Cassandre software

{{Short description|Software for computer assisted qualitative data analysis}}

{{Infobox software

| name = Cassandre

| logo =

| screenshot =

| caption =

| developer = Christophe Lejeune

| latest_release_version = 3.18.01.31

| latest_release_date = Jan 2018

| operating_system = Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS

| genre = Qualitative data analysis

| programming language = JavaScript on CouchDB

| license = GNU Affero General Public License

| website = {{URL|http://www.cassandre.ulg.ac.be/}}

}}

Cassandre is a free open source software for computer assisted qualitative data analysis and interpretation in humanities and social sciences.Bénel A., Lejeune Chr., 2009, [https://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJWBC.2009.028090 Humanities 2.0. Document, interpretation and intersubjectivity in the digital age], International Journal of Web-Based Communities, 5, 4, p.562-576 Although it refers, like other CAQDAS-software, to Grounded Theory Method, it also allows to conduct discourse analysis or quantitative content analysis.Lejeune Chr., 2010, [http://hdl.handle.net/2268/25352 Cassandre, un outil pour construire, confronter et expliciter les interprétations], in: Beauvais M., Clénet J., Actes du 2ème colloque international francophone sur les méthodes qualitatives The software is designed as a server to support collaborative work. Formerly focused on semi-automatic coding, it now provides diaries assisting qualitative analysis.

In academia, Cassandre is used by social scientists in sociology,Rojas de Francisco L., López-Sintas J., García-Álvarez E., 2016, Social leisure in the digital age, Society and Leisure, 39, 2Dumont V., 2010, Des intentions aux routines d'un réseau de santé, Cédric R., d'Arripe A., Communication et santé : enjeux contemporains, p. 29-40 psychology, management,Constantinidis C., Nelson T., 2009, [https://dx.doi.org/10.7202/039138ar Integrating Succession and Gender Issues from the Perspective of the Daughter of Family Enterprise: A Cross-National Investigation], International Management, 14, 1, p. 43-54Beuker L., De Cia J., Dervaux A., Orianne J.-F., Pichault F., 2016, [http://www.recherche-qualitative.qc.ca/documents/files/revue/edition_reguliere/numero35(1)/rq-ht-beuker-et-al.pdf Analyse qualitative interdisciplinaire du discours de travailleurs à l'aide d'un logiciel collaboratif : le cas de la flexicurité], Recherches Qualitatives, 35, 1, p. 29-55 communication studies,De Maeyer J., 2012, [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2012.667273 The journalistic hyperlink: Prescriptive discourses about linking in online news], Journalism Practice, 6, 5–6, p. 692-701 education and political science.Brunet S., Delvenne P., 2010, [http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1784-6390/index.php?id=472 Politique et expertise d’usage en situation de haute incertitude scientifique : application de la méthodologie des Focus groups au risque électromagnétique], Cahiers de Sciences politiques de l'ULg, 17 Some researchers also use it in computer science, namely in knowledge management,Cahier J.-P., Brébion P., Salembier P., 2016, Using and Supporting Explicit Viewpoints in Territorial Participatory Design Meetings, European Conference on Knowledge Management, p. 136-145 design, human-computer interaction and topic mapping. Many of the Cassandre users are academics and PhD students. The software tool is also used in public services (police and government departments) and in the industry (namely by Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie).

In 2010, in the so-called KWALON experiment, representatives of selected CAQDAS-Software were invited to analyze a dataset composed of newspapers articles and videos related to the 2008 financial crisis.Evers J., Silver C., Mruck K. & Peeters B., 2011, [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101405 Introduction to the KWALON Experiment: Discussions on Qualitative Data Analysis Software by Developers and Users], Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12, 1.Gibbs, G., 2013, Using software in qualitative analysis, in Flick, U. (ed.) The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis The software packages Atlas.ti, MAXQDA, NVivo, Transana and Cassandre were taking part in the experiment. Commentators depicted Cassandre as the only software limited to text materialdi Gregorio, S., 2011, [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101C35 Comment: KWALON Conference: Is Qualitative Software Really Comparable? Reflections on "the Experiment": An "Expert" View], Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12, 1. and as an integrated approach between algorithms and hand-made coding.Geisler, C., 2016, Current and Emerging Methods in the Rhetorical Analysis of Texts. Toward an Integrated Approach, Journal of Writing Research, 7, 3. The experiment, however, suggested that the outcome of the analysis depended more of the analysis strategy than the software.Gilbert, L., Jackson K. & di Gregorio S., 2014, Tools for Analyzing Qualitative Data: The History and Relevance of Qualitative Data Analysis Software, in Spector M. et al. (dir.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, New York, Springer, p. 221-236