faculty of information, winter 2013 instructional …introduction to nvivo 10 faculty of information...

Introduction to NVivo 10

Faculty of Information - Winter 2013 1

Faculty of Information, Winter 2013 Instructional Series

Introduction to NVivo 10 Workshop Goals The purpose of this workshop is to:

• Introduce participants to the NVivo 10 workspace • Give an overview of its key features, and • Provide participants with an opportunity to acquire some hands-on experience.

Specifically, the participants will learn how to:

• Create a project, • Import data and troubleshoot, and • Explore several types of coding to text data.

What is Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis? Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) is the range of processes and procedures whereby we move from the qualitative data that have been collected into some form of explanation, understanding or interpretation of the people and situations we are investigating (Gibbs, n.d.). Computer assisted QDA is the application of computer software to this process. In other words, it is not a method in-and-of-itself, rather, the use of software, like NVivo, simply helps facilitate the organization and examination of qualitative sources. Some NVivo Definitions Sources (data) Sources are the files that contain the data you have collected in your research. In other words, they are your collective research materials. Types of sources you can import into NVivo 10 include:

Textual documents (Word, simple text, PDF) Spreadsheets/datasheets (Excel, comma delimited files, databases) Audio/Video files (.mp3, .wma, .wav, .avi, .mov, etc.) Pictures (.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .tif)

Coding (themes) Coding involves applying themes to your qualitative data. It is the process of identifying words/phrases /lines/sentences/passages of text in a document or an image or part of an image that represent an idea or concept. This idea/concept is then linked to a named code that represents that idea or concept. All the passages and images associated with a code can be examined together and patterns identified. Node (codes or containers) Node is the term NVivo uses for the individual codes you create in your coding process. Nodes are essentially containers you create to gather related material in one place so that you can look for emerging patterns or themes in your sources.



Getting Started with NVivo 10 1. Start NVivo and Open the Sample Project

a) Double-click the QSR NVivo 10 icon on your desktop

b) The NVivo “Welcome” screen will open

a. Here you will see the sample project, Environmental Change Down East, which has already been created for you

c) Click on the title of the sample project to open it

Let’s spend a few minutes exploring the workspace . . . 2. The NVivo 10 Workspace

Figure 1. The NVivo workspace (from NVivo Support Documentation – Getting Started Guide)



3. Create a New Project in NVivo

a) Double-click the NVivo icon on your desktop (or, go to File > New)

b) The NVivo “Welcome” screen will open a. Click on the “New Project” button on the bottom left of the screen

c) The “New Project” window opens

a. Enter a title for your project (something like “Practice Project” will work for now) b. Enter a short description of your project if you want c. Select a location to save your project d. Click OK and your new project workspace will open

4. Import Sources into Your Project

Figure 2. Sources (from NVivo Support Documentation – Getting Started Guide) Importing an internal source:

a) In Navigation View, click the Internals folder

b) On the External Data tab (in the Import group) click Documents a. The Import Internals dialogue box opens

c) In the Import from box, click the Browse button

a. Select the file you want to import b. Click Open

d) The Document Properties dialog box appear

a. Make any changes to the name or description of the source here and click OK

e) The imported source file is displayed in the List View in your workspace

Sources are the research materials that you want to analyze in NVivo—they can include documents, pictures, audio, video, spreadsheets or databases.

When you create a project you will see ready-made folders for your sources:

The Externals folder is for the ‘proxies’ that represent materials that you cannot import such as books or PowerPoint presentations

The Internals folder is for the!‘primary’ research materials that you import or create including any combination of documents, datasets, audio, video or pictures

The memos folder is for memos that record your analytical observations and insights



5. Applying Codes to Document Sources The coding process depends largely on your data, your research questions, your skills and knowledge, and your preferred methods. You can approach coding in a variety of ways in NVivo. Here are a couple of basic manual coding techniques.

5.a) Manual Coding in Your Sources You can create nodes manually as you read. As you explore your sources you can create and ‘code at’ new nodes. To do this:

a) Double click to open a source in Detail View (you can adjust your views at View > Detail View)

b) Select the content that you want to code. The content you can select depends on the type of source you are working with. Refer to the NVivo Help for information about coding in different source types

c) In the Analyze tab, in the Coding group, under Code Selection At, click New Node

a. The New Node dialog box opens b. If you want to change the folder location of the node, click the Select button c. Enter a name and description d. Click OK

You can also use the Quick Coding bar (at the bottom of Detail View) to code selected content at new or existing nodes:

Figure 3. Quick Coding Bar (from NVivo Support Documentation – Getting Started Guide) OR If you already know what themes or cases you are looking for, you can create and organize the nodes before you start coding. To build a node structure in List View:

a) In the Navigation View, click “Nodes”

b) On the Create tab, in the Nodes group, click “Node” a. The New Node dialog box opens

c) Enter a name and description

d) Click OK and the new node is added to List View

Note: You can add ‘child’ nodes (sub-nodes) under the new node and create a node hierarchy

Click the code buttonEnter a new node name



NVivo 10 Resources

NVivo 10 – Free trial software and videos http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo_free-trial-software.aspx NVivo 10 Support Documentation – Getting Started Guide http://download.qsrinternational.com/Document/NVivo10/NVivo10-Getting-Started-Guide.pdf Next Steps in NVivo Training OISE’s Education Commons offers a range of data analysis workshops and consultations. More details on NVivo workshops are listed below. The workshops are held in 3rd floor labs at OISE and cost $110.00. http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ec/Home/Workshops_Events/Workshops/Data_Analysis/index.html Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo Part I February 7, 1:00 – 4:00 PM February 21, 1:00 – 4:00 PM March 7, 1:00 – 4:00 PM Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo Part II January 31, 1:00 – 4:00 PM February 14, 1:00 – 4:00 PM February 28, 1:00 – 4:00 PM March 21, 1:00 – 4:00 PM Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo Part III March 28, 1:00 – 4:00 PM Contact Olesya Falenchuk for more, upcoming workshop dates or a one-on-one consultation: [email protected] QDA Software Options (there are options!) Software URL Cost? MAC PC NVivo http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx $ N Y Atlas.ti http://www.pressure.to/qda/ $ N Y Weft QDA http://www.pressure.to/qda/ FREE N Y MAXQDA http://www.maxqda.com $ N Y Tams Analyzer http://tamsys.sourceforge.net/ FREE Y N Coding Analysis Toolkit (CAT)

http://cat.ucsur.pitt.edu/ FREE Web hosted

HyperRESEARCH http://www.researchware.com/ $ Y Y Additional Reading on Computer Assisted QDA Bernard, H. Russell and Ryan, Gery W. (2010) Analyzing Qualitative Data: Systematic Approaches. Los Angeles: Sage. Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: Sage.



Gibbs, G. R. (n.d.) Learning Qualitative Data Analysis on the Web. A web site maintained by researchers and instructors at the Department of Behavioural Sciences, University of Huddersfield, in the UK. http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/ Kelty, C. (2010). QDA or not QDA? Blog post on Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology – A Group Blog. Posted January 26, 2010. http://savageminds.org/2010/07/26/qda-or-not-qda/ McKether, W. L., Gluesing, J. C., and Riopelle, K. (2009). From Interviews to Social Network Analysis: An Approach for Revealing Social Networks Embedded in Narrative Data. Field Methods, Vol. 21, No. 2:154–180.