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arXiv · 2505.00012

The AI Co-Ethnographer: How Far Can Automation Take Qualitative Research?

Fabian Retkowski·Andreas Sudmann·Alexander Waibel
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Abstract

Qualitative research often involves labor-intensive processes that are difficult to scale while preserving analytical depth. This paper introduces The AI Co-Ethnographer (AICoE), a novel end-to-end pipeline developed for qualitative research and designed to move beyond the limitations of simply automating code assignments, offering a more integrated approach. AICoE organizes the entire process, encompassing open coding, code consolidation, code application, and even pattern discovery, leading to a comprehensive analysis of qualitative data.

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Fabian Retkowski, Andreas Sudmann, Alexander Waibel. 2025-04-21. The AI Co-Ethnographer: How Far Can Automation Take Qualitative Research?. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.00012

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