Learning objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Strategies and tactics in qualitative research – the importance of methodology and how research objectives drive the use of software tools
• Data formatting – transcription protocols that maximise functionality in NVivo
• Setting up a project – structuring the NVivo workspace in line with your objectives
• Exploring data – in-depth annotation and initial high-level explorations
• Conceptualising data – interpretive and inductive coding compared with automated coding options
• Organising data – attaching socio-demographics or other meta-data to the units in your analysis
• Interrogating and visualising data – uncovering relationships and mapping ideas

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for postgraduate students and early career researchers in any discipline working on or planning to work with interview or focus group data.

No prior knowledge of NVivo is required.

Course overview and aims

NVivo can be harnessed to manage, analyse and interpret any qualitative materials. This course focuses on harnessing NVivo when working with primary data generated from conversations with participants through interviews and focus-group discussions. It is framed by the Five-Level QDA® method, which provides an adaptable framework for ensuring the tools you use in NVivo are driven by the methodological needs of your project.

The course provides a comprehensive overview of NVivo by introducing its core components using sample transcripts and course participants are facilitated in using the software in guided hands-on sessions. We discuss common approaches to analysing interview and focus-group transcripts, open-up thinking about how to appropriately choose between them and provide a framework for planning and documenting your analysis.

Topics

• Strategies and tactics in qualitative research – the importance of methodology and how research objectives drive the use of software tools
• Approaches to analysing interview and focus-group transcripts – commonly used analytic approaches for interview and focus-group data and their appropriateness to your objectives
• Planning an analysis – the purpose and use of Analytic Planning Worksheets
• Data formatting – transcription protocols that maximise functionality in NVivo
• Setting up a project – structuring the NVivo workspace in line with your objectives
• Exploring data – in-depth annotation and initial high-level explorations
• Conceptualising data – interpretive and inductive coding compared with automated coding options
• Organising data – attaching socio-demographics or other meta-data to the units in your analysis
• Interrogating and visualising data – uncovering relationships and mapping ideas