New Software for Field Research and Analysis of Qualitative Data

AnnoTape ('Annotated Tape') is recently developed software which is rapidly finding use as a field research tool in difficult settings. AnnoTape turns a standard laptop - PC or Mac - into a powerful platform for recording and analysing qualitative research data, whether text or audio (such as interviews). The newly released AnnoTape 2.0 for Macintosh also adds video and image data.

Using AnnoTape, researchers working in areas such as humanitarian evaluation or human rights can record interviews straight onto their hard disks as audio files. Then, rather than having to transcribe those interviews before analysing them, the user simply 'marks up' or indexes key moments within the interviews using AnnoTape, giving them labels such as 'indicators of malnutrition' or 'causes of displacement: local violence'. Textual materials - whether the user's own field notes, agency reports or news briefings - can also be imported and marked up in the same way. All the records are held together in a project database and can be instantly and easily searched, reviewed and analysed at the touch of a few keys.

AnnoTape is widely used by qualitative researchers around the world, particularly in the health sciences, sociology and anthropology. For more information and to download a free 30-day demo version, visit the AnnoTape website at http://www.annotape.com or email annotape@eircom.net.