MAXQDA 2022 and 2024

If you want to sort your codes, right-click the Codes heading in the Code System, choose Sort in the open window, and then choose how you would like to sort.

You may decide after your first round of open coding that you want to merge some codes together to combine similar ideas under one code. You can do this by dragging the code you want to merge on top of the one you want to merge it into in the code system. Click on the Merge button. You will know that the merge worked if you see a plus sign next to the code that you merged into. For instance, library instruction merged into Teaching in the image below, so now teaching has a plus sign next to it.

If you want to create subcodes, you can do this easily by dragging and dropping the subcode on top of the parent code. For example, the first image below shows codes without any hierarchy; by dragging and dropping, The second image shows dragging and dropping to make subcodes. For instance, promotion review is now a subcode or child code of Tenure and Faculty Review. 

You can also create subcodes by hovering over the code that you want to be the parent code, clicking on the green circle with a white plus sign in it, and entering the subcode.

MAXQDA has five different colors available for doing basic color coding. You may choose to designate colors for segments of materials that are unclear, areas where you have questions, etc.

You can also group your codes into sets by clicking on the green circle with a plus sign in it next to Sets in the Code System window. You can name the set and then drag and drop relevant codes in it. This is another way to keep your code system organized. Sets are different than groups because sets allow you to capture specific subsets of data that you want to use for analysis.

Exporting the codebook. To see all of your codes and the memos associated with them, as well as how often the codes have been applied, you can click on Reports>Codebook and choose what information you would like to export.