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Qualitative Research & Tools

Find tutorials about conducting Qualitative research, including resources on methodologies and software.

NVivo is software for Qualitative Research from QSR International. Many people consider it their favorite because it is so powerful and provides organization for the entire project. The learning curve is small to do basic tasks, but there are many advanced features that can take longer to get accustomed to.

NVivo 1.0 (released March 18, 2020) was released for Windows and Mac. As previously, the Mac version has fewer features. QSR also released Collaboration Cloud for sharing projects (within OS only). The Plus and Pro versions from v12 have been combined.

NVivo 12 (released March 20, 2018)  for Windows has 2 versions. Pro has the basic features researchers need. Plus has additional automation and social networking capabilities. NVivo for Mac OS is also available, with somewhat fewer features than the Windows Pro version. The Starter Edition from v11 has been discontinued.

Access to NVivo

Learning Paths

Learn NVivo in 1 hour

NVivo comes with one (or more) sample projects to open and explore. QSR video and text tutorials use the "Multi-Method" or "Environmental Change Down East" project, so you can follow along.

Videos

    Windows 1.5 Mac 1.5
Link Windows Playlist      Mac Playlist    
Getting Started

Tour of the Interface

The Design Framework

Importing files

#1, #2, #3 #1, #2, #3
Cases

Creating Cases from 1 to 1 Interviews

Creating Cases from Multiperson Interviews

Creating Cases and Classifications in Datasets

#10 & #11 #10, #11, #15
Coding

Coding Text

Principles of coding

Identify Themes

#19, #22, #30 #20
Managing Codes

Using Coding Stripes

Using the Highlighting Tool

Managing Codes: Merge, Rename, Move, Reorganize

#23, #24, #28 #25, #26, #24
Note-taking

Using Memos

Using Annotations

#25, #26 #27, #28
Visualization   Explore Explore

Alternatives

Written Documentation

Version 1.5 - Use the sandwich in the upper right to navigate: 1.5 Windows  |   1.0 Mac  

Version 12 - Start with the Using NVivo section:   v12 Windows  |   v12 Mac

Resources from QSR International

Resources from QSR International

These are wonderful materials and should be the first stop.

Books about NVivo

See also the Companion Website with an additional sample project and a map of all query options. 

Because this book is not specific to any software, it is thus useful regardless of the version you use, and remains so even as the softwares change. For example, NVivo has been releasing a new version about every 2 years.

Other Tutorials

NVivo 12 Video Workshops

  • NVivo 12 (Hull Uni Library) -  ~ 2.5 hrs total across 25 videos.
    • Suggested 1 hr Playlist:  2, 3, 5, 8, 9 19, 12, 15, 16, 18
  • NVivo 12 for Mac (storybuilders) - ~40 min total across 7 videos.
  • NVivo 12 from Linked-in Learning (FREE at Mason) - ~1.5 hrs across 17 videos.

 

NVivo 12 Video Tutorials

 

Other Tutorials