I’m kind of a n00b at these things:
- Science
- Social Science
- Most Computer Technology
- Most Technology
- Writing about anything other than media (let’s be honest–mostly books and film) or cats
- Actual research of, you know, things and stuff–and maybe people
That’s why I thought it would be such a great idea to enter a PhD program which focuses on all of the above items.
Fortunately (for me, and probably him), my old friend Kevin T. Baker is somehow a couple steps ahead of me in an alternate-reality version of my own academic career path. Maybe he inspired me, or maybe he has, in fact, invented a time machine in that alternate world (where physics allows such things). At any rate, he has written a wonderful guide to using a qualitative data analysis (QDA) software suite to organize, conceptualize, and collectualize the mind-numbing number of reading notes required by [insert any field other most literature/media studies] programs.
You should check it out. (I mean, if you’re interested in any items in the above list. Except maybe cats.)
Seriously.
Then, while you’re there, you could check out this other post. It schools you (and by you, I mean mostly me) on “Automating Basic Research Tasks with OpenRefine and Freebase.”
And because he’s cool like that, it’s all published under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
I’m just lucky to have him in my personal reality before I really start collecting all those notes, before it turns into a classic “Why the F— didn’t I think of that? And F—ing sooner?” moment. ‘Cuz I actually wouldn’t have thought of it. F—ing ever.
Rachel N Simons 