STATISTICAL SOFTWARE
ATLAS.ti Qualitative Analysis
From Quotation to Theme, Documented
Our ATLAS.ti qualitative analysis service carries out coding and theory-building analysis in ATLAS.ti, working from your project, and returns it with the codebook, quotation exports and analytic memos as agreed, adding network views where the analysis builds a model.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Fixed Project Fee
Same-Day Response
What Is ATLAS.ti Used For in Research?
ATLAS.ti is a qualitative analysis package, now part of Lumivero, in which researchers select quotations from text, audio, video and image documents, attach codes and memos to them, and draw networks showing how codes and concepts relate. Researchers choose it for that quotation-level structure, which keeps every code tied to the exact passage it describes, and for networks that support theory building. The software stores these links and displays them; whether a link holds is decided by reading the quotations behind it. OnlineSPSS, a specialist statistical consultancy for academic, clinical and professional research, provides an ATLAS.ti qualitative analysis service in which an in-house PhD-level statistician carries out the agreed analysis in ATLAS.ti, working from your project and recording each coding decision.
WHEN TO ENGAGE
Why Researchers Hand Us an ATLAS.ti Project
Typical starting points are a code list that has outgrown its definitions, quotations that have not yet become themes, a theory still to be mapped, and a project that must give an account of itself.
Code List Past Its Definitions Codes added over several rounds have drifted in meaning, so the list is reviewed against the quotations and ATLAS.ti coding is brought back to consistent definitions.
Quotations Not Yet Themes Coded quotations have accumulated without being organized into code groups and themes, and the step from quotation to theme has to be taken and written down.
Theory Still to Be Mapped A grounded theory or conceptual model needs the relations between its codes shown, and networks can display them once each link is justified by the quotations.
Project Needing an Account A committee or journal asks how the analysis was done, and ATLAS.ti project analysis here means reading the quotations, codes and memos themselves to produce that account.
ANALYSES IN ATLAS.TI
Qualitative Approaches Carried Out in ATLAS.ti
Quotation-level coding serves several traditions, and each card links to the method page explaining what that tradition expects of codes, memos and networks.
Grounded Theory
Quotations are coded in stages, memos record each comparison, and networks show how categories relate as the theory takes shape, every link resting on quotations.
Thematic Analysis
ATLAS.ti thematic analysis gathers codes into themes through code groups, so that each theme can be followed back to the quotations and memos that support it.
Content Analysis
A defined category set is applied to a body of documents and read by document or document group, with coder agreement examined where the method requires it.
Discourse Analysis
Quotations are set wide enough to hold a whole exchange, and codes mark how speakers position themselves and others, so language is read in its interactional context.
Narrative Analysis
Stories are coded for structure, sequence and meaning, with quotations that preserve each narrative's order and memos that follow the account as a whole.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
Each participant's account is coded and memoed as its own case before shared themes are drawn up, so the quotation-level work stays close to what each person said.
COMMON ATLAS.TI ISSUES
Where ATLAS.ti Projects Lose Their Thread
A quotation can carry several codes and a code many quotations, so a drifting definition spreads quietly through the project, and the checks below are made before themes are reported.
Overgrown Code List Many codes, several used only once, hide the structure. Codes are reviewed against the quotations, then merged, grouped or retired, and each decision is recorded.
Definitions That Drift A code used one way in early documents and another in later ones is traced through its quotations and given a written definition that both uses are checked against.
Quotation Boundaries What a code means depends on where its quotation starts and ends. Very short quotations lose context and very long ones blur the code, so a stated rule sets the boundaries.
Networks Drawn Too Early A network built from unreviewed codes shows an impression, not a finding, so a relation is added only when quotations support it and a memo says why.
Memos Detached From Quotations Memos serve as an audit trail only when linked to the quotations or codes they discuss, so the links are checked and the memos read as a path from text to theme.
Document Groups Applied Inconsistently Comparisons between participant groups rely on documents being assigned to groups consistently, so membership is verified before codes are compared across them.
DELIVERABLES
What You Receive From an ATLAS.ti Analysis
The package is agreed in the scope and provided where applicable, so that every coding decision can be reviewed after the work is done.
ATLAS.ti Project The project, or a project bundle, with documents, quotations, codes and memos organized as agreed, ready for further coding by you or your team.
Codebook Codes with definitions, code groups and the rules for using them, exported for an appendix, where the method uses a codebook.
Quotation Exports Quotations listed by code or theme with their documents, so that each statement in your findings points to its source passage.
Network Views Networks of codes and concepts exported as figures with the written justification of each relation, where the analysis builds a conceptual model.
Analytic Memos Memos linked to quotations and codes, recording how codes were combined and how themes were reached.
Coding and Methods Description Each category or theme listed with the quotations coded to it, and a methods description of the coding procedure covering code groups and quotation boundaries, for you to check and incorporate.
OTHER PLATFORMS
When Another Platform May Be More Appropriate
Quotation-level work is not what every study needs, and in the situations below another environment fits the design or the team more closely.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
How an ATLAS.ti Analysis May Look in Practice
An illustration of how an overgrown code list becomes a grounded theory that can be traced back to its quotations.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · AVIATION MAINTENANCE SAFETY CULTURE RESEARCH · UNITED STATES
A university research group studied how maintenance technicians describe reporting safety concerns, using interviews and incident narratives, and analyzed them in ATLAS.ti with a grounded theory approach.
The first rounds of open coding had produced a long code list, and codes such as fear of blame and cost of speaking up overlapped heavily. The codes were reviewed against their quotations, merged where they described the same idea, and organized into code groups with written definitions, while memos recorded the comparisons behind each decision and the choices about whom to sample next. Networks were drawn only after the code review, and each relation between categories was supported by quotations and a memo. Quotation boundaries were set by a stated rule, so that a code kept the same meaning from the earliest documents to the latest.
Outcome: The group received the ATLAS.ti project, a codebook with definitions and code groups, quotation exports for each category, network views with their justifications and the memos documenting how the categories developed.
This example does not describe a real client or project. We never share details of actual client work, in line with the confidentiality we promise every researcher. This illustrative example is included to show the type, scope, and standard of work involved in this kind of analysis.
RESEARCH DISCIPLINES
Research Fields Where ATLAS.ti Is Common
Quotation-level coding is used across the social sciences, health and organizational research, and the field shapes which analytic approach and which standards of rigor apply.
HOW WE ASSESS YOUR PROJECT
We Review Your Actual Research
Your assessment is based on a review of your actual research materials and analytical requirements, not a generic project category.
You Submit Your Project Details
Share whatever is available at the current stage, such as the research aim, protocol or proposal, dataset, variable list, manuscript or statistical requirements.
We Review Your Research and Define the Scope
Your statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the materials to understand the study design, research questions, data structure, analytical requirements and expected deliverables. If clarification is needed, additional documents or information can be requested before the assessment is finalized.
Your Analysis Is Completed and Delivered
Once the scope and fixed project fee are agreed, the in-house statistician completes the work and the Research Coordinator remains the communication point through delivery, with the analysis, deliverables and timeline as agreed.
RESEARCHER VOICE
What Researchers Say
Feedback from a qualitative researcher on an overgrown code list, drifting definitions and a result that could be traced through the project files.
“We had already done part of the analysis in ATLAS.ti, but I was not confident about an overgrown code list with definitions that had started to drift. The team checked the underlying setup and delivered the results with the relevant scripts or project files, so we could trace what had been done.”
Statistical Support Within Your Research OnlineSPSS provides the agreed methodological, analytical and statistical reporting support, including the ATLAS.ti project files described in the scope. The researcher or research team retains the scientific question, substantive interpretation, conclusions and overall responsibility for the research.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions About ATLAS.ti Analysis for Research
Short answers to what researchers ask before sharing an ATLAS.ti project, from the approaches we carry out and sharing a project with coauthors to networks, audit trails and confidentiality.
Which analyses do you carry out in ATLAS.ti?
ATLAS.ti analysis at OnlineSPSS covers grounded theory, thematic, content, discourse and narrative analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The approach follows your research question and the kind of material you hold, and it is confirmed during the assessment.
Can a coauthor who uses NVivo or MAXQDA open my ATLAS.ti project?
Partly. ATLAS.ti can export a project in the REFI-QDA exchange format, which other qualitative programs such as NVivo and MAXQDA can import, but each program organizes a project in its own way, so not every element transfers one to one. The imported project is checked against the original before anyone continues coding, and where coauthors must work in one file, the project is kept in the program they can all open.
Do I need networks in my ATLAS.ti project?
Only where the analysis builds a conceptual model, as grounded theory often does. A thematic analysis can be reported through code groups and quotations without any network. A network is added when it shows relations that the quotations support, not to make the project look more finished.
How do I show a committee that my themes came from the quotations?
By keeping the path visible: each theme lists its codes, each code its quotations, and the memos explain the moves between them. The package includes quotation exports and the memos in a readable form, so a supervisor can follow a theme from its first quotation to the sentence in your findings.
How do you protect my research data and confidentiality?
Your ATLAS.ti project, interview documents and codebook are handled confidentially, and project information is not published. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared. Read more about confidentiality and data security.
What happens when I request an assessment, and how long does it take?
You share your research question, design and relevant materials, such as the ATLAS.ti project and your code list, and a statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the request and responds the same day. The analysis, deliverables, timeline and one fixed project fee are then confirmed before any work begins, so the timeline follows from the agreed scope.
Still have a question? Find more answers in our full FAQ.
NEXT STEP
Discuss Your
ATLAS.ti Project With Us
Share your research question, your chosen approach and the ATLAS.ti project or documents you have. We read the code list against its quotations and confirm the approach before any work begins.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
Fixed Project Fee
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Same-Day Response
Serving Researchers Since 2014