LLMs and Coding in Qualitative Research: Advancements and Opportunities for Social Verbatim as an Integral Qualitative Tool
DEBATE: Beyond Big Data: Generative AI and LLMs as New Digital Technologies for the Analysis of Social Reality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.176Keywords:
Large Language Models (LLMs), qualitative coding, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), qualitative research, open science, AI-assisted qualitative analysisAbstract
This article explores the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) in qualitative coding, highlighting advances and opportunities for the Social Verbatim tool. It reviews the fundamentals of LLMs, their architecture, and the impact of hardware on their development. Additionally, specific applications of LLMs in qualitative research are analyzed, including thematic coding and comparative analysis. Methodological, ethical, and epistemological challenges are addressed, and strategies to mitigate these issues are proposed. Finally, the implications of integrating LLMs into tools like Social Verbatim are discussed, emphasizing the importance of transparency and human-machine collaboration in qualitative research.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Juan Miguel Gómez Espino
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