Workshop 3 Qualitative data analysis: NVivo 7 - an interactive workshop
Gina Dolan, School of Care Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, United Kingdom gcdolan@glam.ac.uk
Abstract:
Computer aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) provides a set a tools to facilitate the data analysis process. NVivo 7 assists the analysis of qualitative data by offering an effective means of managing data and ideas; asking questions about the data through queries; graphic models to represent the data or ideas; and reports from the data. This introductory workshop aims to provide a basic overview of the NVivo (Version 7) data analysis programme. The workshop will primarily target people who have no experience of NVivo, but will also aid those who have started to use NVivo 7 and are at the early stages of their analysis.
1. Tour of NVivo
A completed project will be presented at the beginning of the session, to provide an insight into the various features of a project, and a possible end-point for the analysis. This will include the basic principles of how NVivo works and the format of the programme. This is particularly useful to someone who is unfamiliar with NVivo as the Navigation View can be a little confusing. Offering a demonstration provides participants with the opportunity to gain an understanding of how the programme is structured, before using it hands on. Starting the workshop with an annotated tour of the programme helps users to overcome any initial reservations, as the features of NVivo 7 can be fully explored. To illustrate the potential applications of NVivo, data will be presented from a variety of projects including patients’ use of the internet and nurse education.
2. Working hands on with NVivo
The second part of the session will adopt a hands on approach in which participants will develop skills in the following areas: o creating a new project o preparing and importing documents o creating nodes o coding o modelling o saving and backing up your project Particular consideration will be given to how NVivo can have an impact on the coding structure. A series of support guides will be included, based on personal experiences of using the programme. Advice will also be given about how to deal with possible limitations, such as the temptation to ‘over code’ the data, due to the ease and speed at which coding can be conducted. NVivo offers the user much more than a quick way of coding and organizing data. An important misconception often held by new users is that CAQDAS programmes actually analyse the data. This workshop will help to dispel this myth by giving participants an insight into how the researcher interacts with the programme. Throughout the workshop participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own research projects or interests and to consider ways in which they may wish to process their data using NVivo. Due to the limited time available, it will not be possible for participants to work on their own data or have individual tuition for their projects. Sample data will be provided for participants to work on during the session. In addition to the basic code and retrieval functions, NVivo has a series of multifunctional tools which can further assist analysis. A brief demonstration of the more advanced tools, such as the query tool and classifications will also be provided towards the end of the session.
At the end of this workshop, participants will be equipped to set up their project and use the main functions of NVivo. The workshop aims to be as interactive as possible to ensure that, with the right application, data analysis can be a much more meaningful and enjoyable process.
Pre-requisites:
Nvivo is a windows based programme and so this workshop assumes prior knowledge and proficiency of working with Windows operating system. A basic knowledge of analyzing qualitative data.
Source of Funding: N/A
Level of funding: N/A