In this episode, Lisa and Tom take on a series of objections and concerns that Dr. Susanne Friese has heard repeatedly over the past month in conversations with researchers.

Can I trust a tool if I don’t know what it was trained on?
If there are no citations, is it plagiarism?
If a colleague arrives at a different result, we can talk it through. But with an AI assistant, I cannot do this.And if I have to check everything anyway, what’s the point?

These are just some of the questions Lisa and Tom explore in this wide-ranging conversation about the place of generative AI in qualitative research.

If you’ve ever felt hesitant, skeptical, or just plain curious about AI’s role in your research process—this episode is for you.

Useful links:

Informed Consent with AI

Template (German): Vertraulichkeitserklärung mit KI Nutzung

Template (English): Informed Consent when AI tools are used

Privacy and Security Fact Sheets for QInsights

Data Protection and Data Security at QInsights

QInsights: Privacy and Securitiy Fact Sheet

Geman

Datenschutzbezogene Angaben zur Nutzung von QInsights

QInsights: Steckbrief zum Datenschutz

In this episode, Lisa and Tom discuss the article: Conversational Analysis with AI - CA to the Power of AI: Rethinking Coding in Qualitative Analysis

written by Dr Susanne Friese, pre-print April 27, 2025.

If you are curious to try out QInsights, to see how you can put the method into action, you can register for a free account here

Is coding still essential in qualitative research—or can generative AI offer a smarter way forward? In this episode, Dr. Susanne Friese takes you on a journey through the history of coding, its role in managing complexity, and how today's AI tools might free us from mechanical tasks without sacrificing depth or rigor. Learn how dialogic analysis with AI transforms our interaction with data—and whether the dream of coding-free research is truly within reach.

Based on the blog and webinar: Life without Coding in Qualitative Analysis: Does Generative AI Fulfill This Dream?

Blog

Webinar Recording (YouTube)

Join us for a special live edition of the AI-in-Qualitative-Research podcast, where René van der Valk and I reflect on a transformative year in qualitative research and AI. Set against a cozy fireside backdrop with a Scottish twist with a touch of whiskey (watch to the end), we explore my learnings, and key takeaways from 2024. 🎙️❄️

Links:

Podcast Episode with Christin Silver

Our own AI-Powered App that was released in 2024

This podcast is based an article - yet to be published on the QualAI blog of the CAQDAS networking project. The title of the blog will be: "Embracing the Paradigm Shift: Moving Beyond Coding in Qualitative Research".

Listen what Lisa and Tom have to say about it.

Curious about how to ethically leverage AI in qualitative research? This episode dives into the questions asked by researchers during a recent webinar on this critical topic.

Dr. Susanne Friese answered all questions, and our AI hosts, Lisa and Tom, unpack these responses with their own unique perspectives.

💡 The following questions are explored:

Are journals able to detect if a section of a manuscript/ paper was written with AI tool? if Yes, how?

How secure is it to use the ChatGPT Team/Enterprise plan? They promote it by saying that 'user business data is not used to train their models.'

Does it mean if the researcher writes his own PROMPTS then it can be considered as “ethical”?

Will the AI model be able to identify its bias if we asked it to?

Is there a risk of over-reliance on AI in decision-making?

Who is accountable for errors in AI-assisted analysis?

How do researchers ensure AI is used ethically and responsibly?

What do we do if AI claims our work to be his?

Are peer-reviewers ready to assess work using AI analysis?

What do you think about students who hardly manage to pay their tution fees. How can they afford the use of AI?

Are themes created by an AI "OBJECTIVE"? Can we trust outcomes?

Can we entrust the big tech companies with our data?

Will journals accept articles when researchers use AI?

This episode is based on a conversation between Sidi Lemine, CEO of Jade Kite, and Dr Susanne Friese, written up by Sidi with the title "The Great Unlearning: making the most of the AI paradigm shift" and published on LinkedIn

This episode is based on the following blog: https://qeludra.com/blog/ai-bias-qualitative-research

In this episode, we challenge the notion of AI as a one-click solution for automating qualitative analysis, and instead, advocate for its use as an interactive, collaborative tool. Before diving into how this can be achieved, we first address a key but often overlooked limitation of current AI tools—the context window limitations. Despite being a critical factor, many users are unaware of how these constraints affect AI's ability to process and interpret data effectively.

Understanding these limitations is crucial to developing strategies that work around them. Join us as we explore practical approaches to harnessing AI's potential, while maintaining the depth and precision that qualitative research demands.

If you want more detail on the new approach to analysis, Dr Susanne Friese walks you through an example analysis in her blog:

Ethical and Responsible Use of AI for Qualitative Analysis