How to Use NVivo

A dataset contains structured data arranged in records (rows) and fields (columns)—for example, a dataset could contain the responses to a survey.

You can create a new dataset source in NVivo by importing:

1. Data from a spreadsheet file

2. An NCapture file that contains social media data

You cannot edit the contents of a dataset once it is imported. Before importing spreadsheets, you should prepare your data and consider how you want to use it in NVivo—refer to the NVivo for Mac Help for detailed instructions. 

You can import audio and video files that have been created in a variety of ways—for example, audio or video files that were recorded on your smart phone or files exported from QuickTime on your Mac. You can also import a transcript or transcribe in NVivo. You can open audio or video sources and work with them in Detail View 

You can import digital photos or other images and analyze them in NVivo. A picture source consists of a picture and a text log. 

NCapture is a browser extension that lets you clip web pages and import them as PDF sources into your NVivo project. 

Creating cases

You can create cases manually just like creating nodes. If you want to get the most out of your cases, consider classifying them and assigning attribute values.

In List View, you can select a source, then on the Create tab, in the Items group, click Create as cases—this action will create a case and code the entire source at the case node.

If you have a large number of cases, NVivo provides ways to speed the process up. For example, you could create cases from selected sources or by importing descriptive attributes from a text file.

Understanding classifications and attributes

Use classifications to record descriptive information, like demographic details, about the cases in your project.

For example, if you have interviewed people in a particular community, you may want to collect information about their age, gender and occupation—and compare their responses based on these attributes.

To work with case classifications and attributes, you need to:

• Create a classification—for example, Person. You could also create classifications for different types of people, like students or teachers.

• Define attributes for the classification—for example, age and gender.

• Create a case then classify it and assign relevant attribute values to it—for example, 63 and female.

• Code content to the case. 

Add case classifications to your project

Before you can classify cases, you need to add at least one case classification to your project:

1. On the Create tab, in the Classifications group, click Case Classification.

2. Enter a name for the classfication (for example, Person)—you can also enter a description.

3. Click Done.

4. To add attributes (for example, age or gender), select the classification and, on the Create tab in the Classifications group, click Attribute.

Classify a case

When you have created the classifications you need, you can classify your cases:

1. In List View, select the case you want to classify.

2. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

3. If you cannot see the classification and attribute values, click the disclosure triangle to show them.

4. For each attribute, you can select an existing value or enter a new one.

5. Click Done.

Create nodes as you code

As you explore your sources you can create and ‘code at’ new nodes:

1. Open a source in Detail View.

2. 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 for Mac Help for information about coding in different source types.

3. On the Analyze tab, in the Coding group, under Code Selection At, click New Node.

4. Enter a name—you can also enter a description or change the location for the new node and cllick Done.

When you create a new node it is added to the selected location in the node hierarchy.

Make a node from a selected word

You can also use ‘in vivo’ coding to create and code at new nodes—the selected word or phrase is used to name the node and is (at the same time) coded at the node. This is useful if you want your nodes to reflect the language of the people you have interviewed.

1. Select the text content you want to code.

2. On the Analyze tab, in the Coding group, click Code In Vivo.

See what you have coded

To see what has been coded in a document you can:

• Turn on coding highlight—on the View tab in the Coding group, click Highlight, and then select a highlight option.
• Turn on coding stripes—on the View tab in the Coding group, click Coding Stripes, and then select an option. Coding stripes are displayed on the right of the source:
• You can right-click on a stripe to open a node, uncode or highlight coding     

Open a node to explore the references

You can open a node to see related references gathered in one place:

1. In Navigation View, click Nodes.

2. In List View, open the node you want to explore. The node is opened in Detail View:

The Reference pane shows all the text content coded at the node

You can see what sources were coded and click on the link to open a source

Select content and ‘code on’ to new nodes

Turn-on coding highlight to see where this node overlaps with others

You can use NVivo queries to automatically code your sources based on the words or phrases they contain. This can be a useful starting point for reviewing your data. For example, you could run a Text Search query on the word balance and automatically code all occurrences.

To create a Text Search query—on the Query tab, in the Create group, click Text Search.
Enter the word or phrase you want to search for and click Run Query—refer to the NVivo for Mac Help for detailed instructions.

You can visualizethe results of a Text Search query in a Word Tree. This is
a useful way to see how words are being used

Memos are an integral part of the research process—and can be a great starting point when you come to writing-up your project. Memos are like documents and they can be linked to sources or nodes.

Creating a linked memo

To create a memo that is linked to a source or node:

1. Select the source or node in List View or open it in Detail View.

2. On the Analyze tab, in the Links group, click Memo Link, and then click Link to New Memo.

3. Enter a name for the memo.

4. (Optional) Enter a description of the memo.

5. Click Done and then enter your memo text.

Adding an annotation to selected content

Annotations are like scribbled notes in the margin—they let you record comments, reminders or observations about specific content in a document, PDF, memo or external.

To create an annotation:

1. 1  Select the content you want to annotate.

2. 2  On the Analyze tab, in the Annotations group, click New Annotation..

3. 3  In the popup, enter the annotation. 

You can use NVivo queries to:

1. Find and analyze the words or phrases in your sources and nodes. You can find specific words or those that occur most frequently.

2. Ask questions and find patterns based on your coding and review your progress. You can work with queries using the Query tab: