The Appendix of nearly every communications research report (advertisement copy tests, for example) includes a reproduction of all respondent verbatims. This is often the bulk of the report as far as number of pages is concerned and represents a considerable portion of the research expense. Too often this qualitative material is left unanalyzed and hence remains largely “unpossessed” by the research report user.

The gross quantity of the verbatims, the variety and richness of the feelings and attitudes expressed, the intolerable ambiguities, and the lack of a simple structure to integrate these data all contribute to deter meaningful analysis. At the same time, these very characteristics suggest values that demand analysis.