AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

NVivo Software

John.Walsh@ul.ie

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

N6 Software Overview• Documents• Codes• Nodes• Searches• Modelling

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

Documents

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Document Types• Interview Transcripts• Unstructured open questions• Organisational Documentation• Speeches• Plays, Novels etc.

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Document Types• Data Documents• Memos

– Thoughts, developed over time– About interviewees, surroundings, queries

after interview, anomalies/further questions

– Get on paper at the time– Node Memos- notes on concepts

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Coding

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Coding• Identification of key Themes/Patterns• Attach ‘key words’/tags• To segments of text (text units)• Make available for inspection• Later software helps

– Retrieve text units– Order themes– Search for patterns

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Coding TextFrom example interview textWhat codes

IssuesConcepts

…are covered?

From Theory/From Data (In Vivo)

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Nodes

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Nodes• Create Nodes in N6 for each code• Code a text unit with (multiple) codes• Can retrieve by Code

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

Naming Nodes• Node Names

– from Theoretical concepts• Structure available from Lit Review• Enable ‘mirroring’

– In Vivo• From the data• Grounded Theory

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Types of Nodes• Free Nodes

– Not organised– Generated initially as free (first pass)– May not fit other categories

• Tree Nodes– Have a Hierarchy– Categories & sub-categories

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Managing Nodes• Structuring free Nodes

• Passes through the data– Spotting something half-way through– Iterative

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Searching

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Searching involves• Helping arrange data to AID answer

questions asked when– Exploring– Reflecting on– Probing for patterns

• Need to know what questions to ask!

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Modelling

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Modelling• Tree/hierarchical structures• Graphical representations (Not N6)

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

AIB Centre for Information & Knowledge Managementwww.cikm.ul.ie

Questions?