Qualitative research seeks out the why, not the how of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information things like interview transcripts, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesn't just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative researchers.

You might be a student, a sociologist, a healthcare worker, a business analyst or a marketer. You might not even consider yourself a researcher. But if you're analyzing audio, videos, pictures or documents, then chances are you're involved in qualitative research.

Qualitative research software like NVivo, helps people to manage, shape and make sense of unstructured information. It doesn't do the thinking for you; it provides a sophisticated workspace that enables you to work through your information.

Collecting and analyzing this unstructured information can be messy and time consuming using manual methods. When faced with volumes of materials, finding themes and extracting meaning can be a daunting task.