally and would like to use it in other projects, you can move it to the "In All Projects" section. Doing so will make it accessible in other projects on the same device.

To reuse a stop word list in another project, simply move it between the Current Project and In All Projects sections using drag and drop.

Alternatively, you can also right-click a list and choose Save as Global List from the context menu. In both cases, the list will be copied (not moved) to the selected section.

Merging stop word lists

If you're working with multiple stop word lists, like one for articles and another for conjunctions, you can merge them into a single list to keep things organized. This is especially useful if you've created modular lists for different use cases and want to combine them for broader analysis.

Here's how to copy the contents of one list into another:

1. Right-click the stop word list you want to copy from.
2. Select Copy to Other List from the context menu.
3. Choose the target list from the list that appears.

MAXQDA will display a confirmation message before merging lists. If you confirm, all words from the source list will be added to the target list, and any duplicates will be automatically skipped.

Exporting and printing stop word lists

You can export stop word lists as files to edit, print, or archive in other programs. To do this, you can either:

• Right-click on a stop word list and select Export,
• or click the Export icon in the top toolbar to begin exporting the currently displayed stop word list.

Next, provide a name and location for the file in the dialog window. MAXQDA will export the list in TXT format (UTF-8), allowing you to edit and print it using any text editing or word processing program or Excel.

Download pre-configured stop word lists

We provide pre-configured stop word lists including the following subcategories: auxiliaries, prepositions, interjections, numerals, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, particles (only available in German), 100 most common words in the respective language.

You can either download a combined list containing all subcategories (excluding the 100 most common words) here:

Download stop word list (English) Download stop word list (German)

Download stop word list (Spanish) Download stop word list (Italian)

Download stop word list (Portuguese)

Or you can download a zip file including single files for each subcategory here:

Download zip file (English) Download zip file (German)

Download zip file (Spanish) Download zip file (Italian)

Download zip file (Portuguese)