NVivo Basics Workbook

&
Using NVivo and EndNote
For Literature Reviews

Associate Professor Linda Sweet

Linda Sweet and Associates
[email protected]

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Table of Contents
Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 4
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5
What is NVivo software? ................................................................................................... 5
The NVivo suite of software ............................................................................................... 5
Why would you use NVivo? ............................................................................................... 5
Accessing and installing NVivo .......................................................................................... 6
Navigating around the software ......................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1: Commencing a Project ........................................................................................ 8
Creating projects ............................................................................................................... 8
Project structure and layout ............................................................................................... 8
Project Layout ................................................................................................................ 9
Basic (but vital to know) functions.................................................................................... 11
Undo past actions ........................................................................................................ 11
Saving your project ...................................................................................................... 11
Backing Up your project ............................................................................................... 11
Closing a project and Closing the software .................................................................. 12
Chapter 2 Working with research materials ......................................................................... 12
Creating subfolders in Files .......................................................................................... 13
Collecting text-based source files .................................................................................... 13
Create a text-based source document ......................................................................... 13
Import a word document or PDF .................................................................................. 14
Memos ............................................................................................................................ 16
Create a memo ............................................................................................................ 16
Memo Links ..................................................................................................................... 16
Create a memo link ...................................................................................................... 17
Using NCapture ............................................................................................................... 17
Create a PDF of a web page using NCapture .............................................................. 17
Managing text-based files ................................................................................................ 18
Editing sources ............................................................................................................ 18
Filing and storing items ................................................................................................ 19
Annotations ..................................................................................................................... 19
To annotate a selection of text: .................................................................................... 19
Show or hide annotation content .................................................................................. 20
Chapter 3: Coding with nodes ............................................................................................. 21
What is the difference between a node and a code? ....................................................... 21

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 Nodes .............................................................................................................................. 21
Create a Node ............................................................................................................. 21
Create a Child Node .................................................................................................... 22
Coding ............................................................................................................................. 23
Code source ................................................................................................................ 23
Code Selection: This is the most used process of coding............................................. 24
Drag and drop coding .................................................................................................. 24
Code In Vivo ................................................................................................................ 25
Coding Stripes ............................................................................................................. 26
Node hierarchies that work and those that don’t. ............................................................. 27
Moving and merging Nodes ............................................................................................. 28
Move nodes to a new parent or folder .......................................................................... 28
Merge one or more nodes into an existing node........................................................... 28
Chapter 4: Basic search functions ....................................................................................... 29
How do I set up a query? ................................................................................................. 29
Text search ..................................................................................................................... 29
Word frequency ............................................................................................................... 30
Stop Words ..................................................................................................................... 31
Chapter 5: NVivo and Endnote for Literature reviews .......................................................... 32
Working with your literature ............................................................................................. 32
Internal and external source files ................................................................................. 32
Memos ......................................................................................................................... 32
Preparing your literature review sources.......................................................................... 33
Importing literature review sources with EndNote ............................................................ 34
Importing EndNote data to NVivo ................................................................................. 35
Chapter 6: Framework matrix .............................................................................................. 36
Create a framework matrix .............................................................................................. 36
Working with framework matrices .................................................................................... 38
Chapter 7: Moving on with NVivo ........................................................................................ 39
Where to get help? .......................................................................................................... 39
QSR YouTube videos of value: ....................................................................................... 39
What to expect in an NVivo Advanced workshop. ............................................................ 39
Some useful resources: ................................................................................................... 40
Revision tasks ................................................................................................................. 40

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Objectives
Upon completion of this NVivo introductory workshop students will know

• Basic functions and limitations of NVivo software

• How to create, backup and copy an NVivo project
• How to create text-based files within NVivo
• How to import text-based files into NVivo
• How to use NCapture for web-based data collection
• How to code text-based files in NVivo
• How to use memos and annotations for analysis
• How to conduct a basic text search in NVivo
• How to conduct a word frequency query in NVivo
• How to import bibliographic based sources into NVivo via EndNote
• How to find self-help and further resources for NVivo beyond the training courses
• How to view your data via a Framework Matrix

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Introduction
What is NVivo software?
NVivo is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) software package that allows users to import, sort
and analyse rich text and plain text documents, audio files, spread sheets, databases, digital
photos, documents, PDFs, bibliographical data, web pages and social media data.

Whilst developed initially for qualitative social research the power and possibilities of NVivo
has expanded enormously in recent years. NVivo now has the capacity to interchange data
with many other software applications for seamless collection of multiple sources of relevant
data and information. NVivo can accommodate information from processing applications
such as Microsoft Word and Excel, data bases such as IBM SPSS Statistics, bibliographic
programs including EndNote, Zotero and RefWorks, web browsers such as Internet Explorer
and Google Chrome as well as social media such as Facebook, Twitter, OneNote, EverNote
and QSR’s own package NCapture.

The NVivo suite of software

NVivo now has 3 primary software packages; 2 levels of NVivo for Windows: Pro and Plus;
and NVivo for Mac. Most university licenses will give you access to NVivo Pro for Windows
and/or NVivo for Mac. NVivo Plus will require an additional license. Projects can be used
interchangeably between NVivo Pro and Plus and NVivo for Mac.

NVivo for Windows looks like a Microsoft product – but it is not. QSR International, the
company who own and develop NVivo products are Microsoft Gold Partners and access
aspects of Microsoft software to improve familiarity and usability of NVivo. Therefore, NVivo
uses the Microsoft SQL server as a platform which makes it look like Microsoft Outlook. So,
if you are a Microsoft user – many basic functions will be familiar to you. All original versions
of NVivo have been developed on a Windows PC platform; however, a native Mac version
was released in 2014. The Mac version still has some limited functions compared to the
Windows versions. All of which are being addressed over time. Both versions of the software
are fully integrated and cross compatible.

Just a note of warning, QSR International aim to release a new version of the software every
2 years, so connect to their mailing list and keep informed of new developments and don’t be
surprised when the next version of NVivo is released!

Why would you use NVivo?

Traditionally NVivo is the main resource for researchers using qualitative research methods
and approaches included in-depth interviews, focus groups, content analysis, ethnography,
phenomenology and grounded theory whereby the most basic form of analysis involves the
interrogation of unstructured data. The more recent version of NVivo enables researchers to
incorporate seamlessly open-ended survey responses, literature reviews, audio recordings,
pictures and web pages to their projects.

One very important point to make is that qualitative research software

such as NVivo helps people to manage, shape and make sense of
unstructured information. It does not do the intellectual thinking for you;
it provides a workspace and tools to enable you to easily work through
your information. I like to think of NVivo as a tool box – akin to that of a

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carpenter – it is wise to know when and why you would use all of the tools – but no one
project is likely to demand you use them all!

So even if you are planning to undertake a predominantly quantitative research study, NVivo
is a useful resource for collection, collating and interpreting data for literature reviews and
progressive analytical thinking and writing. For qualitative research the possibilities are
enormous!

Accessing and installing NVivo

The latest version of NVivo is always available from the QSR website for a 14-day free trial;
see www.qsrinternational.com. It is a fully functioning version of the software and a great
place to start. If you decide NVivo is a valuable tool for your research, then I suggest you
source a time-limited or perpetual license. The details of how to do this are available from
https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo/products?pm=Standard. The price varies depending
on your employment or student status.

Most Universities now have a central site licence agreement with QSR International.
Consequently, the cost of the software is often covered by the central university budget and
no longer the end user. The licence agreement allows for university, as well as at home use
of the software. Please contact your local ICT service for details of the local licensing
agreement and access to the up to date software.

If you install the 14-day free trial – all you need to do is enter the new university activation
key to continue using the software beyond the trial period. The local computing support staff
can assist with installation of the product on a workplace computer. If you have difficulties
with installing the software – contact QSR International’s Help Desk on (03) 9840 1100 or
email [email protected].

Navigating around the software

The first time you go to use NVivo it will ask for your name and initials to create a user
profile. The initials you provide will then be evident in the lower right-hand corner of the
status bar. This is particularly important and useful if doing team research, but less so if
doing independent research such as for a higher degree. This can be changed through the
File/Options dialogue.

The initial interface you will come to is known as the Launch Pad. NVivo is the computer
program – but you can have multiple NVivo projects at any one time. The most recent five
projects will be shown in the left-hand column of the Launch Pad. If you have one you want
to open just select it from the list and move on. If not, you will need to create a new project.

NVivo for Windows has a colour code, the launch pad and bars in Pro they are Blue, and in
Plus they are purple. This is to enable you to easily identify the level of the software that you
are using on any given project. For ease throughout this workbook, the NVivo Pro level will
be used, as it will be the highest level available on a standard university license.

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 Recent projects list

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Chapter 1: Commencing a Project
Creating projects
As with most software there are many ways to initiate an action – including the menu lists,
ribbons, right mouse clicking and keyboard function keys.

So, to create a new Project

• Either select File/New or use the Blank Project button at the top right-hand side of the
Launch pad.
• Enter a name for your new project.

Any individual item within your project has a description box. These are useful spaces to
write your own notes about the project and/or project item – but are not searchable. Enter a
brief description of your project if you wish. Descriptions can be done any time through
accessing the properties dialogue box, and are fully editable.

Task 1: Open NVivo,

and commence a new
project titled “Training”

All NVivo projects default to be saved on your local C drive in your Documents folder. You
can select anywhere for your project to be located and stored by using the browse button.
Just know where you have saved it! It can be moved later though.

Project structure and layout

All NVivo projects have a basic pre-set structure which cannot HANDY HINT: NVivo project files
be modified. You can however add whatever you need to it – are like any other computer file –
create folders and storage systems within the database. they can be copied, deleted or
moved. If you have NVivo projects
NVivo uses the ribbon structure to organise all of the function on your computer but do not
commands available. These have been grouped into their remember where or they do not
related functions or activities within the software. The primary show in your Launch Pad – the
tabs are File; Home; Import, Create; Explore; and Share. easiest way to locate them is to
These will be visible at all times. There are additional tabs that search for file types with .nvp file
become activated when you open particular file types which extension. This is the unique code
relate to the function you may wish to use. for NVivo Windows projects. It is
.nvpx for NVivo for Mac
The ribbons can be minimised to create a larger work area on
your screen by clicking on the upward pointing arrow ^ in the top right-hand lower corner of
the ribbon. To restore the full ribbon to be in full view select the downward pointing arrow in
the same place.

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 Project Layout
The NVivo work space is made of three main areas known as the Navigation View, the List
View and the Detail View. Navigation view is where we move around the database and
access all of the project items you create.

Navigation
View

Once the project item type you want has been selected in the Navigation View – then the
list view is populated with its content.

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 List View

Once the individual project item you want has been selected in the List View – it will open in
detail view. You can have multiple items open in detail view at any time and tab between
them from the top of the detail view screen.
Multiple items
open at once

Detail View

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Basic (but vital to know) functions
Undo past actions
NVivo has the capacity to UNDO up to
the past five actions. If there are actions
that you can UNDO, the right directional
undo arrow will be blue in colour. Once
the project is saved the clipboard for the
UNDO function is cleared and the arrow
becomes grey in colour, indicating there
is nothing that can be undone.

Saving your project

NVivo DOES NOT save after every action you do. It has an automatic save reminder which
by default will activate following 15minute of actual
active work. It is recommended that you save regularly
to avert losing any work.

A manual save can be done at ANY time:

• Either select File then Save from

the File ribbon or use the SAVE
button at the top of the ribbons on
the quick access bar or select the Ctrl and S buttons simultaneously.

BUT beware

Once you activate a save function you will lose the ability to undo the past actions.

Backing Up your project

Backing up your NVivo projects is very simple and an invaluable process in case of
computer malfunction or loss. As with any files stored on a computer – if they are important it
is always worthwhile having a back up on an external storage device such as USB, external
hard drive or network drive.

To make a backup at ANY time:

• Select File then Copy Project.

• Using the browse button locate the place
you want to make a backup copy too –
such as an E or F drive.
• Select a name – I recommend you include
the date or version number with the
project name so you can keep up with
which is the most recent back up copy.

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Closing a project and Closing the software
As with other software packages you have the option to close the open project/file or to close
down the software package. If you want to close one project and move to another NVivo
project use the File then Close options which will return you to the Launch Pad.

If you want to close the whole program including the current project use the File then Exit
options or the Red Cross button in the top right of the screen.

NVivo will automatically save the current project on closing.

Chapter 2 Working with research materials

NVivo provides a storage area for all the project items that form your research materials. In
the navigation pane this is called Data. Within Data there are three subfolders: Internals;
Files; File Classifications; and Externals. You can create additional storage subfolders
within these to sort and store your project items. Lower down the navigation pane is Notes.
Within Notes there are three subfolders: Memos; Framework Matrices; Annotations; See
Also Links.

In the basics workshop will we work with the Data and Notes folders. Data is the place we
recommend you store your compatible files that are your data. Notes are the place we
recommend you store your observations and insights about the material you are analysing,
your personal ideas. Whilst we recommend this, it is not
mandatory and both documents and memos are fully
functioning items with NVivo. The different folders have a Task 2: Save a backup
different icon which is a different colour, as a visual prompt, copy of your project to
reminding you that they are different project item types.
the desk top or USB
NVivo is a powerful program that can manage many different
file types. NVivo has the capacity to create new or make a
carbon copy of files and store them inside your project using the following file types:

Documents: Microsoft word document (doc, docx); Rich text file (rtf); and plain text (txt)
PDFs: Portable Document Format (pdf)
Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (xls, xlsx); Access or SQL server file saved
as xls; or Comma or Tab-delimited text file (txt)
Digital images: Windows bitmap (bmp); Graphic Interchange Format (gif); Joint
Photographics Expert Group formats (jpg, jpeg, png); Tagged Image File
Format (tif, tiff)
Audio files: MPEG-1 format (mp3); MPEG-4 format (m4a); windows media formats
(wma, wav)
Video files: MPEG formats (mpg, mpeg, mpe, mp4); Windows Media formats ( avi,
wmv); QuickTime formats (mov, qt); 3G Mobile Phone format (3gp);
AVCHD High Def Video formats (mts, m2ts)

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In this basics workshop we will work with text based information in the form of documents as
this is the primary format of research data. Multimedia file types and datasets will be covered
in the Intermediate workshop.

Creating subfolders in Files

To create a subfolder in the Files folder –

• First select Data in navigation view to expand the selection so you can see Files.
• Right mouse click over the Files folder and select New Folder OR
• From the Create ribbon – with Files highlighted, select Folder
• Name the subfolder when the dialogue box opens and select OK.

Task 3: Create subfolders for

“Administration”, “Literature” and
“Interviews” in the Data folder

Collecting text-based source files

Create a text-based source document
• First select Data in the navigation view, then highlight
Files so it is shown in list view.
• Right mouse click in the white space of the Files list
view, select New File then New Document OR
• From the Create ribbon select Document
• Name the document when the dialogue box opens and
select OK.

The new blank document will open in detail view. From here you can type into the document,
using all the basic editing functions available in the Document Edit ribbon. There is even a
spell check – but this needs to be activated once typing is done – and it will check the

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document. It does not check as you type like Microsoft Word does. NVivo offers all the
functions to format documents including heading styles, fonts and colours.

NVivo is able to distinguish text by heading styles but not able to search and distinguish by
font or colour. This is an important issue if wanting to use functions such as auto coding in
structured documents.

To close an open file from detail view, click the X to

the right of the file name in the tab.
Task 4: Create a
document called
“Research Journal” in the
Files folder

Import a word document or PDF

• First select Data in navigation view, then highlight
Files in the top section of Navigation View so the
files are shown in list view
• Right mouse click in the white space of the Files list
view select Import Items… OR
• From the Import ribbon – select Files (if wanting a
different file type – select the appropriate choice)
• Locate the file(s) you want to import – note only
compatible document file types will be shown.
• Rename the file when the dialogue box opens if you
would like and select OK.

Task 5: Import the document

called “Literature Reviews”
into the Internals folder

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You can import many files at once by selecting multiple Task 6: Import 3-5 PDF
items with the shift or control key. When doing this you
journal articles into the
will lose the chance to rename them on the import
process, however you can rename any file anytime Journal Articles folder
from the list view or item properties box.

A PDF is a portable document format file. These can be made in a multiple of ways, and the
way in which they are created will impact on their functionality on NVivo. In readable PDFs
NVivo can decipher individual text characters during its search and query functions.
Basically, there are two primary types of PDFs frequently used in research.

Method 1: The first is where the PDF is created digitally, and each character is unique and
independently readable by the computer. An example is a word document that is converted
into a PDF such as research reports, journal articles, government releases and policy
documents. Such files often still have graphics embedded in them – however the graphics
converts to a picture within the PDF – with the characters separate from this. This affects the
way we handle it in NVivo.

Method 2: The alternative way a PDF is created is by HANDY HINT: Open a document
scanning documents/images/books through a flatbed and a PDF in NVivo and have a
scanner or photocopier and saving as a PDF file. With look at it. What features do you
this method each page, regardless of whether text or notice are different with the PDF to
image or both, is saved as a single image and the the Document item type?
computer is unable to read individual text characters.
Therefore, if you import the PDF into NVivo, you will find • Documents are editable
that there is no text in the page to select, code or query. • PDFs are not editable
You can select and code regions of the page, however • Documents have no
you are coding an image selection and therefore you pagination
cannot use Text Search or Word Frequency queries to • PDFs are fully formatted
explore the text. If you prefer to work with text (rather and fully paginated
than images of text), then you should consider using
optical character recognition (OCR) or Text Recognition
software to convert the scanned image to text (before you import the PDF files into NVivo).
This can be done in Adobe Acrobat Pro via: Tools\Enhance Scans\Recognise Text.

Working with images is covered in the Advanced workshop. To see the difference clearly, do
tasks 6 and 7, open both PDFs and compare their differences.

Task 7: Import the PDF

called “Writing Literature
reviews Scanned” into the
Journal Articles folder

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Memos

As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, Memos

are the place we recommend you store your
observations and insights about the material you are
analysing; your personal ideas. However, they are still
fully functional text documents which can be created
within NVivo and are fully editable and searchable.
Therefore, the main difference between a document and
a memo is the primary folder/place in which they are
stored and the different icon they are represented by.

Note: Whilst the number of memo you can create is

unlimited, every individual item in NVivo can have only
one linked memo.

Create a memo
• First select Notes in the bottom of navigation
view, then Memos so the Memos is shown in list
view
• Right mouse click in the white space of the memos list view and select New Memo
OR
• From the Create ribbon – select Memo
• Name the memo when the dialogue box opens and select OK.

The new blank document will open in

Task 8: Create a memo called “Initial detail view. From here you can type into
the document, using all the basic editing
ideas” in the Memos folder; write
functions available in the Edit ribbon, just
yourself some notes about NVivo. as you can with a document.

Memos can also be imported – but only text (txt), Microsoft Word documents (doc, docx) are
compatible file types to be memos.

Memo Links

When you want to comment on the issues that arise from a source or node, you can create
direct links to a memo—for example, while inspecting the content gathered at a node you
can create and link to a memo that describes the patterns or ideas that are emerging.

Each source or node can have only one memo linked to it and that memo cannot be
linked to any other item. You can however have memos that are not linked to any source or
node—these can be useful for tracking the overall progress of your project.

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Create a memo link
• First select an item from list
view or whilst the item is open
in detail view right click and
select Links, then Memo
link, then either to new
memo or existing memo
depending in whether you
have created one yet.
• If new memo, label it and
commence writing
• If from existing memo – those
mems not yet linked to an
item will be available to
choose from – select the one
you want to link
OR
• Select Memo Link from the Document ribbon if the document is open
OR
• Select Memo Link from the Node ribbon if a node is open
OR
• Select Memo Link from the Home ribbon if selecting an item from the list view.

The standard list view will show a memo icon when a

memo link exists. You can open the item and the link
memo from this by using a right mouse click.

Task 9: Create a memo link for a new

memo to a text file

Using NCapture
NCapture is an additional software package which installs on installation of
NVivo. It allows you to capture web-based information for import into NVivo.
NCapture can produce PDFs of webpages as well as Datasets of social
media such as Twitter and Facebook. NCapture is installed for use with
Internet Explorer (IE) and Google Chrome only.

Create a PDF of a web page using NCapture

First make sure you can locate the NCapture icon on the Command bar in IE or Chrome.
Otherwise locate it via the drop-down menu: Tools/NCapture for NVivo.

Internet Explorer:

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Google Chrome:

• Navigate to the web page you want to copy then select

the NCapture icon
• Selection the type of output you desire
• Modify the name, add a description, write a brief memo
or even add some node names if desired.
• The select capture and save in a place easy to
remember. A .nvcx file is created.
• Return to NVivo
• From the Import ribbon, select NCapture

• Browse to the location you

stored the files and the options
you have to choose from will be
listed.
• Select the article(s) you created
and select import
• Once in NVivo they will be
displayed as a PDF. You can
export this now as a PDF file by
right clicking over the item in list
view.

Task 10: Capture and import a web

page into NVivo.

Managing text-based files

Editing sources
When you create a new document or memo, it opens in edit mode. You can type content
directly into the document or use copy and paste to add content. You can also insert images
into your documents or memos. You will be able to code both the text and images in your
documents and memos. Once you save it for the first time it operates as an existing
document or memo.

If you open an existing document or memo, it opens as a read-only file and you must switch
to edit mode before you can edit the content. This is a safety mechanism for when you code
your text.

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The detail view will looks like this, and it can be made editable through the edit button in the
Document ribbon or from the hyperlink at the top of the file, or by using Ctrl+E keys.

Once you have completed editing the document or memo it is strongly encouraged that you
turn editing off by deselecting the Edit or by closing and reopening the item. As mentioned
earlier PDFs are NOT editable.

Filing and storing items

When importing files – you are able to select multiple files at once, Task 11: Create a
which is much more time efficient if you have a collection of articles
new folder for
and research documents/transcripts.
Project
NVivo recognises project items by the type of item they are created
as. You are able to drag and drop items from one folder to another – administration, and
provided they are being moved within the same folder type. So if you then move the
have created a data file (for example our project diary) and it is
project diary file
being stored in the primary files folder, and you decide to create
Project Admin folder and want to move it, you can. To do this – into this new folder.
create the new folder and then cut/paste or drag and drop the file
into the new folder. If you try to move a document file into memos
you will be asked if you which to paste as a memo.

Annotations

Like scribbled notes in the margin, annotations let you record comments, reminders or
observations about specific content in a file or node. Annotated content is highlighted in blue
and the text of the annotation is displayed in the Annotations tab at the bottom of detail view.

To annotate a selection of text:

• First open the file or node you want to annotate in detail view.
• Highlight the text you want to annotate – it may be a word, a sentence or a whole
paragraph
• Right mouse click in the highlighted text, select New Annotation OR
• From the tools main ribbon select New Annotation OR
• Select Ctrl+Shift+A keys

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 • Once the annotation box opens in the base of detail view type the notes you wish to
make in the content column
• Return your cursor to the text and you will note the selected and now annotated text
will have a BLUE highlight.

To annotate a selection of image:

If wanting to select the regions of an image

– like a picture within a PDF, you first need
to change your curser type

• To switch between text and region

selection—on the PDF ribbon, in
the PDF Selection section, click
Text or Region.
• Use the region pointer to select a
region of the file and follow the
same process as above.

Show or hide annotation content

On the tools ribbon you can select or clear
the Annotations check box to alter the
view. The portion of the file annotated will
always have blue highlight.

Task 12: Create an annotation in a text file and

in a PDF

Now that you have text-based source files in your project it is time to move on to coding and
analysis.

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Chapter 3: Coding with nodes
What is the difference between a node and a code?
Coding is a fundamental task in most qualitative projects—it involves gathering all the
material about a particular theme, concept or case together for further exploration. A code is
the label you apply to a set of material; a word or short phrase to represent the selected
data. Coding is the process of examining the data and sorting it to be interpreted. Coding is
an interpretive process which enables us to then analyse the data.

Nodes in NVivo are the places where we store our coding. Put simply Nodes = Codes.
Nodes are containers for your themes, people, places, organizations or other areas of
interest to enable you to answer your research questions. There are four pre-set subgroups
of nodes in the Navigation View: Nodes, Cases, Relationships, and Node Matrices. You
can organize nodes within all of these in folders and in hierarchies—moving from general
topics at the top (the parent node) to more specific topics (child nodes). If there is no logical
connection between your nodes (or perhaps these connections are not yet apparent) you
can just add nodes at the top level of the hierarchy (as a free node). The basics workshop
will focus on using the Nodes folder only.

While this NVivo workshop outlines how to create nodes and undertake basic coding
processes, there is no one approach to qualitative research coding; there are in fact many.
The approach you take to coding your own data will depend on your research methodology
and analytical frameworks. These are based on the ontology and epistemology of your
research and beyond the scope of this workshop. However, some helpful resources are
included at the end of this workbook.

Nodes

Create a Node
• First select Codes in the navigation
view, then highlight Nodes so the
Nodes is shown in list view
• Right mouse click in the white
space of the Nodes list view, select
New Node OR
• From the Create ribbon – select
Node OR
• Ctrl+Shift+N keys
• Name the node when the dialogue
box opens and select OK.

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Create a Child Node
• First select Codes in navigation
view, then highlight Nodes so
the Nodes is shown in list view
• Right mouse click over the
desired parent Node and select
New Node OR
• From the Create ribbon – with
the parent node highlighted in
the list view select Node
• Name the node when the
dialogue box opens and select
OK.
• This new node will now be in a
hierarchical structure below
selected the parent
node.
Task 13: Create a node called “Methodology” and then some
child nodes with types of research methodologies you are
likely to find in your literature review.

Creating subfolders in Nodes

Just like sources, you can organize nodes in folders to suit the way you work. However, the
program will always default to the top-level folder called Nodes unless you direct it
elsewhere. So, while folders are possible in nodes, they are less useful for basic projects
and novice users.

To create a subfolder in the Nodes – HANDY HINT: Beware of

complex folder structures in
• First select Codes in the navigation view and/or nodes, because the program
highlight the Nodes folder. likes to default to the top-level
• Right mouse click over the highlighted Nodes folder folder during the coding process.
and select New Folder OR
• From the Create ribbon – select Folder However, folders are good for
• Name the subfolder when the dialogue box opens sorting and coding can be freely
and select OK. moved around at any time.

Node hierarchies are an

effective way to sort and store
nodes.

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Coding
As previously discussed, coding is the process of HANDY HINT: You do not need to
examining the data and sorting it to be interpreted. In most have the nodes created first in order
approaches to qualitative analysis this is a human to code. You may choose to code at
intellectual process of interpretation and deciphering data, a new node and create it in the
although with computerised data some automated coding process.
functions are possible.

In NVivo, there are three main coding choices:

• Code will place the selected data into the node(s) selected. This may be a whole file
from list view. or from a few characters to a whole paragraph within the file or a
region from an image.
• Code In-Vivo will place the entire highlighted/selected text into a node and apply the
selected content as the Node name. Beware of using this for sentences and
paragraphs as it will not be what you want for analysis as the node name will be too
long and not meaningful.
• Auto Code will automatically separate the text based on style, structure or key
words.

As with most computer processes there are also different ways in which you can perform the
functions for coding. You can choose the Code button on the tools ribbon, using right
mouse clicks, drag and drop or using the Quick Coding toolbar.

Code source
To code an entire file to a node:

• In Data select the items’ folder in navigation view, so the

file is showing in list view
• Right mouse click in the required source file in list view
and select Code OR select Code from the ribbon OR
Ctrl+F2 keys
• Select the required node or create a new node when the
dialogue box opens and select OK.
• This process will place the entire file content into the
selected node. This is most useful when creating cases
for each participant or entity.

Task 14: Code a source to

a node based on the
methodology it uses

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Code Selection: This is the most used process of coding
To code a portion of a file to a node:

• First open the file you want to code. This will open in detail view.
• Highlight the text you want to code.
• Right mouse click in the highlighted text, select Code OR select Code from the
ribbon OR Ctrl+F2 keys
• Select the required node or select new node when the dialogue box opens and select
OK.

If you are wanting to select a region of an image for coding – like a picture within a PDF, you
first need to change your curser type

• To switch between text and region selection—on the PDF ribbon, in PDF Selection
section, click Text or Region.

Drag and drop coding

You can drag and drop to code selected content into a node:
• Display your nodes in List View.
• Open a file or node in Detail View.
• Select the content you want to code.
• Drag the selected content to the node desired
• If you wish to create a new node in this process, drag the content into the white
space below list of current nodes. The New Node box pops up – insert label and
select OK
NOTE To indicate that coding is successful, a confirmation message is briefly displayed in
the NVivo status bar or you can turn on the coding stripes.

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Code In Vivo
To code a portion of a source file to a node using the selected characters as the node
name (this will always create a new node):

• First open the file you

want to code in detail
view.
• Highlight the text you
want to code.
• Right mouse click in
the highlighted text,
select Code In Vivo
OR from the ribbon
select Code In Vivo
OR Select the In Vivo
Button on the quick
coding tool bar or
Ctrl+F8 keys
• This will create a new
node named whatever
it is that you
highlighted.

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Quick coding tool bar

All of the above coding functions can be done by using the quick coding tool bar. It is located
at the base of detail view and becomes active only when a codable document is opened and
something is highlighted for coding.

The Quick Coding bar provides a fast way to code or uncode. With the Quick Coding bar,
you can:

a Select the location for the node (a folder or parent node).

b Enter or select a node. As you type, NVivo will suggest HANDY HINT:
existing nodes in the hierarchy, at (or below) the selected
location, that you can choose from. You can also create a The currently selected (or last
new node in the selected location by entering a unique used) node displays on the Quick
name. Coding bar.
c Code or uncode at the selected node. You can also press
ENTER to code at the current node. The Code At list includes nodes
and descendant (child) nodes in the
d Make a node from selected text (code In Vivo)
current location, as well as nodes
e Hide the Quick Coding bar. you have recently coded at.

Coding Stripes
Coding stripes are coloured bars displayed alongside file or node content that allow you to
see how the content is coded. You can modify the display of coding stripes to see the
content that meets your defined criteria.

To show coding stripes for all nodes:

• Open the file or node.

• On the tools ribbon, in the view section, select
HANDY HINT: I prefer to turn on
Coding Stripes button and select your preferred
stripes for Nodes Recently Coded
approach to coding stripes.
during the coding process and raise
• The default number of stripes is 7, however you
the number of stripes to at least 40.
can change this number to whatever you think is
Other options are useful when
necessary once you turn them on
exploring your coding and data.
• The more coding stripes in view the more memory
the computer will require.

Task 15: Turn coding stripes on for

recent coded nodes

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To learn more about the many functions of coding stripes –explore the help pages

Node hierarchies that work and those that don’t.

After exploring and coding a file or number of files, take some time to reflect on what you
have discovered. Coding is rarely a one-stage process. As you review the coded data at a
node, you will often see ways to improve your coding—for
example, you may want to:
HANDY HINT: To help decide if
• Include more of the context around coded nodes should be placed into a
content—for example; expand coding to include hierarchy – ask yourself “is the
the whole sentence or paragraph. child node a sort of the potential
• Remove some of the coded content by 'uncoding' parent node?” For example, if you
it (especially useful if you used a Text Search are considering whether to put a
query to do some broad-brush coding). node called ‘Economics’ into a
• Develop ideas by coding content to other nodes. hierarchy (parent node) called
This process is termed 'coding-on'. ‘Industry types’ – it would not fit the
• Create or reorganize nodes as you respond to criteria of a sort of industry type.
what you are seeing in the coded data. However, if you had nodes relating
to ‘fish farming’, ‘car building’ and
Take time out from coding to reflect on your nodes and
‘hairdressing’ then they would be a
organize the themes that are emerging. Reasons for
sort of industry type.
keeping your nodes organized include:

• Being able to find your nodes easily saves time during the coding process.
• If you have trouble finding a node, you are less likely to use it consistently.
• You are more likely to lose or confuse ideas in an unwieldy node structure.

Here are some strategies for building an efficient node structure:

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 • Keep node names short and pertinent.
• Make sure a node only appears once in the whole hierarchy, to avoid having a “Node
Virus”.
o Try not to combine concepts in a node. For example, instead of coding some
text at “rigour in qualitative research”, code it at both of a node for “Rigour”
and a node for “Qualitative research”.
• Remember that you will be able to use queries to gather your coded content in all
sorts of combinations—for example, find all content coded at the node Rigour AND at
the node Qualitative research.
• Try not to force nodes into a hierarchy—if a node is not related to any other concept
then leave it at the top level.
• Try not to nest more than 3 levels deep within a hierarchy if you can help it.
• Make a node to gather 'great quotes'.
• Prune your nodes regularly. Merge, reorganize, rename.

Moving and merging Nodes

Nodes are fully editable and do not need to be static – you can code or uncode content
within nodes, delete nodes, move nodes and merge nodes.

Move nodes to a new parent or folder

• In List View, select the required node.
• Right mouse click over the highlighted Node and select Cut OR
• From the Home ribbon – select Cut
• Select a destination node folder or parent node.
• Right mouse click over the highlighted Node and select Paste OR highlighted the
required Node and from the Home ribbon – select Paste OR Ctrl+V keys

NOTE: You can also drag and drop nodes to move them between folders and within
hierarchies.

When you move a node, it retains it classification, coding, annotations, links and
relationships.

Merge one or more nodes into an existing node Task 16: Rename, sort and
You can merge one or more nodes into another
existing node. This can be useful when two nodes merge some nodes
have a similar meaning or content. For example, you
could merge the nodes farming and cultivation into
the node agriculture.

To merge one or more nodes into a 'target' node:

• In List View, select the required node(s).

• Right mouse click over the highlighted Node and select Cut OR from the Home
ribbon – select Cut OR Ctrl+X keys
• Select a destination node.
• Right mouse click over the highlighted Node and select Merge OR from the Home
ribbon – select Merge OR Ctrl+M keys

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Chapter 4: Basic search functions

Queries provide a flexible way to gather and explore subsets of your data. In NVivo, you can
create queries to find and analyse the words or phrases in your files, notes, and nodes. You
can find specific words or those that occur most frequently. You can undertake more
advanced functions to ask questions and find patterns based on your coding and check for
coding consistency among team members. In this basics workshop we will cover the search
techniques of Text search and Word Frequency.

How do I set up a query?

NVivo queries offer a flexible approach to exploring your data, you can create quick and
simple queries to get a sense of what is happening in the data or you can build detailed
queries for a more focused perspective. Queries are essentially NVivo’s name for criteria
questions. The query questions you ask can be developed, reviewed, refined, and saved for
running again another time. The query results can be previewed or saved.

The best way to become familiar is to run some simple queries and preview the results. As
you grow in confidence you can look at building more complex criteria and storing your
results in nodes and sets. When you create any type of query the query properties dialogue
box comes up. Each of these varies in complexity but most have a similar structure, where
by you need to define which project items you want the search to look in, what it is you want
to search for (i.e. words, coding or attributes), and what you want NVivo to do with the output
of the query (preview or save).

Text search
The computerisation of text information allows us to find all occurrences of a word, phrase,
or concept. This is a computerised search function and therefore is character specific
although we do have some Boolean search and wildcard functions available. You can
choose to search only the primary content of your files, only in your annotations or both. You
can select the content you want to search by selecting files, nodes, sets, folders or search
folders.

To run a search for a specific word:

• From the Explore ribbon select Text

Search OR From search, select Queries
to show the list of saved queries in the
list view. Right mouse click in the white
space of the queries list view, select
New Query then Text Search
• The query dialogue box will open in the
top of detail view
• Add your search terms
• Select the degree of similarity you
require for your terms (see Help for
more detail on this)

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 • Choose whether you want Text, Annotations or both
• Select from which files, folders or sets you want to search
• Select Run Query

Note: If you like the results you get, you can select all and save them as a node.

HANDY HINT: If you use preview

Task 17: Conduct a text only for a query and decide to save
the query question or results, or
search for a word
want to refine and rerun the query,
use the Last Run Query button in
the query ribbon.

Word frequency
Just as we can search for a specific word, the word frequency function allows us to find the
most frequently occurring words or phrases. Depending on your research methodology, this
may not seem directly relevant to your analysis; however, it is a fabulous way to commence
exploring your data.

To run a word frequency:

• Select Queries in Navigation view to show the list of saved queries in the list view.
• Right mouse click in the white space of list view, select New Query then Word
Frequency OR from the Explore ribbon select Word frequency.
• The query dialogue box will open in the top of detail view
• Select the degree of similarity you require for your terms (see Help for more detail on
this)
• Choose whether you want Text, Annotations or both
• Select from which files, folders or sets you
want to search
Task 18: Conduct a word
• Reduce the number of words to display
and raise the minimum length. frequency for journal articles
• Select RUN
• The results will display in an excel table
format – you can select the column headers to adjust the sort method
• If you double click on any of the words in the table it will open to show you them in
context.

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 • You can also view the results using Tag Cloud, Tree Map and Cluster analysis
visualisations from the right hand side tabs.

Stop Words HANDY HINT: If you search for

NVivo provides a set of default stop words for most 1000 words with minimum length of
language contents. The default stop words are 1 you will retrieve a count of all I,
unlikely to be significant words, like conjunctions or at, is, in etc words (unless these
prepositions that may not be meaningful to your are in the in stop word list) which
analysis. You can view the stop words associated are unlikely to be of use. I suggest
with each language, and you can customize the a maximum of 100 words and
stop words by adding or removing words from the minimum length of 4. But it is
stop word list. dependent on the results you are
trying to achieve.
To review the stop words list for a project:

• Select File then Project Properties

• On the general tab select the Stop Words
button.
• Add or remove words as appropriate to your Task 19: Locate stop
own project, ensuring they are separated by a words and remove the
space.
word “ourselves”

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Chapter 5: NVivo and Endnote for Literature reviews

Traditionally NVivo is the main resource for researchers using qualitative research methods
and approaches included in-depth interviews, focus groups, content analysis, ethnography,
phenomenology and grounded theory, whereby the most basic form of analysis involves the
interrogation of unstructured data. The more recent versions of NVivo enable researchers to
incorporate seamlessly open-ended survey responses, literature reviews, audio recordings,
pictures and web pages to their qualitative projects. Whatever data you have, NVivo is an
excellent means of managing large amounts of it. When conducting literature reviews, NVivo
offers:

• Better quality for less effort

• Reduce reliance on memory and misplacing of important data
• Allows you to include more sources because you have a framework that can handle
more
• Have the means to go back easily and quickly so you can review, rewrite and
resubmit with ease
• Avoid plagiarism and protect your academic reputation
• Find links between references that you may not have found before

Working with your literature

NVivo provides a storage area for all the project items that form your research materials,
including your literature review material. You can import source files such as journal articles
one at a time. However, this is not the most judicious use of the functions of NVivo and
EndNote.

Internal and external source files

Internal source files are the file types that NVivo can HANDY HINT: Remember
directly import and use within the project. Examples PDFs and documents function
include word documents, text files and PDFs. differently within NVivo
Externals are used to represent source materials that
• Documents are editable
you cannot import into your project (such as a
• PDFs are not editable
hardback book). You can summarize or describe the
source materials within the external file – as it creates • Documents have no
a document file as a proxy. Externals function similarly pagination
to documents, except they are stored in their own • PDFs are fully formatted
folder. and fully paginated

When you Import from EndNote, the bibliographic information (classification and attributes)
is being imported and this need to be ‘attached’ to a file. If the actual reference file exists it
will import that file and attach the citation information to it, however if the file attachment is
not in your EndNote library on import NVivo will create an External source file for each
reference being imported without an existing file.

Memos
Memos are the place we recommend you store your notes and insights about the material
you are analysing your personal ideas. Memos of any notes or abstracts from an Endnote

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file will be automatically generated during importation. You can however, still create your
own within NVivo, as described in section 2.

Preparing your literature review sources

The majority of your literature for the review will be in the form of PDFs. These can be made
in a multiple of ways, and the way in which they are created will impact on their functionality
on NVivo. NVivo is able to decipher individual text characters during its search and query
functions. Basically, there are two primary types of PDFs frequently used in research.

Method 1: The first is where the PDF is created digitally, and each character is unique and
independently readable by the computer. An example is a word document that is converted
into a PDF such as research reports, journal articles, government releases and policy
documents. Such files often still have graphics embedded in them – however the graphics
converts to a picture within the PDF – with the characters separate from this. This affects the
way it is handled in NVivo.

Method 2: The alternative way a PDF is created is by scanning documents/images/books

through a flatbed scanner or photocopier and saving as a PDF file. With this method each
page regardless of whether text or image, or both, is saved as a single image and the
computer is unable to read individual text characters. Therefore, if you import the PDF into
NVivo, you will find that there is no text in the page to select, code or query. You can select
and code regions of the page, however you are coding an image selection and therefore you
cannot use Text Search or Word Frequency queries to explore the text. If you prefer to work
with text (rather than images of text), then you should consider using optical character
recognition (OCR) or Text Recognition software to convert the scanned images to text
(before you import the PDF files into NVivo).

Text Recognition: This can be done in Adobe Acrobat Pro via: Tools/Enhance Scans/Text
Recognition, or via online freeware tools. This is a really important step to do before
importing your literature into NVivo for your review.

In the following article it is evident that the computer cannot read the text characters as I am
unable to place my cursor in the text row; when I try it just wants to select a region and
therefore the article is behaving as a scanned image. This will greatly reduce its functional
capacity in NVivo.

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 Task 20: Check the format
of your PDFs in your
EndNote library. Run Text
recognition on any that
require it.

Run text recognition using Adobe Pro

• Open the PDF in Adobe Pro (this function is not available in Adobe Reader)
• Select Tools/Enhance Scans/Text Recognition
• Select In this File from the right hand side menu
• Select the recognise text button.
• There have been a few occasions where this process has not worked. If this happens
try another text recognition software such as converting to word.

Importing literature review sources with EndNote

Importing your journal articles via EndNote allows you to import all of the bibliographic
details of your sources as well as the source itself in the one process. Therefore, it is
important that you have your EndNote library set up correctly and ideally with the PDFs of
each article as a file attachment for each reference.

If you like to write notes in EndNote about the articles you have in your library, and/or store
the abstract within the EndNote references, don’t worry – all of this information will be
brought across to NVivo on import and stored as a linked memo.

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EndNote and NVivo do not “talk” to each
other in real time. You need to choose the
items you want from your EndNote library
and save them on your computer and
import them into NVivo. You can do this
many times as your literature search
develops. This means if you make changes
to your EndNote library or your NVivo
Project it will not make changes
automatically to the other.

Importing EndNote data to NVivo

• Open your EndNote library in the
EndNote program
• Select the EndNote references you wish to import into NVivo.
• With your selected references highlighted click File – Export
• The export dialogue box will open. This process creates a copy of the references
selected – it does not remove them from EndNote.
• Choose a location that will be easy to find to store the
temporary files – I usually use my desktop.
• The vital step now is to store the export file as an
XML using the “save as type” drop down menu.
• You must store the XML file on the same computer
disk as your NVivo for the background temporary links
to work between EndNote and NVivo. This means do
not store it to a USB and take it to another computer
for importing to NVivo – as the background file paths
will be lost.
• Once you have created the XML file, close EndNote
and go to your NVivo project.
• From the Import ribbon select EndNote
• Navigate to and select the XML file you just created
• The Import From EndNote dialogue box will then
Task 21: Export your
appear.
selected Endnote • This is where you can modify any of the import
settings, and it also shows the number of new references
references as XML
you are importing and whether any already exist in NVivo.
file then import into • You can see the default setting is to import the file
NVivo attachment, automatically create memos and assign the
source classification and attributes
• Select import to complete the process

For the references that had notes, abstracts or keywords you will see a Memo has
automatically been created and linked to the source file.

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Chapter 6: Framework matrix

NVivo does not prescribe an analytical approach but provides tools to let you work the way
that suits you best. Framework matrices provide a way to summarize your literature review
materials in a grid that has rows for case nodes (for example, each journal article) and
columns for theme nodes (for example, method, sample size, results). At the intersection of
each row and column, you can enter a free text summary. You can apply formatting (for
example, colours, bold and italics) to text in the summaries; but cannot code the summary
content.

Summarizing source content allows you to condense large volumes of literature into more
manageable quantities and can help you to gain insight and familiarity with your findings.
Working with condensed source materials in the framework matrix can make it easier to:

• See everything about a theme by looking

down a column
• See how different themes relate to each
other for a particular individual by looking
across a case row
• Compare the findings of different
research articles by comparing one row
to another

Once you have condensed your source materials in a framework matrix, you can easily
share your data with others by printing the matrix or exporting the matrix to an excel spread
sheet.

Create a framework matrix

• A Framework Matrix requires “case nodes” and “theme nodes” to
be first created.
• So first create a sub-folder especially in the Cases section of
navigation pane. Right click on Cases and select New Folder
• You need to then create a case node for each journal article.
• The quickest way to do this is select all of the journal articles in
list view, right mouse click and select Creates as Cases
• Create these in the case nodes folder you just created
• Next create the “theme nodes” that you wish to have in your
matrix. For a literature review this may be sample size, methods,
results. Ideally this means anything you wish to compare across
the individual items in the review. I suggest you create a
subfolder in Nodes for the Literature review.
• You can choose to code content from each article in the review to these theme nodes
or just have empty nodes.
• To create an actual Framework Matrix, select Framework Matrices in the Notes
section of Navigation pane
• Either right mouse click in the white section of List View or from the Create ribbon
select Framework Matrix

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 Task 22: Create case
nodes for the articles
and store them in a
case node subfolder
away from your theme
nodes

• The New framework Matrix dialogue

box opens and you first need to label
your matrix
• Next you need to define the rows and
columns of the matrix.
• Select the case nodes for the rows and
select the theme nodes that you want
to summarise into the columns of the
matrix

Task 23: Create a

framework Matrix for the
daylight savings literature

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Working with framework matrices
• In each cell you can now add summary content about the articles content for each
theme node/content of interest.
• Alternatively if you have coded these concepts properly you can use the Tools
ribbon and select Auto Summarize Framework Matrix. This will populate the cells
with the prior coded data for further visualisation and analysis. You can still add free
text summaries in the cells following auto summarize.

• On the right hand side you get a display of the case node under review – which for
literature review means the original journal article. Use the PDF tab to see it in
normal PDF formatting.

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Chapter 7: Moving on with NVivo
Where to get help?
There are a number of ways in which you can seek help for using NVivo. There is built in
Help files which cover every aspect of using NVivo. NVivo will automatically install these
Help files on your computer (offline Help) but defaults to try to access online Help (via the
web if you have an Internet connection). If you are not connected to the Internet, NVivo
opens the installed offline Help. Online help is to ensure you are getting the most up to date
and accurate information at all times.

To open the Help, do any of the following:

• Press F1
• Click the File tab, then point to Help, and then click NVivo Help.
• Click the Help icon in the upper right of the NVivo ribbon or any dialog box—
when you open the Help from a dialog box, the relevant topic is displayed.
• On the NVivo Welcome screen, click the Help button at the bottom of the window

Alternatively, you can access the NVivo Community through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
QSR Forum as well as view many tutorials on the QSR You Tube channel. Don’t be
concerned about using an NVivo 10 or 11 resource as the core capacities and processes are
the same.

The direct live links to all of these resources are located on the front opening page of the
Help files.

QSR YouTube videos of value:

• Tutorial: Getting started guide for NVivo 12

• Importing with NVivo 12 (Windows)

• Coding in NVivo 12 (Windows)

• Manage nodes with NVivo 12 (Windows)

• Analysis in NVivo 12 (Windows)

• Understand nodes and cases in NVivo for Windows

What to expect in an NVivo Advanced workshop.

The advanced workshop will build on the skills covered in this basics workshop. It is really
important that you consolidate the basic skills before moving into the advanced workshop.

1) Working with Multimedia sources – pictures, audio and video

2) Working with and analysing datasets
3) Creating classifications and attributes
4) Working with Collections and search folders
5) Using the find and advanced find tool bar
6) Creating advanced queries

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Some useful resources:
Saldana, Johnny. 2013. The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd Edition); Sage
Publications Ltd. London

Richards, Lyn. 2009. Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide (2nd edition); Sage
Publications Ltd. London

Bazeley, Pat. 2013. Qualitative Data Analysis: practical strategies; Sage Publications Ltd.
London

Ezzy, Douglas. 2002. Qualitative analysis: practice and innovation. Crows Nest, N.S.W:
Allen & Unwin.

Miles, M., Huberman, A.M, and Saldana, J. 2013. Qualitative Data Analysis: a methods
sourcebook (3rd Edition); Sage Publications Ltd. London

Revision tasks
• Locate where the project file has been saved.
• Make a backup copy of your project to a USB.
• Create a project journal file.
• Import your journal articles
• Create a subfolder in memos for literature abstracts.
• What is the difference between text and region pointer and how do I change this?
• Which of your nodes has the most coding?
• Insert an annotation in a file
• Turn annotation view on or off
• Capture a web page and import it to your project
• Change the screen to be detail view right or bottom
• Turn on coding stripes
• Run a text frequency for one journal article
• Save some Endnote references for importation
• Import Endnote XML file and create case nodes
• Create a framework matrix with rows of your endnote papers and columns of method,
sample size, and findings.
• Any questions/queries you have bring with you to the next workshop! 

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Created 2013; Last updated April 2019