ATLAS.ti 6
The New Features
Table of Contents
Table of Contents.......................................................................................2
If You Can Print It,You Can Use It. PDF Fully Supported. ....................4
Universal Freedom through a Universal Format......................................................................4
Working with PDF Documents...............................................................................................5
Display and Navigation ............................................................................................................5
Coding......................................................................................................................................5
Output......................................................................................................................................7
Geo-Coding: The World (seen through Google Earth™) as a Primary
Document....................................................................................................9
The World as Primary Document............................................................................................9
Create a Google Earth (GE) PD ............................................................................................10
PD from a KMZ document...................................................................................................10
What are KMZ documents?....................................................................................................10
Open Google Earth from ATLAS.ti.......................................................................................10
Create Quotations................................................................................................................11
Display Quotations in GE........................................................................................................12
Moving Around.......................................................................................................................14
Extrusion – Display Quotations at elevated levels....................................................................14
Display a Quotation in Google Maps......................................................................................15
Modify Quotations...............................................................................................................16
Import Quotations...............................................................................................................16
Create Graphical Snapshot PDs............................................................................................16
Code GE Quotations............................................................................................................17
Preference Settings for Google Earth PDs.............................................................................18
Associated Documents: Transcription and Synchronization of Text
and Multimedia Files................................................................................20
Synchronization of Text and Multimedia Files.......................................................................20
Transcribe your Data in ATLAS.ti..........................................................................................21
Creating and Working with Associations..............................................................................21
Manual Creation of Associations in the Association Editor......................................................21
Importing f4-Documents.........................................................................................................24
Working with associated Documents....................................................................................25
Play Selected Text ..................................................................................................................25
Synchronization-Mode (F3).....................................................................................................25
Karaoke Mode (Ctrl-F4)..........................................................................................................26
Importing and Exporting Associations...................................................................................27
How to use ATLAS.ti for Transcribing your Data .................................................................27
The Co-occurrence Explorer...................................................................29
Understanding Co-occurence...............................................................................................29
Scenarios.................................................................................................................................29
The Co-occurrence Explorer Tree View...................................................................................30
Interpreting Co-occurrences.................................................................................................31
The Co-occurrence Explorer Table View (Preview)...............................................................32
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Output in others Formats.....................................................................................................33
Putting On A New Face: The Revised User Interface...........................34
New Tool and Object Icons..................................................................................................34
"Skinnable" Toolbars...........................................................................................................35
Magic Background...............................................................................................................36
A Few Secrets about the Magic Background...........................................................................36
Code Colors.........................................................................................................................37
New Options in the Margin Display.....................................................................................37
New Object Types...................................................................................................................37
Personalized Object Colors......................................................................................................38
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If You Can Print It,You Can Use It.
PDF Fully Supported.
We’re especially excited about the new full native PDF support that will
allow you to work with PDF files in their native layout. Other QDA
packages make you strip PDFs down to primitive text files, which is hardly
an adequate way of working, aside from being tedious and timeconsuming
to boot.
But with ATLAS.ti 6 you are now able to keep your original PDFs—layout,
graphics, tables and all—so your primary data always remains uncorrupted
and complete.
Consider the enormous possibilities:
• Work on Web pages saved to PDF, thus securely maintaining their
original layout, graphics, and most important all their actual
content at the time of visiting.
• Directly access a plethora of digital resources such as e-books,
research papers, business reports, conference proceedings, press
releases, and so much more. Now it's all at your fingertips without
conversion or additional steps of any kind.
• If you work on a Master, Ph.D., or research project, code your
literature for themes, types of methodology used, theories, results,
explanation of the results, recommended further research, etc. And
use ATLAS.ti as a tool to organize your literature and stay on top.
New ways of linking your empirical research with the literature
become possible.
• Use the output from any of the programs on your computer as a
primary document. If you can “print” it (as PDF), you can use it in
ATLAS.ti.
You can literally use the output from any program that can produce PDF as
your primary documents. Even if your program doesn't have a dedicated
built-in PDF generator (many do), you can still produce PDF via freely
available PDF printer drivers and standalone applications.
The possibilities are truly endless and extremely exciting!
Universal Freedom through a Universal Format
ATLAS.ti's support of PDF makes it possible to use output from practically
any computer application as your primary documents!
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By quickly “printing” a PDF document you can now directly work on
material created in nearly any program on your computer—such as
PowerPoint, Open Office, ATLAS.ti itself (go figure!) as well as most
graphics, statistics, reporting, authoring, accounting applications—as your
primary documents.
Working with PDF Documents
Display and Navigation
PDF documents are displayed one page at a time. If you increase the size of
the editor window, the size of the PDF page is enlarged. You may also
zoom the content via the ZOOM PD button in the vertical tool bar.
• To reset the view to 100%, hold down both SHIFT+CTRL key while you
click on the ZOOM PD button.
• To decrease the display size, hold down the SHIFT key while clicking the
ZOOM PD button.
In the status bar at the bottom of the screen you see the actual size of the
PD. This is also the place where you navigate back and forth in the
document. To move one page forward, left click on the Page button. To
move backwards, right click the Page button.
NOTE: When you resize the window, it may happen that the margin area
does not stick to the primary document. Then simply left click on the frame
and move it to the left.
Coding
PDF documents allow for various ways of coding. Basically, there are no
restrictions, you can code any area within the document. Below you find a
number of screen shots demonstrating the various options.
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Coding just like you're used to
(Auto) coding bibliographies
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Coding Images
Coding parts of images
Coding columns of text
Output
When outputting PDF quotations, e.g. all quotations for a selected code,
the text is extracted and you can generate a rtf document. The quotation
references for textual quotations indicate the page number and the start
and end position on the basis of character counts For example: (31:1537-
31:1745) means that this quotation is from page 31, starting at character
1537 and ending at character 1745.
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The referencing for coded images is a different, but also indicating the
position of the quotation in the document: (@422-@618).
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Geo-Coding: The World (as viewed
through Google Earth™) as Your
Primary Document
ATLAS.ti now embeds Google Earth™ (GE) and makes its functionality
available from inside the program. This has immense benefits and opens up
fantastic new possibilities for your work.
Picture, if you will, the world as your ultimate primary document. Freely
move around in it and mark any section that interests you. Then, treat that
segment exactly the way you are used to in ATLAS.ti. Code it, comment it,
and link it to other objects. Use direct hyperlinks from other primary
documents for supporting your arguments and for purposes of evidence or
illustration.
It is also possible to create screenshots from any Google Earth™ view and
assigns them as graphical primary documents. This "snapshot" helps you
save system resources and makes sure that your reference is secured
against changes.
All features of Google Earth™ are available (including camera angle and
height over ground). The interaction between the two programs is bidirectional,
meaning that work done in ATLAS.ti can be directly introduced
into Google Earth™. Comment on a marked location in ATLAS.ti, and your
comment will be displayed in Google Earth™.
And that's still not all: Leverage the immense power of community as
embodied by Google Earth™ layers, and by the possibility to exchange and
directly import Google Earth™'s KMZ files (complex community-created
"overlays"). If it weren't so tacky, we'd call it "QDA 2.0."
If your work is in or touches on fields such as tourism, geography, urban
planning, ethnology, cultural studies, sociology, health, action research,
advertising and marketing - or even if you simply like to take virtual trips:
you are bound to profit from ATLAS.ti's geo-coding feature.
The World as Primary Document
Even with a non-standard data source as the "World" as seen through
Google Earth we still stay within the Primary Document metaphor. Thus,
there is only ONE data source worldwide, and all Google Earth PDs created
in any HU all refer to the same data source located at the Google servers.
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However, you can also use more than one Google Earth PD (even if there is
only world...) in order to create distinct sets of locations, to simulate tours,
to simply tell different stories.
Note: The prerequisite for use of the features described in this section is
that Google Earth is installed on your computer. See
http://earth.google.com/ (or your respective language website) for more
detail.
Create a Google Earth (GE) PD
To create a new GE PD, click the drop down arrow beside the Load
Document button in the main toolbar and select New GoogleEarth PD:
PD from a KMZ document
You may also create a PD from an existing document of type KML or KMZ
(Keyhole Markup Language). Simply use the Assign function and select a
file of an appropriate type.
What are KMZ documents?
KMZ files are zipped KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files, which will
start Google Earth and fly you to a specified location.
KML, or Keyhole Markup Language, is an XML grammar and file format for
modeling and storing geographic features such as points, lines, images,
polygons, and models for display in Google Earth and Google Maps.
KML is used to share places and information with other users of Google
Earth and Google Maps (and now ATLAS.ti). You can find many KML files
that describe interesting features and places On the Google Earth
Community site.
Open Google Earth from ATLAS.ti
Up to now, you can do all this lightly without starting GE, which--with all
due respect--is quite a “memory hog” :-)
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By double-clicking the new Google Earth PD in the Primary Document
Manager you start the machinery. It takes a while to start, initialize and
position the camera in GE. It goes much faster if Google Earth is already
running.
The GE window is embedded in the HU Editor (see image below), unless
the ATLAS.ti preferences for Google Earth documents are set otherwise
(see Preference Settings for Google Earth PDs). This saves space as you do
not need to display and manage two large windows.
Note: When closing a GE document (by switching to another PD or closing
the HU) the original GE window is restored and you can work with Google
Earth independently of ATLAS.ti
Create Quotations
When working with Goggle Earth PDs, it is a good idea to open the
Quotation Manager along-side the HU editor.
To create a new quotation,
• Point Google Earth to whatever location you want.
• Double-click to select the place to which the quotation is to be attached.
• Use the usual methods to create a quotation: Click the FREE QUOTATION
button in the vertical toolbar (to the left of the PD area) or choose CREATE
FREE QUOTATION from the QUOTATIONS menu.
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The default name of the quotation is either extracted from the selected
feature, or the name of the PD is used. If you did not change the name of
the PD, the default is 'Google Earth'. In addition, the geographical
reference is provided. Whether the PD name or the feature's name ist used,
can be set via Preference Settings for Google Earth PDs. Depending on
your project needs, you may choose to rename the quotations. In the figure
below, quotations 1:1 to 1:7 have been renamed.
Display Quotations in GE
In the first instance, you only see the quotations within the Quotation
Manager or in the drop-down list. In order to see the information in Google
Earth as well, the information needs to be transferred. Thus, ATLAS.ti GE
PD needs to be “injected” into Google Earth. This is easily done by
reloading the PD.
The name of the quotation is used as name for the ATLAS.ti placemark in
the GE document. In addition, you see the quotations in the Places Panel
under Temporary Places on the left side.
To reload a PD,
• select it from the drop down list and left click it again
• OR SHIFT-click on the button for P-Docs
• OR select the menu option DOCUMENTS / MISCELLANEOUS / EXPORT SPECIAL.
The hierarchy of features in GE resembles the structure of the HU. At the
top, you see an ATLAS.ti root folder for each HU in the session. Below this
folder, the name of the HU is repeated and all its PDs and quotations are
created as GE features. If you write a comment for a PD or quotation, it will
be shown as well.
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Repeated entries: If you close ATLAS.ti and restart while GE is still open, GE
creates a new feature hierarchy for each HU. You can either manually
remove the feature tree from the GE places panel or close it and let
ATLAS.ti start it for you by loading a Google Earth PD..
You can also display the meta information of a quotation like codes and
comments in the GE Window by clicking on the placemark. The type of
information that is shown, can be selected via the Preference Settings for
Google Earth PDs.
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Moving Around
By default, travelling to another quotation is by flying. When you press the
SHIFT key during a transfer, you are "teleported" to the new location (=
quotation) directly. The default ”travel” speed can be set via Preference
Settings for Google Earth PDs.
Clicking on a quotation’s placemark icon in GE will show a balloon
description with meta-information and a comment.
Extrusion – Display Quotations at elevated levels
Usually the placemark icons are fixed to the ground. For hilly environments
or between large buildings you can raise the icon like a balloon to a
predetermined elevation (in meters) above ground. The icon is always tied
to the ground with a connecting line. Set extrusion via Preference Settings
for Google Earth PDs.
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Display a Quotation in Google Maps
If GE is just too “heavy” for your computer, you may open a GE quotation
in Google Maps instead.
1. Select a quotation, e.g. in the quotation manager.
2. From the Miscellaneous menu, select Open in Google Maps.
3. If you have created hyperlinks to Google Earth quotations, right click on
the hyperlink and select the option Open in Google Maps.
This opens your Internet browser on the same location. However, you do
not have tilt and heading capabilities available. Currently, there is a fixed
zoom factor for the Google Map view instead of a more detailed
calculation of range and other parameters.
Modify Quotations
To modify a quotation,
1. select it in the quotation manager.
2. Double click on a new location where it should be moved to.
3. Select the “revise quotation” button from the vertical tool bar (see
below) or from the QUOTATIONS menu the option MODIFY BOUNDARIES
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Import Quotations
If KM* files include placemark features, these can be imported as
quotations. The meta-information that was inserted into the placemark is
inserted into the quotation comment field in ATLAS.ti.
Via the GE preference settings, you can select to import placemarks during
the process of assigning a KML / KMZ file as primary document. This is the
default setting.
• From the main Documents menu or from the PD Manager menu, select
MISCELLANEOUS / IMPORT QUOTATIONS.
Create Graphical Snapshot PDs
The images provided by Google Earth are not permanent but are replaced
over time. When these images are changed is not made known to the
regular user. Thus, although positions on earth are stable, the views are
not.
A new set of aerial and satellite images may yield a whole different set of
details. This makes taking snapshots from a current view a very practical
thing. Furthermore, you can code detailed sections within a graphical PD.
Such PDs do not require Google Earth to be installed.
Position Google Earth to the desired view either manually or by selecting a
GE quotation.
Resize the GE window to the desired size. The content you see will be used
for the PD. Only the main area is used, the side bar title etc. are ignored.
Configure all needed layers.
From the drop down Assign button, select NEW GE SNAPSHOT PD.
A new PD is created. The naming convention is as follows: When you select
a quotation in the ATLAS.ti quotation manager and create a snapshot
based on that view, the name for the PD will be Google Earth SN. If you
select a quotation from the Google Earth subtree in the Places Panel, the
name that is shown there is used with the prefix "GESN:.
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Thus, if you have given your quotation a unique name and want to use it
as name for your PD snapshot, then it might be preferable to select the
quotation from the Places Panel. If you prefer neither of the two standard
options, you can always rename the PD.
The source files for the snapshot PDs are jpg; they are stored in the same
folder as the HU and their name starts with GES plus a two digit
letter/number combination.
NOTE: This feature is only available if GE has already started.
Code GE Quotations
As there is no margin area to code, you code GE quotations similar to audio
or video quotations. You have the following options:
Coding via the menus:
• Right click on a quotation in the quotation manager and select CODING /
OPEN CODING to create a new code, or CODE BY LIST to select an already
existing code. Or code via QUICK CODE using the most recently used code.
Coding via the vertical toolbar:
• Select the appropriate coding buttons from the vertical toolbar.
Coding via Drag & Drop:
• You can either drag & drop a code from the Code Manager onto a
quotation, or vice versa, drag & drop one or more quotation(s) from the
Quotation Manager onto a code in the Code Manager.
Preference Settings for Google Earth PDs
A number of parameters can be set for Google Earth PDs.
• To open the preference window, select the Preferences button from the
main tool bar PREFERENCES / GOOGLE EARTH PREFERENCES.
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Timeout for starting: Increase this value if it takes GE a long time to start
and ATLAS.ti does not position to a camera view.
Fly-to-speed: Adjust the speed that is used to travel between two
quotations.
Extrusion: Set the distance between the placemark icon and the ground (in
meters).
Snippet lines: Set the number of lines that are displayed for the quotation
comment in the Google Earth places panel.
Include meta data in quotation export: Decide which meta information for
a quote should be transferred and displayed in Google Earth.
Import file or folder name for KML / KMZ files: Decide which default PD
name should be use for your KML and KMZ files.
Default name for quotation: Decide which default name should be used for
the quotations.
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Associated Documents:
Transcription and Synchronization
of Text and Multimedia Files
Synchronization of Text and Multimedia Files
In ATLAS.ti 6, you will find A-DOCS as new item on the main menu. A-DOCS
stands for “Associated Documents.” This means that you can link two
documents with one another; for instance your audio or video recording
with the transcript at defined points in the two files.
Through links in the transcribed text you can then listen to or view the
associated segments in the multimedia file. Or go the opposite way: As you
listen to the audio recording or view the video file, watch the associated
text being highlighted in the transcript. Associations also make it easy to
quickly locate certain positions in the recording.
To start using of this functionality, your first step is to link two files by
creating the so-called associations. This can be done manually, or by
importing already associated files from the transcription software f4audio
or f4media (a free transcription software). When you import f4 files, all
time markers created there will automatically be converted.
If you set associations manually, you listen to an audio or video file and
view the transcript at the same time. While you listen, you manually set
markers at the appropriate points in the transcript. This allows for the two
documents to be played and displayed in sync. The closer the distance
between two timer markers is, the better will be the synchronization.
However, it is not required to set time markers at any particular or
prescribed intervals (for instance at the end of every line of text). If you
mark longer segments, interpolation is used to synchronize the text with
the associated multimedia file.
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Transcribe your Data in ATLAS.ti
Along with all the “classic” ATLAS.ti functions that you may already be
familiar with it is now possible to transcribe your multimedia data using
ATLAS.ti. The procedure will be explained in more detail below. Basically,
what you need to to do is to create a memo or an empty RTF file to hold
your transcript, use it as a primary document, and transcribe your
audio/video data in edit mode, synchronizing it with your multimedia file as
you transcribe. It is really that simple, and even easier than it sounds!
ATLAS.ti also supports the use of foot switches.
Creating and Working with Associations
The first step in using A-Docs is to associate two documents with each
other. All functions needed for this are available from the Association
Editor, some can also be accessed via the main menu A-DOCS.
There are two ways to create associations: You can set synchronization
anchors manually, or you can import already associated documents from
the transcription software f4audio and f3media.
Manual Creation of Associations in the Association
Editor
When manually creating associations, you set synchronization anchors at
those points in the documents that are to be linked. For instance, you listen
to an audio recording, stop it at a certain point, locate the matching text in
the transcript, and set an anchor at the end of the matching text passage.
All the options you need for this can be found in the Association Editor.
Here you can see, set, name, or even delete anchors. change the
synchronization mode, create and name new associations, import and
export associations, and the like. Thus, it is a good idea to keep the editor
open whenever you work with associated documents.
• To open the Association Editor, select A-DOCS / EDIT ASSOCIATION from the
main menu..
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Create and Name a New Association
One Hermeneutic Unit can include as many associations as you like.
Currently, one association for each set of associated documents, two
documents per set and the following combinations are supported: audio–
text and video–text. In order to keep track of your associations, each
association has an ID, and a unique name can be given as well.
• To create a new association, select FILE / NEW from the Association
Editor's menu.
For each new associations an ID and name is automatically created: S 1, S
2, S 3, etc. For a better overview, it is recommended that you replace the
default name with a unique name.
• Select FILE / RENAME from the Association Editor menu and overwrite the
default name. Click OK to confirm.
Deleting Associations
The active association that is shown in the editor can be deleted via the
menu FILE / DELETE.
Adding Primary Documents to Associations
Before you can manually link documents, you will need to add two primary
documents to an association.
Note: Only text, audio and video files are currently allowed to be added to
an association. The following combinations are possible: text–audio and
text–video. In other words, you cannot associate an audio file with with a
video file.
• Select a primary document in the PDoc Manager (typically, a transcript)
and then select the menu option ASSOCIATION / INSERT PRIMARY DOCUMENT. If
no association is active, a new association is created. The same
document can only be inserted once into the same association.
• Now select a second primary document in the Primary Document
Manager (typically, the matching audio file) and insert it into the
association. The two documents are now associated.
Alternatively, you can insert Primary Documents by Drag & Drop from
the Primary Document Manager into the Association Editor.
Play and Stop Multimedia Files (F4)
Start and stop the playback of the multimedia files in the active association
via the F4 key.
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Set and Delete Association Anchors (F8)
Synchronization anchors link matching parts in the documents. Anchors are
set by clicking on the F8 key (alternatively you can use the menu option
ASSOCIATION/ INSERT ANCHOR). The anchor is set at the current position of the
cursor and marked by a red dot in the text.
Note: The default setting is for anchors to be always displayed. You can
deactivate this option via the main menu A-DOCS / TEXT / SHOW ANCHORS or
in the Association Editor via the menu TEXT / SHOW ANCHORS.
If you set an anchor accidentally, you can correct this by clicking F8 a
second time. Provided you have not moved the cursor yet, clicking the key
F8 again will remove the newly created anchor.
Another way to delete anchors is via the Association Editor: Select an
anchor in the editor and then either press the DEL key on your keyboard or
select the menu option ASSOCIATION / DELETE ANCHOR.
Undo
Setting or deleting an anchor can be reversed via the undo option
(ASSOCIATION / UNDO).
Naming Anchors (F9)
You can use the list of anchors in the Association Editor to navigate
through the associated documents. For this purpose, anchors can be
named.
• To name an anchor, select it, click on the name field and enter a name.
You can also use the currently highlighted text as name. In order to do
this, select the menu option TEXT / GRAB TEXT AS NAME or click F9.
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Importing f4-Documents
f4audio
Transcripts produced with the help of the freely available program f4audio
v3.0.3 (manufactured by dr.dresing & pehl GmbH,
http://www.audiotranskription.de/f4.htm), can be directly imported. Time
markers from the transcript are automatically converted to association
anchors. Time markers are then removed and a new association is created.
Connected audio files are also imported.
To import an f4audio document, select menu item FILE / IMPORT F4
DOCUMENT. A file browser opens up from which you can the desired
document. Once you confirm the selection, the import starts and ATLAS.ti
creates a new memo. The memo contains the content of the f4audio file
(minus the time markers) and assigns it as a primary document. Also,
ATLAS.ti creates a new association with the PD and the anchors that were
generated from the time markers. The audio document is located and also
assigned as a PD.
NOTE: In order for the audio document to be assigned successfully, it must
be located on your computer either in the location referenced in the
transcript or in the same directory as your HU. This will also work if the file
is already assigned as a PD and is accessible via the already mentioned
paths.
f4media
Just like with f4audio, ATLAS.ti also imports f4media directly. f4media's
export formats are not supported, however. Unlike f4audio, f4media does
not contain references to the original audio or video document. Hence,
another browser window is opened after the import which lets you select
the pertinent multimedia document. This is then added to the association
and assigned as a PD.
ATLAS.ti determines automatically if it is dealing with f4audio or f4media
documents.
NOTE: Importing f4media can occasionally produce errors since f4media
has not been official released and all tests so far could only be conducted
using its beta version.
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Working with associated Documents
A-Doc functions can be called either via the A-DOCS menu or from the
Associations Editor.
A Hermeneutic Unit can contain unlimited numbers of associations, but
only one can be active at any given time. The active association is selected
via menu A-DOCS / USE ASSOCIATION and closed via A-DOCS / CLOSE
ASSOCIATION. In the Associations Editor, you find these options under the FILE
menu.
Associations between documents are automatically activated when a
document is loaded in the HU Editor. In cases where several associations
exist, the first available is automatically selected.
Play Selected Text
Simple selections in the text or quotations can be played via the menu item
A-DOCS / PLAY SELECTED TEXT. The associated video or audio recording will be
played back from the correct position. Playback stops at the end of the
selection. The accuracy of selected text playback depends on the precision
and the number of the available anchors..
Synchronization-Mode (F3)
In non-synchronous mode, the documents are independent from each
another. “Moving around” in either one of the documents does not affect
the other. When you switch to synchronization mode, associated
documents are display synchronously, i.e., they are positioned next to each
other. Since synchronous playback is not useful or desired in all situations,
synchronization mode can be switched on and off.
The non-synchronous mode is particularly important for setting anchor
points: In synchronous mode, associated multimedia documents follow the
movements of the mouse cursor. This makes positioning anchors accurately
fairly difficult. Selecting an anchor in the Association Editor, however,
causes the cursor a jump to the selected point even when in nonsynchronous
mode.
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Activating and Deactivation Synchronous Mode
• Synchronous mode can be enabled and disabled via the main menu
entry A-DOCS / SYNCHRO MODE and via the F3 key.
• In the Association Editor, synchronous mode can be selected via the
menu item ASSOCIATION or the pertinent button..
Working with Synchronous Mode
Moving the mouse cursors in the text or clicking a text passage causes
associated multimedia documents to be repositioned to the the correct
location. Click F4 to start playback at this position.
The opposite case—i.e., moving the cursor in the multimedia document—
causes no cursor change in the text document by default as this would
hamper your text work. However, synchronous display is still possible if you
select „Karaoke mode“ (see below).
Tip: When creating associations, it can be helpful to switch to synchronous
mode via the F3 key. Provided you have already set a few anchors, you can
then click in the text or move through the text via the arrow keys
(left/right, up/down). Your multimedia document will follow along. To set
the next anchor via F8, now simply switch synchronous mode off (F3) and
start playback via F4.
Karaoke Mode (CTRL-F4)
“Karaoke” mode lets you follow multimedia content and text documents at
the same time. The multimedia document sets the pace while the current
passage is highlighted in the text document. Because of the moving text
selection, normal text-work tasks such as creating quotations are not
possible in this mode.
There are several types of text highlighting in Karaoke mode. You can set
these various highlighting options from the text menu of the Associations
Editor and/or via the main menu A-DOCS / TEXT:
Highlight Section: Highlights the section between two anchors.
Highlight Line: Highlights the entire line of text that corresponds to the
position of the “lead” document.
Highlight Word: Highlights the word that corresponds to the position of the
“lead” document.
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Highlight Character: Highlights the character that corresponds to the
position of the “lead” document.
Importing and Exporting Associations
Associations are saved together with the HU and remain affiliated. For
exchange between ATLAS.ti projects, they can also be exported and
imported as files:
• In the Associations Editor, select menu items FILE / EXPORT… and save the
file. The active association is saved as a file. This file is in XML format
and has the extension “.syn“.
The import function (FILE / IMPORT...) lets you open files that were created in
the above fashion and activates them as new associations.
How to use ATLAS.ti for Transcribing your Data
In connection with the primary document edit mode and the A-Docs, you
can now do your transcription work right inside ATLAS.ti.
You can use the functions keys to start and stop the recordings and to set
anchors, but ATLAS.ti also supports the use of a footswitch. It saves about
30% of transcription time (see for example:
http://www.audiotranskription.de/english/)
For the purpose of the following instructions, we use memos that have
been assigned as primary documents to hold the transcript. But you can just
as well use an external empty RTF document as the primary document for
the transcript.
Step 1: Create a new memo from the Memo Manager. Give it a title and
select the desired type (e.g., transcript). Save and close the memo.
Step 2: Select the new memo and, in the MISCELLANEOUS menu of the Memo
Manager the option USE AS PRIMARY DOC.
Step 3: Assign the multimedia document that you wish to transcribe in the
HU (DOCUMENTS / ASSIGN).
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Step 4: Open the Association Editor (A-DOCS / EDIT ASSOCIATION) and create a
new association. Add both primary documents to the association (see
Manual Creation of Associations in the Association Editor)
Step 5: Load the transcript (i.e. the still empty document) and switch to edit
mode (EDIT / DOCUMENT ACCESS / ENTER EDIT MODE) or select the button from
toolbar.
Now you're all set to start transcribing.
Step 6: By pressing F4, you start and stop playback of the multimedia
document. Press F8 to set the synchronization points (anchors). An anchor
that was set erroneously can be erased by pressing F8 again. For easy
navigation in the multimedia document, switch to synchronous mode by
pressing F3. If you move the mouse pointer in the text document, the
multimedia document will follow.
Automatic insertion of anchors: If you activate the option AUTO INSERT ANCHOR
WITH RETURN from the TEXT menu, then with each hard return an anchor is set
automatically.
You also have the option to listen the last 1-5 seconds of the recently
transcribed text. Simply select the desired rewind time from the AUDIO menu
of the Association Editors and activate the “rewind” button in the toolbar.
Step 7: It is a very good idea to save your growing transcript somewhat
frequently (EDIT / DOCUMENT ACCESS / SAVE ONLY, or select the option via the
button). When your transcript is finished, or you just want to take a break,
select SAVE AND Leave EDIT MODE. You can set new anchors or delete existing
anchors at any time. And of course you can continue your work on the
text.
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The Co-occurrence Explorer
The standard tool for asking more complex questions has always been the
Query Tool. It lets you combine codes in a number of different ways, using
a total of 14 operators to look for patterns, overlaps, sequences and the like
in your data. The results of a query (provided it yields anything at all) are
always quotations.
There are however situations where one would like the software to tell you
which codes co-occur, instead of having to decide about possible
combinations up front.
This is when the co-occurrence explorer comes in. The Co-occurrence
Explorer looks for codes that co-occur in the margin area combining the
operators WITHIN, ENCLOSES, OVERLAPS, OVERLAPPED BY and AND.
Understanding Co-occurence
Scenarios
Let's consider the following example projects:
Example 1
A media analysis focusing the presentation of environmental issues in
various European Newspapers and adverts. The coding schema included 21
quality of life indicator codes like health, work, family, power, money,
leisure time, adventurous life etc. and 7 codes for various images of nature
like mother nature, recreational aspect of nature, nature as threat, etc. A
question of interest was to find out which quality of life indicators were
coded together with what kind of nature image. This means 21 x 7 queries
in the Query Tool, or one look at the Co-occurrence Explorer.
In order to focus the view, all 28 codes of interests were added to a code
family. This family was then set as filter before the Co-occurrence Explorer
was opened.
Example 2
EU parliamentary debates were coded for different discussion and speaking
styles, namely 15 arguing and 15 bargaining styles. The various speakers
and types of speakers like foreign ministers, NP, layers, etc. were coded as
well. Thus, within each speaker code various style codes were embedded.
With the help of the Co-occurrence Explorer it was easy to see which
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arguing and bargaining styles were used by which group and person. As in
example one, appropriate code families were created and set as filters
before running the tool.
Example 3
In an interview study with women that had achieved leadership positions in
their careers, a number of barriers were mentioned (11 codes) and also a
number of gender issues (10 codes). Similar as in the previous examples,
the question was which of the barrier issues and which of the gender issues
were raised together in the data. All 21 codes were added to a code family,
this family was set as filter and then the Co-occurrence Explorer was
opened.
Compared to quantitative analysis procedures, the Co-occurance Explorer is
like a cross-tabulation of variables. When creating cross-tabulations, you
usually select a subgroup of variables and do not throw in all variables to
see where there might me a correlation. If we were do that, statistically
speaking, we would probably find significant relations. However, some of
them will just occur by pure chance. The same applies here. The fact that
two codes co-occur in the margin does not provide meaning per se. To
obtain meaningful results, you need to select some codes before running
the analysis. A basis for such a selection may be a research question or
hypothesis you have in mind; some theoretical considerations or previous
analysis results may lead you to believe that something interesting is going
at places in the data where certain codes co-occur, etc. As mentioned
above, you select sub groups of codes by creating appropriate code families
and by setting this family as filter.
There are two views for the Co-occurrence Explorer, a tree view and a table
view.
The Co-occurrence Explorer Tree View
• To open the Co-occurrence Explorer as Tree View, select TOOLS /
COOCCURRENCE EXPLORER / TREE EXPLORER from the main menu.
As shown in the examples above, it usually is necessary to create a code
family including the codes of interest and to set this family as filter via CODES
/ FILTER / FAMILY.... You are not likely to yield any meaningful results if you
correlate everything with everything else.
The Tree View only shows the root objects when you open it. When you
expand the branches, you see which codes co-occur and you see which of
these codes occur in which PD. If you expand the branches further, you see
the associated quotations. If you click on a quotation, it is loaded and you
can view it in context.
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Interpreting Co-occurrences
As in the Query Tool, the smallest unit for the results of a query is the
coded segment, i.e. the quotation. If two codes co-occur, the output will
always show both co-occurring segments. In the example shown below
these are the codes: gender equality_problems and barriers_age |
barriers_institutional. As the overlapping area is not a quotation., the
output gives you the data segment coded with gender equality_problems
AND the segment coded with the two barrier codes. The codes co-occur
within paragraph 59 (data source: doc file). In terms of counting, here you
have only 1 co-occurring event.
This also applies if one of the co-occurring coded segments is embedded
within another segment. The output shows two quotations, for one cooccurring
event.
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The Co-occurrence Explorer Table View (Preview)
In addition to the hierarchical tool for exploring code-code co-occurrences
a table based view permits detecting such evidence at a glance.
NOTE: The Co-occurence Explorer as Table View is disabled when ATLAS.ti
6 first ships but will be provided with one of the next service packs in the
very near future.
• To open the Co-occurrence Explorer as Table View, select TOOLS /
COOCCURRENCE EXPLORER / TABLE EXPLORER from the main menu. The output
looks as follows:
Coloring helps in detecting co-occurrences. Corresponding quotations can
be activated by clicking into the tables cells.
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Output in others Formats
The results of a co-occurrence analysis can also be outputted as RTF file.
You find this option under CODES / OUTPUT / PRINT COOCCURRING CODES. You
can output just the codes, or the co-occurring codes including the
associated quotations in list form.
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Putting On A New Face: The
Revised User Interface
New Tool and Object Icons
When you open ATLAS.ti 6, you will see it right away. The user interface
has finally arrived in the 21th
century :-). To make it easy for you to adjust
to the new buttons, we have created a special wallpaper for you thats
shows you both old and new buttons next to each other with a brief
explanation. The title of the wallpaper is “pdtoolbar.”
Below you see the old and new buttons of the main tool bar:
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"Skinnable" Toolbars
Skins are customizable or interchangeable graphical templates altering the
graphical look of your ATLAS.ti interface. If you prefer another look from
the blue default color, select VIEW / SET TOOLS SCHEME / SET COLOR from the
main toolbar.
NOTE: Your monitor settings should be set to “True Color” and the highest
color quality (32 bit). This should be the default setting on most computers,
but if ATLAS.ti looks strange to you on your screen, check these system
settings first.
If you for example prefer a warmer, more Mediterranean look, your may
adjust your screen like this:
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Magic Background
Already previewed in version 5.5, we have further perfected the "magic
background" of the ATLAS.ti GUI. Your codes can be displayed in a way
that is derived from the popular "tag cloud" view typical of Web 2.0
applications. This allows you to get a quick look at your codes in an original
but highly intuitive way right on the main screen.
To change to the magic background,
• Right click on the background when no document is loaded. If selected,
deactivate the option “Display Wallpaper” and activate the option
“Display Codes”
NOTE: If you want to see the wallpaper with the new and old button
images, activate the option DISPLAY WALLPAPER and then SELECT WALLPAPER.
A Few Secrets about the Magic Background
The color of the background is determined at random. If you resize the
screen, the color changes. But if you take a closer look, the background
tells you the time. The light stripe indicates the next full hour.
If you have to work on weekends, we would like to cheer you up a bit and
the background shows two colors :-)
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Code Colors
Code colors can now explicitly be assigned by the user. To change the color
for a single or a group of codes,
1. Select the code(s) in the Code Manager.
2. Select the menu option Miscellaneous / Change Color or simply click on
the Change Color button.
3. Select any of the basic colors offered to you or define your own color.
You can also display the personalizes code colours in the margin area (see
below).
New Options in the Margin Display
The context menu for the margin area offers a number of new options.
New Object Types
You can display thee new object types: Code Families, Memo Families and
Network Families. If you deactivate the display of the single items, this
allows you an aggregated view onto the data.
In the screen shot below only code families are displayed. They appear in
gray.
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Personalized Object Colors
You no longer need to live with the default colors generated by the
software based on the layers of quotation brackets in the margin. If you
select the option “USE OBJECT COLORs” in the margin context menu, the
colors that you personally have chosen for your codes are displayed. In
order to still see the associations between quotation bracket and code, a
small colored square with the bracket color is shown in front of each code.
Now, let your imagination go wild. Select different colors for higher and
lower order codes, for various levels of coding, for codes belonging to
various different themes, for codes derived from particular theories, for
codes emerging from the data, for codes that still needs to be refined, for
codes that you want to discuss at the next team meeting, for codes of
different coders, etc. etc.
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