Various – my expertise lies in facilitating researchers harness MAXQDA whatever their methodology.

I provide consulting services for teams and individuals in harnessing MAXQDA powerfully. I provide both face-to-face and remote consultation (via Skype or GoToMeeting). Some examples of the types of consultation in harnessing MAXQDA that I routinely provide are: Project planning and research design – working with groups and individuals to determine how to structure their work in MAXQDA to get the most out of the software in their given context. Mixing methods – working with groups to plan how to integrate qualitative and quantitative materials, as well as how to transform qualitative information into quantitative information, with a view to applying statistical analyses in other software (e.g. SPSS). Planning for your PhD – working with doctoral students to highlight how MAXQDA can help them project manage their PhD. Planning for team work – working with research teams to highlight the considerations applicable when working together on a single project using MAXQDA.

Sociology. I manage the CAQDAS Networking Project, based in the Department of Sociology in the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, for which I lead the training and capacity building activities. The project provides information, advice and training in a range of software packages designed to facilitate the analysis of qualitative data, including MAXQDA. I am also co-director of the University of Surrey’s Day Courses in Social Research programme and the co-founder of Qualitative Data Analysis Services (QDAS), which provides customised consultancy services for individuals and groups engaged in qualitative analysis. My particular interests relate to the relationship between technology and methodology and the teaching of computer-assisted analysis. I have experience in using MAXQDA for a range of types of projects, across academic disciplines, and in applied, government and commercial contexts. My training focusses on harnessing MAXQDA powerfully, whatever your data and methodology and I share with workshop participants examples from my own research using MAXQDA to illustrate the range of ways the software can be used.

Silver C, & Woolf, N (2015) “From guided instruction to facilitation of learning: The development of Five-level QDA as a CAQDAS pedagogy that explicates the practices of expert users” International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Vol 18, Iss 5

Silver C, Rivers, C . “The CAQDAS Postgraduate Learning Model: an interplay between methodological awareness, analytic adeptness and technological proficiency”, International Journal of Social Research Methods, published online, September 2015

Silver C. & Lewins A (2014) Using Software in Qualitative Research: A Step-by-Step Guide, 2nd Edition. Sage Publications, London. Freely available step-by-step handouts for using MAXQDA are available on the companion website.

Bulloch, Sarah L. Christina Silver and Nigel Fielding (forthcoming) ‘Using Computer Packages in Qualitative Research’ in The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology (2016), London, SAGE. Silver, Christina and Sarah Bulloch (in print) ‘CAQDAS at a crossroads: affordances of technology in an online environment’ in The SAGE Handbook of Online Research Methods (2016), London SAGE.