This paper discusses the potential of specialist software to develop category construction in qualitative data analysis and considers how the uses of software may best be reported to substantiate researchers’ claims. Examples are examined from two recent projects: a consultation of pupil’s perceptions of assessment for learning strategies and an exploratory enquiry on employing music as a tool for inclusion in post-conflict Northern Ireland. From this experience, a number of suggestions on how to support the researchers’ claims are made and a model of knowledge generation is put forward. Some of the practical implications outlined are discussed within the context of social research, but it is acknowledged that the suggestions also apply to any field in which knowledge is generated from qualitative data
