ABSTRACT
Qualitative research into the sociology of emotions often draws on constructivist or phenomenological approaches. Considering emotions as social constructions comes along with methodological paradigms that seek to reconstruct and understand social dimensions of emotions such as meaning, interpretations and knowledge as well as norms, values or discourses. This, however, is generally considered incongruous with computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) since the use of software is mostly associated with positivist approaches and quantifying techniques of data analysis. In this chapter, I will advocate for the methodological value of using CAQDAS in constructivist emotion research. To do so, I will discuss three ways in which software can facilitate and broaden the investigation of emotions in qualitative data. These methodological improvements could significantly facilitate the researchers’ understanding of the patterns that underlie emotions.
