The Wealth of Funding Networks: Choosing and Constructing AI Platforms for Qualitative Analysis

• In Event: The Promises and Pitfalls of New Technologies for Qualitative Research

Abstract

For decades, sociologists have debated how to leverage computer science methods to advance sociological research. With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), however, qualitative researchers are increasingly debating if, and how, computational tools can co-exist with reflexive qualitative analysis. In this paper, I compare and contrast the affordances of three low-code platforms for using GenAI in qualitative research: LMStudio, MAXQDA, and Google Gemini. Drawing on my dissertation research on American Jewish philanthropy, and a methodological approach called the Five-Level QDA Method, I show how each could be used to analyze a large and unstructured corpus of YouTube data.

Author

• Joshua Eisenstat, New York University