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This paper discusses some of the problems associated with observational data analysis for complex domains, and introduces the term "exploratory sequential data analysis" (ESDA) to describe the different kinds of observational data analysis currently being performed in many areas of the behavioral and social sciences. The development and functionality of a software tool—MacSHAPA—for certain kinds of ESDA is described. MacSHAPA is designed to bring investigators into closer contact with their data and to help them achieve greater research productivity and quality. MacSHAPA allows investigators to see their data in various ways, to enter it, edit it and encode it, and to carry out statistical analyses and make reports. MacSHAPA's relation to other ESDA software tools is indicated throughout the paper.