Exploring the Use of AI in Qualitative Analysis: A Comparative Study of Guaranteed Income Data

Abstract

This study explores the potential of the AI chatbot ChatGPT to supplement human-centered tasks such as qualitative research analysis. The study compares the emergent themes in human and AI-generated qualitative analyses of interviews with guaranteed income pilot recipients. The results reveal that there are similarities and differences between human and AI-generated analyses, with the human coders recognizing some themes that ChatGPT did not and vice versa. The study concludes that AI like ChatGPT provides a powerful tool to supplement complex human-centered tasks, and predicts that such tools will become an additional tool to facilitate research tasks. Future research could explore feeding raw interview transcripts into ChatGPT and incorporating AI-generated themes into triangulation discussions to help identify oversights, alternative frames, and personal biases.