Nvivo
Saija Grzegorek
How to Use NVivo for Qualitative Data Analysis
NVivo is a software tool that helps researchers to manage, organize, and analyze qualitative data. Qualitative data refers to any type of data that is not numerical, such as text, audio, video, images, or social media. NVivo can help you to:
- Import and store your data in a secure and accessible way
- Code your data to identify themes, patterns, and relationships
- Query your data to answer specific research questions
- Visualize your data to explore connections and insights
- Share and report your findings with others
In this article, we will guide you through the basic steps of using NVivo for qualitative data analysis. We will assume that you have already installed NVivo on your computer and have a project file ready to work on.
Step 1: Import your data
The first step is to import your data into NVivo. You can import various types of data, such as documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, audio files, video files, images, web pages, social media posts, and more. To import your data, follow these steps:
- Open your NVivo project file.
- Select the Data tab from the ribbon.
- Click on the Import button and choose the type of data you want to import.
- Browse to the location of your data file and select it.
- Click on the Import button again.
- NVivo will create a new source in your project and display it in the Sources folder in the Navigation View.
You can repeat this process for each data file you want to import. You can also drag and drop files from your computer into NVivo.
Step 2: Code your data
The next step is to code your data. Coding is the process of assigning labels or tags to segments of your data that represent concepts, themes, categories, or patterns. Coding helps you to organize and structure your data and to identify connections and relationships among them. To code your data, follow these steps:
- Select the source you want to code from the Sources folder in the Navigation View.
- NVivo will open the source in the Detail View. You can use the Play, Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward buttons to navigate through audio and video sources.
- Select the segment of data you want to code by highlighting it with your mouse or using the keyboard shortcuts.
- Select the Analyze tab from the ribbon.
- Click on the Code button and choose one of the following options:
- New Node: This will create a new node (a container for coded data) with a name of your choice and code the selected segment to it.
- Existing Node: This will allow you to select an existing node from a list or a tree view and code the selected segment to it.
- In Vivo Code: This will create a new node with the exact words of the selected segment as its name and code the selected segment to it.
- Autocode Wizard: This will allow you to automatically code your data based on predefined criteria, such as source name, paragraph number, speaker name, etc.
- NVivo will display the coded segment with a colored stripe in the margin. You can hover over the stripe to see which node(s) it belongs to.
You can repeat this process for each segment of data you want to code. You can also drag and drop segments of data onto nodes in the List View.
Step 3: Query your data
The third step is to query your data. Querying is the process of asking questions of your data and getting answers in various forms. Querying helps you to explore your data in depth and to test hypotheses and assumptions
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