EconLit vs MAXQDA
EconLit
aeaweb.orgMAXQDA
maxqda.comSide by side
| Figure | EconLit | MAXQDA |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $41/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 9 |
| Spec score · Academic Research Databases | 8.4 (#9) | 8.9 (#1) |
| Maker headquarters | The AEA is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with a publications office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. | VERBI lists Invalidenstraße 74, 10557 Berlin, Germany as its address. |
| Purpose | EconLit is a bibliographic database of economics literature published by the American Economic Association. | MAXQDA is qualitative data analysis software for qualitative and mixed methods research, including literature reviews, content analysis, interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. |
| Support | The AEA directs institutional subscribers to contact their information service provider for help with proprietary search interface questions or support. | Free online support is provided for the current and preceding versions, with context-sensitive help linked from dialog windows. |
| Trial | EBSCO’s EconLit page offers a request-trial option but does not state a trial duration. | The maker offers a 14-day free MAXQDA trial for Windows and Mac. |
| What it does | EconLit is the American Economic Association’s bibliographic database for economics literature. | MAXQDA is qualitative and mixed-methods research software for organizing, coding, analyzing, visualizing and reporting text, multimedia, survey and bibliographic data. |
Plans
EconLit
- EconLit for AEA MembersFree
- EconLit (institutional subscription)Priced on request
- EconLit via EBSCOPriced on request
- EconLit via OvidPriced on request
- EconLit via ProQuestPriced on request
- EconLit with Full TextPriced on request
MAXQDA
- AI Assist FreeFree
- MAXQDA Tailwind Free TrialFree
- MAXQDA Tailwind Pro$41 a month
- AI Assist Premium (12 months)Priced on request
- AI Assist Premium (6 months)Priced on request
- MAXQDAPriced on request
- MAXQDA Analytics ProPriced on request
- MAXQDA Tailwind EnterprisePriced on request
- MAXQDA TeamCloudPrice not published
In their own words
EconLit
EconLit is the American Economic Association’s bibliographic database for economics literature. It covers peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers, PhD dissertations, books, book reviews, and articles in collective volumes. The database contains over 2 million records, covers literature published over the last 140 years, and is updated weekly. Searchable record fields can include title, author, affiliation, publication details, document type, keywords, subject classifications, named persons, and geographic descriptors. Its subject descriptors follow the Journal of Economic Literature classification system, using four-digit codes. Institutional subscriptions are available through EBSCO, ProQuest, and Ovid, which provide the same data through different interfaces. Full-text links depend on library holdings; EconLit with Full Text is available only through EBSCO. AEA members have courtesy access to bibliographic records, but that service has no full-text links and may be phased out. Institutional pricing is supplied by providers; EBSCO offers a trial request without stating its duration.
MAXQDA
MAXQDA is desktop software for qualitative and mixed methods research, including literature reviews, content analysis, interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. Its tools include qualitative and mixed methods analysis, quantitative text analysis with MAXDictio, and statistical analysis with Stats. Analytics Pro can import and connect Excel or SPSS data and includes descriptive statistics, crosstabs, ANOVA, independent-samples t-tests, cluster analysis, Pearson and Spearman correlations, and scale calculations. MAXQDA Transcription can automatically transcribe audio and video in over 50 languages without a MAXQDA license, though analyzing transcripts in MAXQDA requires a valid MAXQDA or Analytics Pro license. TeamCloud provides a protected cloud workspace with 25GB storage for one team lead and up to four team members per license. The desktop product runs on Windows and Mac with the same interface and functions on both. A 14-day free trial is available for either system. The page does not expose prices for MAXQDA licenses or Analytics Pro; AI Assist has Free and Premium options, with limited capacity.