Personally I think you would be better off using AI later on in the process. Read the transcript, find the quotes that are related, then stick them into an AI to see if they suggest themes/sub themes. At this point you will have knowledge of your transcripts and can make adjustments. LLMs are also going to be much better at naming themes than identifying themes from within multiple transcripts, which it would only do at the most superficial level. No AI has the ability to do this. They just aren't designed to. If you use AI too early you limit yourself. You know what the literature already says, the AI won't know that the 85th line is very similar to what was mentioned as a limitation in Smith (1998) and so won't flag that. In addition, using AI can bias you when you do get round to doing your own analysis. You are more likely to find things that match the themes it has identified, which, as we have already established, will be superficial. Answer from sendmethere on reddit.com
Thematic
getthematic.com › insights › thematic-analysis-software
Thematic Analysis Software: 5 Top Tools & How It Works
October 16, 2024 - Coding and annotation: The ability to code and annotate qualitative data is essential for identifying patterns, themes, and meanings. This feature helps in systematically categorizing data for deeper analysis. Data analysis: Qualitative data analysis software offers various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis, to analyze your data.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/phd › what ai software can help in thematic analysis?
r/PhD on Reddit: What AI software can help in thematic analysis?
May 2, 2025 -
Hi all
Im a Phd student and starting on my thematic analysis now after data collection. The nature of my research is purely qualitative and I have one hour long interview transcripts that I plan on coding using NVivo eventually. I have noticed AI is a but helpful to streamline my thoughts. As a researcher I dont really trust chatgpt with anything lol and am definitely not looking for AI to do my analysis. I was wondering if anyone has used any softwares that can identify patterns or themes etc roughly? I dont want AI to do my work and I am not relying on it I just want to use it to understand my data better if that helps. I overthink a lot so i have noticed notebooklm helps me structure transcripts etc. For the lack of a better statement lol I just want to speed up the process a bit if it makes sense. Any help, advice or recommendations would be great!
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Personally I think you would be better off using AI later on in the process. Read the transcript, find the quotes that are related, then stick them into an AI to see if they suggest themes/sub themes. At this point you will have knowledge of your transcripts and can make adjustments. LLMs are also going to be much better at naming themes than identifying themes from within multiple transcripts, which it would only do at the most superficial level. No AI has the ability to do this. They just aren't designed to. If you use AI too early you limit yourself. You know what the literature already says, the AI won't know that the 85th line is very similar to what was mentioned as a limitation in Smith (1998) and so won't flag that. In addition, using AI can bias you when you do get round to doing your own analysis. You are more likely to find things that match the themes it has identified, which, as we have already established, will be superficial.
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If you simply need an AI to find coarse-grained themes across a conversation, just pick an LLM with a large enough context window to fit your data. Feed in your text, preceded by a precise prompt, and see if the output is useful. I get that you don’t trust ChatGPT due to its data policy, but if your goal is to get the best output, you’ll probably need to rely on one of the major models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.). If you need something more fine-grained than, say, "divide into paragraphs, list key themes per paragraph, and group paragraphs by themes", then I’d actually suggest not using AI for this kind of qualitative analysis. Mainly because it lacks the personal, specific contextual knowledge — your inductive bias, your oriented perspective on the object of study — which is exactly what would make your qualitative research valuable and original. When you’re looking at your data, you already have certain priors and research questions in mind, and that context is what gives depth to your interpretation. In any case, always double-check! Let us know how it goes
For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose?
Frankly Google sheets was the best tool we used. More on reddit.com
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August 27, 2022What is your favourite free qualitative data analysis software?
I have no idea if R is something that applies to this, but we’re using it exclusively for an upcoming management data analysis course. It’s free and works on Mac. More on reddit.com
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January 3, 2022What are your thoughts on using AI to do thematic analysis?
AI tools can definitely help streamline the thematic coding process. I don't think they can automate the process, i.e. they can augment, not replace. Disclaimer: I am from the Looppanel team so may have a potential bias. AI capabilities with respect to text have improved significantly over the last couple of years. What works reasonably well is breaking down the broad task of thematic coding into smaller sub-tasks and then integrating AI into a workflow based on such a blueprint. Obviously, the core idea needs to be automating the tedious parts and not replacing the UX researcher. In addition, the final say on the output must be that of the human as of today. A feature like Figjam's 'sort stickies' can theoretically be helpful to reduce the cognitive load and speed up the analysis process. The output's quality isn't high enough though. That results in the researcher/designer doing the work from scratch anyway. That's where specialized tools like Looppanel can step in. More on reddit.com
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December 12, 2023Best Software for Qualitative Interview Analysis
We used to work with Atlas TI . Didn't have much to compare, but it was fine to work with. Edit: This is some expensive piece of software ($100/y student license). Maybe you can look into a website that offers a yearly student subscription for cheaper.. We had the option to use it trough the license of the university. If this isn't an option, I hope someone will recommend something more affordable.. More on reddit.com
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July 14, 2018What is qualitative data analysis software?
Qualitative data analysis software is technology that compiles and organizes contextual, non-quantifiable data, making it easy to interpret qualitative customer insights and information.
contentsquare.com
contentsquare.com › guides › qualitative-data-analysis › tools
11 Best Qualitative Data Analysis Tools and Software
Which software is used for qualitative data analysis?
The best software used for qualitative data analysis is Cauliflower Contentsquare NVivo Quirkos Qualtrics Dovetail Thematic Delve Atlas.ti MAXQDA MonkeyLearn
contentsquare.com
contentsquare.com › guides › qualitative-data-analysis › tools
11 Best Qualitative Data Analysis Tools and Software
Is NVivo the only tool for qualitative data analysis?
NVivo isn’t the only tool for qualitative data analysis, but it’s one of the most popular software providers for qualitative and mixed-methods research.
contentsquare.com
contentsquare.com › guides › qualitative-data-analysis › tools
11 Best Qualitative Data Analysis Tools and Software
Videos
28:55
Free Tools for Thematic Analysis (Microsoft Word and Excel)
17:34
Thematic Analysis in NVivo Made Easy: A Must-Watch Guide - YouTube
27:58
Qualitative coding and thematic analysis in Microsoft Word - YouTube
31:28
NVivo 12 and Thematic / Content Analysis. - YouTube
MAXQDA
maxqda.com › home › all-in-one thematic analysis software
Thematic Analysis Software | Powerful and Easy-to-use
October 10, 2024 - MAXQDA is the best choice for your thematic analysis. It works with a wide range of data types and offers powerful tools to analyze textual data, such as coding, visualization, mixed methods, statistical, and quantitative content analysis tools.
Lumivero
lumivero.com › home › products › nvivo
NVivo: Leading Qualitative Data Analysis Software | Lumivero
January 10, 2025 - Unlock deeper insights with NVivo, the leading qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) for organizing and analyzing unstructured data.
UCSF Guides
guides.ucsf.edu › QualitativeResearch › Software
Data Analysis and Software - Qualitative Research Guide - UCSF Guides at University of California, San Francisco
Doing a Thematic Analysis: A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide for Learning and Teaching Scholars · A step-by-step article describing the process of qualitative data coding ... Johnny Saldaña's unique and invaluable manual demystifies the qualitative coding process with a comprehensive assessment of different coding types, examples and exercises. Using Software in Qualitative Research (ebook) by Christine Silver
ATLAS.ti
atlasti.com › guides › thematic-analysis › thematic-analysis-software
Thematic Analysis Software | Tools, Uses & Guide - ATLAS.ti
The functionality of such software ranges from simple coding to complex analysis, including the visualization of data connections. This article focuses on the application of ATLAS.ti in conducting thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a method used to identify, analyze, and report patterns (themes) within data. It provides an accessible and flexible approach to qualitative analysis, suitable for researchers across various disciplines.
Delve
delvetool.com
Qualitative Data Analysis Software | Delve
I highly recommend this software for coding qualitative research. All the features were well thought out, easy to use, and very intuitive. The customer support is superb! ... Learn how to find themes and patterns in your qualitative data. ... Read our comprehensive, step by step guide on how to do thematic analysis.
Johns Hopkins University
guides.library.jhu.edu › QDAS
Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) overview - Qualitative Data Analysis Software (nVivo, Atlas.TI, and more) - Guides at Johns Hopkins University
October 29, 2025 - Overview and resource links for Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS), uses and how to choose, focusing on QDAS supported by JHU Data Services: nVivo and Atlas.TI, with resource and training links to these and other QDA Software
Looppanel
looppanel.com › blog › thematic-analysis-software
The Best Tools for Thematic Analysis | Looppanel
February 10, 2025 - Explore the top thematic analysis software tools for qualitative research in 2025. From AI-powered solutions like Looppanel to traditional platforms like Atlas.ti and NVivo, discover which tool best fits your research needs. Learn about different types of thematic analysis, compare key features ...
ContentSquare
contentsquare.com › guides › qualitative-data-analysis › tools
11 Best Qualitative Data Analysis Tools and Software
Kathryn Rounding, Senior Product Designer at You Need A Budget, says, “Dovetail is a fantastic tool for conducting and managing qualitative research. It helps bring all your research planning, source data, analysis, and reporting together, so you can not only share the final results but all the supporting work that helped you get there.” · Thematic's AI-driven text feedback analysis platform helps you understand what your customers are saying—and why they’re saying it.
Quirkos
quirkos.com
Quirkos - Qualitative Data Analysis Software made simple
Quirkos is easy to master, with just the essential tools you need to help you focus on the richness of your small qualitative data sets. Organise your sources, canvas and codes in any way, and finely categorise and filter your data. Our flexible design is agnostic, so you can use grounded theory, thematic analysis, or IPA as you prefer.
Looppanel
looppanel.com › blog › ai-thematic-analysis
Top 5 Tools for AI Thematic Analysis in 2025 | Looppanel
For researchers using modern AI ... must be human-led to ensure rigor and nuance. Let’s be honest: the simplest thematic analysis software is an excel sheet....
Zonka Feedback
zonkafeedback.com › blog › thematic-analysis-software
11 Best Thematic Analysis Software Tools for In-Depth Insights
August 4, 2025 - But without the right thematic analysis software, those voices stay buried in spreadsheets, Slack threads, and dashboards no one checks. And that means product issues go unnoticed. CSAT drops get explained too late. Your roadmap stays blind to what users actually care about. This blog cuts through the noise. We’ve handpicked the best thematic analysis tools—not just for surface-level sentiment, but for real-time insights, smart clustering, multilingual feedback, and linking themes directly to NPS, churn, and revenue.
PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC8457694
A practical guide for conducting qualitative research in medical education: Part 3—Using software for qualitative analysis - PMC
To be clear, coding software is not a requirement for using technology to assist in conducting qualitative research. Here we describe a simple “do it yourself (DIY)” approach to coding using word processing programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Google Docs. For thematic analysis, ...
Thematic
getthematic.com
AI-Powered Text Feedback Analytics | Thematic
We gave them data and they gave it back with themes and insights. We could easily drill down into themes and look at how they impact NPS scores. Thematic saved months of custom analysis. ... Thematic has a great UI and is very intuitive, with not much training required to start using the software.
ATLAS.ti
atlasti.com
ATLAS.ti | The #1 Software for Qualitative Data Analysis - ATLAS.ti
Unlike other QDA software, ATLAS.ti allows you to capture customer insights with the collective power of your colleagues. Customer satisfaction is our top priority at ATLAS.ti. We offer technical and methodological support for all users, whether ...
Dovetail
dovetail.com › solution › thematic-analysis-software
Thematic Analysis Software: Unveiling Insights
Automatically identify and analyze themes with the #1 Thematic Analysis Software for qualitative data. Generate AI-driven insights with NLP thematic analysis.
Taguette
taguette.org
Taguette, the free and open-source qualitative data analysis tool
Taguette is a free an open-source text tagging tool for qualitative data analysis and qualitative research
Symanto
symanto.com › home › blog › how to conduct thematic analysis manually vs with ta software
How to Conduct Thematic Analysis Manually VS With TA Software - Symanto
February 1, 2023 - While some TA software uses basic synonym detection, the NLP technologies we develop at Symanto are far more advanced and able to capture nuanced communication in unstructured, qualitative data without the need for excessive pre-training. This makes thematic analysis with Symanto faster and more accurate.
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Thematic analysis with ChatGPT | PART 1- Coding qualitative data with ChatGPT - YouTube
How to analyze qualitative data with ChatGPT? In this video I start thematic analysis using ChatGPT - I am showing you how to create codes (initial, open cod...
Published May 19, 2023