"Microcomputer Applications in Qualitative Research" is a timely and
innovative volume offering a sophisticated examination of one of the many uses of
computers in the social sciences. In this insightful volume Pfaffenberger explores the
world of personal computing in social science research, providing both a
practical/methodological and critical/theoretical perspective. Pfaffenberger surveys the
ways microcomputers and microcomputer programs can be used to further the goals of
qualitative social research. He critically analyzes the potential liabilities and benefits
of using microcomputer technology for research purposes. This book addresses such issues
as: the need for computers in qualitative research, the nature of qualitative analysis,
word processing software and field notes, automatic indexing, text oriented data base
management programs, and automated data analysis. This comprehensive volume is an asset
for qualitative researchers, and an excellent supplementary text for courses in research
methodology.
"Pfaffenberger . . . is a thoughtful and highly knowledgeable advocate of the
process. . . . In a sense, this book is also an exercise in the sociology of technology,
since Pfaffenberger is highly sensitive to the ways in which computer software is socially
constructed. . . . [It] will provide much useful and thought-provoking advice for
researchers and students alike."
- Contemporary Sociology
"Meets the special problems of microcomputers by attempting a theoretical
solution....I thought Pfaffenberger's proto-theoretical approach held out the most hope
for the future."
- Journalism Quarterly
87 pages