Research Guides: Software for Data Analysis: Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Free)

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Introduction

Listed below are some good examples of high-performance CAQDAS platforms that are free of charge. Some have graphical user interfaces (GUI) and others do not. Some investigation will be required to determine what will best suit your needs. Note that two of these free programs, Aquad and RQDA, make use of the powerful statistical analysis package R. While there is only a plug-in for Aquad, you will need to install R to use RQDA. R is free to download and supported by a vast user community.

Free CAQDAS Software

AQUAD
Aquad is a platform developed in Germany (you will have to translate the website, which is also in German) that supports text of any kind, audio, video, and image files. There is a plugin available to use with R, the open source statistical analysis software.
qcoder
qcoder is an R library for qualitative analysis hosted on GitHub.
QDA Miner Lite
A "lite" version of the proprietary software, QDA Miner Lite has a slightly limited functionality. You can still perform the basic functions of the full version but don't have some of the more advanced options. You can see all the differences in the side by side comparison.
RQDA
RQDA is another package from the R Project, a statistical analysis platform that has developed a constantly growing community of users and developers that is designing all sorts of software for use in data analysis. What a plugin to such a power statistics program means is that implementing quantitative data to your project will be seamless and effective.
Taguette
Taguette is an open source qualitative analysis program that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, as well as in-browser. A quick tutorial on how to get started can be found at their website, linked above. You must have Python 3 and Calibre on your computer in order to successfully download and use Taguette. The online version requires you to register for a free account.