Qualitative & Text Tools
Keyword in Context Viewer
Search your text for a word or phrase and see every occurrence with the words around it. Sort the lines and download them as CSV for coding.
What keyword in context (KWIC) analysis is
Keyword in context, often shortened to KWIC, lists every occurrence of a word with the text on either side. This lets you see how a term is actually used instead of only how often it appears. It is a standard technique in qualitative content analysis and in corpus linguistics.
How to use the viewer
- Paste your text, for example a set of interview transcripts.
- Type a word or a short phrase, such as cost or waiting time.
- Choose how many words to show on each side, and how to sort the lines.
- Read down the keyword column and look for patterns in the words before and after it.
When it helps
Use KWIC when a word seems important in the frequency table but its meaning is unclear, when a word has several meanings, or when you want evidence for a theme. Sorting by the word after the keyword groups similar phrases together, which makes recurring expressions easy to spot.
From lines to themes
Copy the CSV into your coding sheet and label each line with a code. Then use the theme finder to see whether the patterns you noticed match the main clusters in your data.
Frequently asked questions
Can I search for a phrase?
Yes. Enter two or more words and the tool finds the exact sequence.
Is the search case sensitive?
No. Capital letters and punctuation are ignored when matching.
What window size should I use?
Five to eight words on each side usually gives enough context. Use a larger window for long, complex sentences.
Can I use it for interview transcripts?
Yes. Paste the transcript, remove speaker labels if you want, and search for the concepts you are exploring.