Problems, Pitfalls, and Potential of AI for Qualitative Research
About this event
Join colleagues from across Newcastle University Business School for an afternoon exploring how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping qualitative research — where it helps, where it falls short, and what it means for how we analyse data.
The event combines short talks from NUBS researchers with a facilitated reading group discussion. You’re welcome to attend either part or both.
This event is open to staff and students across subject groups with an interest in qualitative research.
Please note: you do not need to register to attend this event.
Programme
14:00 – 15:00 | Short talks: AI in qualitative research
- Dean Pierides
Fieldwork against the machine: perils and pitfalls of non-human qualitative data analysis - Andrea Whittle
What is human “analysis” of qualitative data, and can a machine do it? - Natasha Mauthner
Posthumanist reflections on the use of AI in qualitative data analysis - Yin Liang
Using generative AI to pre-process large-scale textual and visual data for qualitative research
15:00 – 15:15 | Break
15:15 – 16:30 | Reading group discussion
Discussion will be based on a recent article from Organizational Research Methods:
Nguyen, D. C. & Welch, C. (2025). Generative Artificial Intelligence in Qualitative Data Analysis: Analyzing — or Just Chatting?
Participants are encouraged (but not required) to read the paper in advance.