NVIVO 8 - Part 1 Managing, organising & coding qualitative data

1. Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development NVIVO 8 - Part 1 Managing, organising & coding qualitative data Patsy Clarke, OCSLDp.clarke@brookes.ac.uk & Alex Friend, CSD asfriend@brookes.ac.uk March 2010

2. Course schedule • Introductions • The qualitative research context • How NVIVO can help • Overview of NVIVO 8 • Interface & terminology • Show and tell • Module 1: Getting started • Module 2: Data coding activities • Module 3: Analysis activities • Module 4: Reporting activities 2

3. Qualitative research context Beyond binaries Social constructivist Realist/positivist Artistic/Interpretive (Ellison, 2008:7)

4. Qualitative approaches • Increasingly diverse and ‘fragmented’ (Creswell, 2007:4) • Narrative research/ biographical studies • Phenomenology • Grounded Theory • Ethnography • Framework analysis • Case study • Mixed methods • Crystallization (Ellison, 2008) • Creative analytic practices (Richardson, 2000) • Processes in the field e.g. • Participant observation • Participatory action research

5. Questions * Lyn Richards, 2006

6. Backwards..& Forwards • What sort of a study of this issue would be convincing? (Thinking backwards: what will the completed study be like?) • So what needs to be done to reach that goal? (Thinking forwards).

7. ‘Telling’ it • Outline your research in terms of the questions and issues outlined. • The questions – methodology – scope – who – challenges – where you are headed – and how will you know when you are there?

8. Data generation ‘Triangulation’ /‘Crystallisation’: • Of methods, analysis, settings, perspectives/ researchers / data • Interviews with individuals • Focus groups • Narratives • Conversations • Observations • Video/audio-tapes/ photographs /maps /models /artifacts • Archived material and records; diaries, letters, policy documents, minutes • Reflective journals • Field notes, memos and ……. Layered texts

9. What to do with the data • Manage, store, access and keep track • To and fro between closeness and distance • Make sense • Reflect on • Generate or confirm theories • Query/look for themes/patterns • Bring in the context • Manage complexity • Show diversity • Go beyond description • Test hunches and get evidence • Rigorously illustrate/ explain /justify claims, options • Fulfill ethical, confidentiality and anonymity principles • Present a trail of evidence and tell the story • Meet the deadline (within budget)

10. Research essentials • The key tools? • YOU/ YOUR goodthinkingandreflection • Collaboration • Ethics • Effectiveplanning/organising/checking • Keep ajournal • Plan and implementback-ups • More good thinking and reflection • The key question?‘…So what?…’

11. Technology layer Projectrequirements? Technologyrequirements? World viewParadigmTheoryEthics AccessLiteracyBack-ups Computer-based data analysis/management Projectdesign? Computer? RelationshipAccessFeedbackFollow up Who? Software? AccessFamiliarityMaintenanceLegality InputAccessStore/secureUpdateMaintain CollectStoreAnalyse Data? Analysis techniques

12. How NVIVO 8 can help Part 1 of the course: • Store, manage ,link documents and ideas within an NVIVO software project • Code documents at nodes and ‘code on’/refine your coding • Memo your ideas about the data/documents • Move between the nodes and the document detail • Shape the project: assign attributes (e.g. demographic categories) to cases; group documents or nodes in sets (collections)to use as search filters • Tree node structures to reflect your project design

13. How NVIVO 8 can help Part 2 of the course: • Relationship linking between ideas • Search and scope to ask questions and develop and test ideas & theories • Model and chart to display ideas and theories • Reports extraction for inclusion in written work Part 3 of the course: • Working with multimedia data e.g. graphics, audio- and video-data YOU with your research questions select and drive/control the software to help you manage, collect, engage with and get evidence for your research claims/ results/ recommendations.

14. NVIVO 8 Interface

15. Welcome screen Create New/Open Project * PROJECT(S) (* Descriptions contribute to the audit trail) Module 1

16. Password protection • File > Project Properties > Passwords > Apply > OK • Volunteering tutorial project located in : C:\Documents and settings\ All users\ Shared Documents\NVIVO 8 Samples Module 1

17. Project par ts Workspace Module 1

18. Views in workspace NAVIGATION LIST DETAIL Module 1

19. Sources: data • Sources contain data, memos, project notes etc. • Can be text, graphics, audio, video Module 1

20. Sources • Sources hold: • Internals (‘documents’* within NVIVO) • Externals (internal documents with ideas or location of external material e.g. websites, books, press articles) • Create sub-folders to suit your project • Memos folder for memos created within NVIVO while coding, reviewing documents or reflecting on ideas. * May be text, graphic, audio or video Module 1

21. More on text sources • In the NVIVO Volunteering tutorial project, before import the main questions and sub-questions in the text interview transcripts were formatted using headings Styles in MS-Word. This enables ‘autocoding’ of the questions responses at nodes in NVIVO. • Organising data is this way saves time if your research design follows a structured interview guide. It facilitates coding on question by question rather than by document. Module 1

22. Cases & casebook • Cases are used for comparisons • Cases can be individuals, regions, schools, etc. • Cases can be assigned attributes e.g. gender, age, education levels • Attributes of Cases are displayed in the Casebook Module 1

23. Attribute values • Attribute values can be assigned from Classifications OR by import of an Excel spreadsheet Module 1

24. Casebook/attribute values • Sociodemographic data can be stored in an Excel spreadsheet with each row corresponding to the document name • Import spreadsheet to NVIVO to automatically assign the values to each case • To see the Casebook: Tools > Casebook > Open Casebook • We will practise this during this course Module 1

25. Nodes • Free nodes are a non-hierarchical collection of nodes • Tree nodes are organised in hierarchies as in a family generation model with parent and child nodes Module 2

26. More on Nodes • Nodes are ‘containers’ for categories/concepts/ideas: used to organise text relevant to a topic or idea under your chosen node label • Free Nodes hold topics (nodes) as yet unrelated to other topics • Tree Nodes hold parent and child nodes (up to 9 levels) that are related in a hierarchy. In the Volunteering tutorial project, interviews & questions and answers were autocoded at the parent node Topics – Interviews • Other nodes were manually coded to ‘family values’ and ‘social interaction’ which are Free Nodes, and later organised together under the thematic parent Tree node ‘Personal goals’ • Case Nodes hold data from each individual in the study under their name e.g. the case ‘George’ holds all George’s focus group contribution • Relationships, Matrices & nodes of Search Results can be created from the data within NVIVO. In the follow up workshop we will work with this type of coding. Module 2

27. Links • See Also links: reminders of connections between project items • Annotations: For footnotes or ‘margin scribbles’ on selected content in a source/ node • Memos: Comments/reflections on an entire document/node Module 2

28. Search options • Look for (Find) - simple and advanced search for NVIVO project items • Queries - simple and advanced search for actual content within the NVIVO project e.g. • Word frequency • Text search • Coding search • Matrix search Extracting and Reporting

29. Module 1 : Data preparation • View interview transcripts of ‘Anna’, ‘Frederic’ and the ‘Nonvols’ focus group.Compare and plan the format/categories of documents • Usefulness of heading styles • Create your NVIVO project • Create new folders for various source document types • Create a new document as a coding journal • Import interviews and Focus group transcripts • Auto-code interview topics at nodes • Review autocoding at nodes • Import casebook of socio-demographics into NVIVO • Look at Attributes & Values in Classifications

30. Notes to read before you start • For the activities you will use interview and focus group transcripts that were formatted with heading styles in MS-Word. • First find the transcripts on the computer drive • We will look at the format of these documents in MS-Word to help decision about formatting our own data. • Page references refer to the booklet ‘Teach yourself NVivo 8: the introductory tutorials’ by Lyn Richards, abbreviated to TYNV8. Module 1

31. Data organising activities

32. Activity 1: Create your NVIVO project • After we have viewed the transcripts: • Open NVIVO in your computer • From Programs > QSR > NVIVO 8 OR • Double-click the NVIVO logo on the desktop • It is a large program so takes a while to open and looks as though nothing is happening on screen so: • Be patient. • Click on New Project > Name the project ‘Exploring volunteering’ > Click OK (TYNV8 p 8) Module 1

33. Activity 2: Create folders for sources • In the Navigation View >Sources > Internals • Right mouse click on the folder Internals > create a new Folder called Interviews > Click OK • Right mouse click on the folder Internals> Create a new folder called Focus Groups > Click OK • Right mouse click on the folder Internals> Create a new folder called Other > Click OK You may want to create folders for other types of documents e.g. your proposal, your journals, your literature review, etc. Module 1

34. Activity 3: Create a new document • In the Navigation View >Sources > Internals • Select the folder ‘Other’ • Bring your cursor to the List view on the right of the screen • Right click in an empty space New Internal > Document • Enter a name for the document and (optional) description > Click OK Module 1

35. Activity 3 (continued) For memo entries and in any other documents that record process use the keystroke short cut Ctrl-shift-T to automatically enter the current date and time Close the document when you have completed your entry

36. Activity 4: Import interview/s into NVIVO • In the Navigation View > Sources > Internals • Select the folder Interviews • Bring your cursor to the List view on the right of the screen • Right click in an empty space > Import internals > Browse for the document/s select Anna, Bernadette, Frederic, Grace, Ken, Mary, Nick, Phoebe and Sunil > OK • Tick ‘Create descriptions’, AND ‘Create as read only’ AND ‘Code sources at new cases located under’ Cases > Click OK • The import is completed though you might be presented with the option to add a new description

37. Activity 5: Autocode interview topics Use the styled headings to autocode the interviews into each question topic, and autocode each speaker in the focus group (TYNV8 pp 67-68) First create a node: • In Navigation View > Nodes. When Nodes opens above click on Tree Nodes to open it. • In the List View > right mouse click >New Tree Node > (Name it) Topics-Interviews Now autocode the interview topics at the node: • In Navigation View > click on Sources > Interviews • In the List View, select all the interviews - holding Shift click on the interviews then right click, and • Choose Autocode from the bottom of the Context menu Module 1

38. Activity 6: Autocode interview topics • In the Autocode box > select and move with arrow the appropriate Headings (1 & 2) and from Available paragraph styles .. to Selected paragraph styles. • With Existing Node in the Under fieldclick on Select button to find the node in Tree Nodes > highlight ‘Topics – Interviews’ • Click OK, and on the next screen click OK again. Module 1

39. Activity 7: Review the autocoding • In Navigation View > Node > Tree Nodes. • Expand from the plus (+) symbols next to the parent nodes to see the child nodes (for sub-questions) that were created. • Child nodes contain all participants’ answers for each sub-question. • Double click on one of the child nodes to open the coded content in the Detail View Module 1

40. Activity 8: Import demographic data Demographic data such as gender, age, education etc. about participants can be imported into NVIVO or it can be added for individuals manually from within NVIVO. • From the network drive > open the file ‘Interview casebook.xls’ • Look at the headings on rows and columns to see how the data is structured. • Re-save the file as a Unicode text file and name it interview_dem.txt >close the file. • In NVIVO >Import the file from Tools > Import Casebook > Browse > locate the text file interview_dem. • In the Import Casebook box, set Case name format to Name > tick all three boxes • Leave Case location as Cases > OK • The casebook of importedvalues opens in the detail view. Module 1

41. Activity 9: Look at Attributes & Values • The Casebook is now displayed below in the Detail View. • View the values of the attributes that are now assigned to the Cases. Close the Casebook. • These socio-demographics (age group, gender etc.) knows as attributes with their values in NVIVO are now stored in the Classification > Attributes folder. • In addition from Nodes >Cases , right click Anna’s Case > select Case Properties > click on the Tab: Attribute Values. There you see the socio-demographics that were assigned to Anna’s Case. Module 1

42. Activity 10: Import the focus groups • In the Navigation View >Sources >Internals • Right click on the folder Internals > Focus Groups • Bring your cursor to the List view on the right of the screen • Right click in an empty space > Import internals > Browse for & select the NonVols, Vols 01 and Vols 02 focus group transcripts > click OK • Tick ‘Create descriptions’, and ‘Create as read only’ but NOT ‘Code sources at Cases’ > Click OK • The focus group transcripts have been imported Module 1

43. Create attributes manually • You can create new attribute values from within NVIVO e.g. current marital status • From Classifications in the Navigation view select attributes • In the List view right click on an empty space > New attribute > name it Marital status • From the Values tab > Add one at a time the values e.g. Single, Married, Divorced, etc. > OK • Right click in the list view empty space > Open Casebook > for each case click in the Marital status column field > from the down arrow select the value that applies to that case. (see TYNV8, pp 33-35) Module 1

44. Some approaches to Tree node structures

45. Theme-based approach e.g. Volunteering tutorial project Module 2

46. Narrative Creswell, J.W. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and research design – choosing among five approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks. CA :Sage. Page 170 Module 2

47. Phenomenology Creswell, J.W. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and research design – choosing among five approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks. CA :Sage. Page 170 Module 2

48. Grounded theory Creswell, J.W. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and research design – choosing among five approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks. CA :Sage. Page 171 Module 2

49. Ethnography Creswell, J.W. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and research design – choosing among five approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks. CA :Sage. Page 171 Module 2

50. Case study (collective) Creswell, J.W. (2007) Qualitative Inquiry and research design – choosing among five approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks. CA :Sage. Page 172