In this video tutorial, we will show you how to analyze survey data with MAXQDA, including responses to open-ended and closed-ended questions.
To analyze the survey data in MAXQDA, we must first import it correctly. We have three options for this: We can import the data from an Excel table, import survey data directly from our SurveyMonkey account, or import SPSS files into MAXQDA, in case we have worked with purely quantitative data.
If we import the survey data from an Excel table into MAXQDA, the Excel table must have the following format: In the header row of the first column, there is the ID or name of the respondent. The header rows of the other columns are named after the questions. If we want to assign the individual respondents or cases to specific document groups, we can also do this via an additional column with the title “Document Group”. We can now import the formatted Excel file directly into MAXQDA. This will create a separate document for each person in the dataset. Here at the top, we can specify which column contains the information for the document group and the document name. There are two options for handling the answers: The answer can be added to the document as text and automatically coded with the question, which is usually desirable for open-ended questions and enables further qualitative analysis of the data. Or the answer is imported as a document variable, for example, if it concerns the age or place of residence of a respondent. This data can then be used to group and filter for further mixed-methods functions and statistical analyses.
We now determine the variable type for the variables. MAXQDA makes suggestions based on the data here. After clicking “OK”, the Excel table is now imported. In the document system, the individual cases can now be found as separate documents. If I open a document, I see the answers to the open-ended questions as text, coded with the question itself. And a new code was created in the code system for each question with open-ended answers.
The standardized answers are found as variables and can be displayed and edited in the Data Editor for Document Variables.
We can now analyze our imported survey by clicking the “Analyze” button next to the survey in the document window. Alternatively, we can click “Analyze Survey Data” in the “Analysis” window and then drag one of the codes for the answers into this window and click “OK”. In this window, our questions are displayed on the left, the codes on the right, and, in the case of open-ended questions, the respective answers to the selected question in the middle. We can also use this button to display the remaining codes in our code system. We can adapt the code system throughout the analysis process. We can search for keywords in the answers using the search function and autocode them, autocode using a dictionary, or use existing codes from the code system to differentiate the overarching codes of the questions with subcodes. All changes are also saved immediately as codings in our MAXQDA project. So we can interrupt and resume our work at any time. Furthermore, we can write comments in the comment column for individual segments, in which we can, for example, summarize long answers or record ideas and notes.
Using this button here, we can also have the sentiment of the respective answer evaluated. This automatically assesses whether content is to be classified as negative, neutral, or positive. The survey responses can then be autocoded according to their sentiment. MAXQDA uses a lexicon to determine sentiment, which contains a sentiment for each registered word. This value is negative for negatively connoted words, close to zero for neutral words, and positive for positively connoted words.
If we click on a quantitative, i.e., a closed-ended question, statistical information and visualizations for this variable will be displayed in the middle of the Survey Analysis Workspace. By default, we are initially shown diagrams, but we can also switch to a list view here. We can customize the design of the diagrams here at the top and, for example, change the diagram type and assign a new color scheme. And, of course, we can easily export both the diagrams and the tables.
