The Sourcerer’s ApprenticesUsing MAXQDA for teaching the study of historical witchcraft documents

I'm interested in why the accused supposedly used magic. What personal conflicts caused witchcraft persecutions?
•	The bar chart shows the frequency of each conflict type
•	In total they contain 102 coded segments
•	To each segment only one of the codes was applied
procedure
•	Searching for the keyword ‘Vrsache/Ursache‘ (cause)
•	Auto coding all paragraphs containg that word
•	Validating the results and creating inductive subcodes
•	Analyzing code frequencies
conclusionThe most common conflict was the refusal of alms. This shows that the people accused of witchcraft were mainly beggars living in the streets. Insults and violence are also frequently mentioned. Conflicts about payment, debt, accusations of crimes and relationships are rare and individual phenomena.

I want to know what the devil looked like. How did he appear during pact, flight or sex?
•	The size of squares shows the frequency of the code co-occurrence
•	The columns indicate the context (pact, sex, sabbath flight)
•	The rows show what form the devil took in these contexts
procedure
•	Broad-brush coding with the code ‘appearance of the devil‘
•	Fine coding into subcodes for each individual shape (animal, human...)
•	Second coding of the text segments with context codes (pact, sex, flight...)
•	Analysis of code co-occurence with Code Relation Browser
conclusionThe appearance of the devil is not random, but rather limited to a specific set of forms. The devil is often described in the narrative of the devil‘s pact, where he took the form of a dog or rich man. The shape of a goat only appears when the Sabbath or the witches‘ flight are occuring. During intercourse the devil‘s appearance is rarely mentioned.

I am curious, where the events happened in the city. Are certain places or streets related to specific events?
•	The map shows the places mentioned in the texts
•	Churches (yellow), markets (orange), streets (red)
•	The town was separated in Old, Middle and New Town
procedure
•	Identify streets, chruches and markets with keyword-in-context search
•	Code the relevant places in the text and on the image
•	Analyse frequencies for Old Town, Middle Town, New Town
•	Interpret events and analyse function of the places
conclusion
Most events took place in the New Town (right), whereas most of the accused lived in the poor Old Town (left). Apparently the beggars who were accused of witchcraft moved on a daily basis to the richer parts of the town, where most conflicts with their later persecutors occured. 
I want to do a lecture that teaches MAXQDA & the analysis of historical witchcraft documents!
format & data
This poster shows the different research questions asked, tools used, and solutions developed by students of the MLU Halle/Wittenberg in an exercise during WS 2018/19.The lecture was held in a computer room and it strongly integrated teaching context and conducting individual research. For the lecture and the analysis a common pool of sources was used, consisting of 18 'confessions' taken from witchcraft trials in Rostock (1584).
concept
The lecture consisted of 15 weekly meetings, 2 hours each. Few studentswere enrolled in the course, therefore intensive coaching was possible.The lecture was made up of four parts:
•	Basic introduction into goal, software, sources and topic (3 sessions)
•	Thematical introductions with explorative work in MAXQDA. (7 sessions)
•	Assisted analysis following individual research questions. (4 sessions)
•	Presentation of results (1 session)

The personal information of the students has been changed to protect their privacy. Their research questions are genuine, and are published with their permission.
Andreas W. Müller (M.A.)Mueller Mixed Methodsandreas@muellermixedmethods.com