How to use the qualitative analysis tool
From raw transcripts or research papers to structured, quote-backed themes in minutes. Your first 3 sources are completely free. Upgrade anytime to the Thesis Sprint Pass ($9 for up to 20 sources) or the Advanced Project Pass ($15 for up to 50 sources with advanced tools).
Literature Review Mode
Synthesises findings across published empirical studies for systematic reviews, meta-ethnographies, or thesis background chapters.
Primary Research Mode
Codes participant interviews, focus group transcripts, and open-ended survey answers, preserving participant attribution throughout.
Choose your research mode and gather data
Pick between Literature Review Mode (synthesising findings across 3 to 20 published studies, or up to 50 on the Advanced Pass) or Primary Research Mode (coding 3 to 50 interview transcripts, focus groups, or survey responses). Gather your material, focusing strictly on empirical findings or participant answers.
Paste findings or batch upload files
Paste your text directly into individual boxes, or batch upload PDFs, Word (.docx), CSV, or Excel files (up to 3MB free, or 10MB on paid passes). Multi-speaker transcripts can be automatically split into individual participant boxes. All files are parsed privately in your browser and never permanently stored on external servers.
Select a qualitative framework
Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke) is the default standard for doctoral and master's dissertations. You can also select Thematic Synthesis (Thomas & Harden) for systematic literature reviews, Framework Analysis for health/policy matrices, Grounded Theory for constant-comparative category building, or Qualitative Content Analysis for descriptive coding.
Run the interactive analysis
Watch the engine code each source in Stage A, generating micro-codes anchored to exact verbatim quotes. In Stage B, the engine clusters codes into candidate themes, extracts cross-source agreements and divergence caveats, and prepares your synthesis report.
Explore advanced analytical tools (Advanced Pass)
For deeper projects, the Advanced Project Pass automatically extracts Table 1 Participant Demographics in Primary Mode, compares how often each theme appears in each participant group, plots a code saturation curve with a ready-to-paste methods paragraph, identifies 5 actionable Qualitative Research Gaps and Theoretical Underpinnings in Literature Mode, and provides Ask Your Data grounded Q&A chat across your full dataset.
Export publication-ready academic assets
Download comprehensive Word (.docx) reports with audit trails, copy Markdown, export high-resolution Figure 1 Thematic Maps (300DPI PNG and vector SVG), export structured CSV/Excel codebooks, or download universal REFI-QDA (.qdpx) files compatible with NVivo, ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, and Dedoose.
Review and refine as the researcher
AI-assisted coding serves as a rigorous first pass, not a replacement for your interpretive judgement. Review every suggested code against its supporting quote, refine theme titles to address your research question, and report AI assistance transparently using our methods chapter reporting guide.
Compare themes across participant groups and check saturation
Two Primary Research Mode tools on the Advanced Project Pass answer the questions supervisors and reviewers ask most about interview studies.
Theme comparison by participant group
Once the Demographics Table (Table 1) is extracted, pick a characteristic such as role, work arrangement, gender or age. You get a table showing how many participants in each group raised each theme (for example “7 of 9 remote workers (78%) vs 2 of 8 office workers (25%)”), a supporting quote from each group, the biggest differences written out as sentences, and a methods note. Numeric characteristics such as age are split at the median. It is calculated from your results, so it uses none of your generations.
Code saturation curve
A chart of how many new codes each participant added, in upload order, assessed with the base size, run length and new-information threshold method of Guest, Namey & Chen (2020). It tells you whether and when saturation was reached and writes the paragraph for your methods chapter, with the reference. For reflexive thematic analysis it adds Braun & Clarke's (2021) caveat. Both tools are also added to the Word report.
Which qualitative framework should I pick?
The platform supports 5 established qualitative methodologies:
Reflexive Thematic Analysis Braun & Clarke, 2006/2019
The most widely taught approach: six phases from familiarisation to report.
Thematic Synthesis Thomas & Harden, 2008
Built for synthesising findings across studies in systematic reviews.
Framework Analysis Ritchie & Spencer, 1994
Matrix-based approach popular in health and policy research.
Grounded Theory (constant comparison) Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Corbin & Strauss
Concepts and categories built bottom-up toward an emerging theory.
Qualitative Content Analysis Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; Elo & Kyngäs, 2008
Descriptive, category-focused — closest to a structured summary.
Not sure? Check your department handbook or dissertation guidelines. If none is specified, Braun & Clarke reflexive thematic analysis is the most widely accepted standard in academic research.
Choose the pass that fits your project
All passes are one-time payments with 30 days of access and no recurring subscriptions.
Thesis Sprint Pass
$9Best for master's theses and typical dissertation chapters.
- ✓ Up to 20 sources or participants
- ✓ 5 full project analysis runs
- ✓ High-res Figure 1 thematic maps
- ✓ REFI-QDA (.qdpx) & CSV/Excel exports
Advanced Project Pass
$15Best for doctoral dissertations, larger reviews, and complex qualitative inquiries.
- ✓ Up to 50 sources or participants
- ✓ 10 full project analysis runs
- ✓ Qualitative Gap Finder & Theory Underpinnings (3 generations each)
- ✓ Auto-extracted Demographics Table (3 generations)
- ✓ Theme comparison by participant group
- ✓ Code saturation curve & methods text
- ✓ Ask Your Data Q&A Chat (7 queries)
Ready to begin your analysis?
Test your first 3 studies or participant transcripts for free. No credit card, account, or software installation needed.
Start free analysis →