What is a CHN file? A CHN file is a data file used by Ethnograph (version 5 and earlier), a qualitative data analysis program developed by Qualis Research Associates. It stores text and coding information that helps organize and categorize interviews, field notes, or other qualitative data for analysis. Researchers in academic and social science research settings primarily use CHN files.

More Information ​Ethnograph is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) that was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. It was among the early tools designed to assist researchers in the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, education, and psychology, to code and analyze text-based qualitative data, such as interview transcripts, field notes, and open-ended survey responses. NOTE: Beginning with version 6 of Ethnograph, the program no longer saves information in a standalone CHN file. Instead, it saves data in a project folder structure.