'Couldn't You Have Got a Computer Program to Do That for You?' Reflections on the Impact that Machines Have on the Ways We Think About and Undertake Qualitative Research in the Socio-Legal Community

Abstract

This article addresses the role that computer software programs playin the sort of textual analysis that has typically been the preserve ofthe qualitative researcher. Drawing on two distinct research projectsconducted separately by the authors, it considers the transformation ofsocial science software from a competent assistant that can help to sortand retrieve data, to an intelligent assistant capable of independentlyfinding trends and counter-arguments, to a co-investigator capable ofdoing things that human researchers cannot. In addition to challengingsome of the claims of 'siliconistas', this article considers the impactof new technology on the aesthetics of research and the professionalidentity of qualitative researchers. In doing so, it raises some importantquestions about how well we are training early-career academics for thechallenges that they are likely to face in the future world of socio-legalempirical research. Show more