UN-CODE: Software for Structuring and Visualizing Collective Decision-Making Based on Qualitative Data

Abstract

UN-CODE is a web-based tool for structuring and visualizing collective decision-making processes using qualitative, case-based data. It offers a database management tool and visualization method in one. The structure of the database and the visualizations derive from a model that is rooted in evolutionary biology and that has been transformed for social scientists. It features three principal dimensions: problem and solution definitions (PSD), weighted connectedness (c_score) as a network measure, and fitness (FIT) to describe the probability of actors reaching their goals in the collective decision-making process. The results are visualized in a scalable 3D-environment that shows the main dynamics of such in one quick overview. Funding statement: This research has been funded by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research research grant no. 451-10-022.