NVivo: N6: Welcome Making the choice: NVivo and N6 compared The following presentation summarizes NVivo and N6 in a table and then illustrates their key features, first NVivo and then N6. There are two ways to view the illustrations of NVivo and N6: View NVivo and then N6 (click ‘Next’ to proceed) Compare their respective tools for similar data management tasks (click ‘Compare with NVivo’ or ‘Compare with N6’ at any time) To proceed, click the ‘Next’ button below.

NVivo: N6: NVivo & N6 Using NVivo you can…Using N6 you can… analyse rich text data with no fixed units of analysisanalyse plain text data with fixed units of analysis edit document text without disrupting your coding link to annotations, external files and web pagesadd annotations to the text as text units link to editable and codable memo documentsattach a memo to any document or node view and report your coding in many ways browse and refine coding in a live node browser that provides access to context store demographics and other descriptive data organize and describe documents and nodes using sets, automatically code sections use a command file macro facility that allows you to automate repetitive tasks such as coding sections search your data for text patterns and auto-code keywords integrate searching of coding, attributes and text patternssearch and compare coding and text search results search a subset of your data and spread the coded results cross-tabulate any nodes, attribute values and text patterns, and export the table cross-tabulate coding at the children of two nodes, and export the table conceptualize your ideas in a graphical modeling tool that links back into the data export nodes and their properties to an external modeling program

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Project Pad Data is imported as project documents. These may be online rich text files, or proxy documents that represent other materials. Attributes and Sets provide ways of grouping the documents according to what you know about them. You might use attributes to record demographic information or sets to group documents by their source. Nodes are containers for all the text that relates to the particular themes or categories they represent. Document text is coded at nodes. Nodes can also be organized using Sets and Attributes. Search, the Show Tool and Modeling allow you to examine and compare relationships between coding, attributes and text patterns across any or all of the project data. Do you want an integrated approach to managing qualitative data? Two project databases can be merged into one project using the Merge for NVivo software.

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Documents Edit as you code, in rich text, without disrupting coding. There are no fixed units of analysis. Select and code any characters. Import files saved as RTF in MS Word. Apply heading styles in Word or in NVivo after import to define document sections. Do you have rich text and want no fixed units of analysis?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Documents Link to other documents, including memos - for example, a memo about Connie’s children. Memos are full status documents and can be edited and coded. Link to external files such as pictures and multimedia files, or to web pages. Link to short comments stored as annotations, like a post-it note, embedding your own comments behind the text. Do you want to embed comments and annotations in the text, linking to them, external files, web pages or memos?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Coding Use the coding bar to code selected text. Type in the name of your node here. Select text relating to a particular category or concept and code it. Open the Coder to see all of your nodes. Browse and code text from other documents at the nodes you’ve created. Do you want efficient coding tools that code exactly those characters that are relevant?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Coding View coding as stripes. Code at nodes in the Coder, and organize them in a hierarchical catalog. Text coded at the node selected in the Coder is highlighted to show coding. Browse a node to see the text coded there. Do you want a range of ways to view your coding?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Coding View different amounts of context. Surrounding text that is not coded is shown in a lighter color. View all the coded passages from each document in a node browser window. Code text at this node to other nodes, perhaps coding-on from a general category into finer sub- categories. All of the browser coding tools are available to code the displayed context, or uncode all or part of a passage. In-text links can also be coded and are live in the node browser. Do you want to browse coded text, in context, and refine coding in a live node browser?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Describing data Prepare a table of descriptive data. Import it into NVivo to create attributes and assign values for each person (here people are represented by their interview documents. You can also create and modify attributes and their values in NVivo. The imported attributes can be viewed in NVivo’s own attribute table display. Do you want to use demographics and other descriptive data?

View the section structure of documents in the right pane of the Document Explorer. Document sections can be coded automatically using the section coder. Section coding a document or set of documents with the same structure creates a node for each section, coding the sections from every document. Create and modify sets of documents and nodes to group items. Use color coding for different types of documents. NVivo: N6: NVivo: Describing data Do you want flexible ways to organize and describe documents and nodes?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Searching What are you looking for? For example, look for a particular term to evaluate whether everyone uses it the same way. Where are you looking? Choose the items you wish to search. Type in the search string, including special characters or wildcards as necessary. What do you want to do with the results? Include context with the search finds. Do you want to search your data for text patterns?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Searching What are you looking for? For example, if you are interested in when Males discuss Competitive behavior, use Boolean Intersection search to find the text common to these items. Choose the type of search you want. And the items you wish to search. Use the Search Tool to compare and examine the relationships described in the project e.g. coding and attributes. Do you want to integrate the searching of coding, attributes and text patterns?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Searching Where are you looking? Restrict the scope to search only that part of the data you are interested in. Search results are stored as coding at nodes. Use results in later searches or browse the results node to examine and refine its coding. What do you want to do with the results? Specify how much context you wish to include with each find. What are you looking for? This records that a Boolean Intersection search has been chosen. Do you want to search a subset of your data and spread the coded results in one step?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Searching Use a matrix search to cross-tabulate aspects of the data. For example, a range of ‘Attitudes’ versus the values of attribute ‘Gender’. The resulting table shows the amount of coding found at each pair-wise comparison. Coding density is shown in color gradations, illustrating patterns in the coding. Export the table to external applications such as word- processors, spreadsheets and statistics packages. Click on a cell to browse the actual text referenced there. Do you want to cross-tabulate any nodes, attribute values and text patterns?

NVivo: N6: NVivo: Modeling Use NVivo’s Modeler to create conceptual maps of the project data. Examine relationships using the Show Tool, dragging required items to the model. Export the model to Decision Explorer or to the clipboard. Drag required items into the model and link them with others. Do you want to show your ideas in a graphic model that links back into the data?

NVivo: N6: N6: Project Pad Data are imported as project documents. These may be online text files, or external documents that represent materials that you cannot or do not want to import. You might use also use nodes to record demographic information or to group documents. Nodes are containers for all the text that relates to the particular theme or categories they represent. Document text is coded at nodes. Search nodes to examine the relationships between the coding at nodes. Search text to find occurrences of text patterns in the document text. Use command files (macros) to automate clerical and repetitive tasks. Do you want an integrated approach to managing qualitative data? Two project databases can be merged into one project using the free NUD*IST Merge utility.

NVivo: N6: N6: Documents Import files saved as text-only in MS Word or NotePad. The document description is read in from the text file. Sections in the document begin with a sub-header (a paragraph beginning with an asterisk) and continue up to but not including the next sub- header. Does your data suit plain text and fixed units of analysis? Text units are the smallest codable unit of analysis in N6. Change the preference setting before importing (appending) further text to a document to create a document with a mixture of text unit types. Text units are imported as lines (as shown here), sentences or paragraphs according to a preference setting.

NVivo: N6: N6: Documents Edit individual text units or add text units (including annotations) without disrupting coding. Do you want to add annotations to the text, and keep notes about each document in separate memo files? Every document can have a memo file to record your thoughts and reflections about that document.

NVivo: N6: N6: Coding Use the coding bar to code selected text. Type in the name of your node here or click on a node in the Node Explorer (above) to place it here ready for coding. Select text relating to a particular category or concept and code it. Browse and code text from other documents at the nodes you’ve created. Do you want efficient coding tools that always code sufficiently broad units of analysis? Paragraph text units include a significant amount of context. Or choose sentence or line text units.

NVivo: N6: N6: Coding Or view a report with coding stripes for selected nodes. A code at the top of the report tells you which node each letter represents. Letters appear next to the numbered text unit when that node codes that text unit. For any selection of text units, examine coding to view the nodes that code any or part of the selection. Do you want a range of ways to view your coding? Delete all of a node’s coding for this selection. Browse a node that codes this selection.

NVivo: N6: N6: Coding Spread the coding of a selection to include surrounding context. View all the coded passages from each document in a node browser window. Each passage shows which text units of the document are coded. Code text at this node to other nodes, perhaps coding-on from a general category into finer sub- categories. All the browser coding tools are available in the node browser. Or jump to this place in the source document to view the surrounding text. Refine the coding at this node (already selected in the coding bar). Do you want to browse coded text and refine coding in a live node browser?

NVivo: N6: N6: Describing data Prepare a table of descriptive data. Here, values of variables are given for numbered survey documents. Values describe how recent the last immunization was, the age of children under 5 and so forth. Nodes representing values code all the text relevant to that value. Import the table into N6 to create “Base Data” nodes that store this information as coding. Do you want to use demographics and other descriptive data?

Here eight questions in each survey document are organized as sections and identified Q1, Q2, etc. NVivo: N6: N6: Describing data The N6 Command Assistant helps you write a macro to automatically code the question sections at nodes. Do you want a command file macro facility that allows you to automate repetitive tasks? Add the command to the Command Assistant Window and run it to create & code the nodes. Save and run the command file again for new data.

NVivo: N6: N6: Searching What are you looking for? For example, look for a particular term (and synonyms) to evaluate whether everyone uses it the same way. Text search can search all documents. It can also be restricted to finds from a single document or node. Or restrict it to finds from documents or nodes other than the selected one. Search strings can have special characters or wildcards to account for similar terms or different spellings. Alternation search options are separated by the special character | and enclosed in square brackets. ‘[fear|anxiety|anxious|worry]’ Do you want to search your data for text patterns?

NVivo: N6: N6: Searching What are you looking for? For example, if you want to find where parents are anxious about their child’s reaction to immunization, intersect the nodes (1 1) ‘reactions’ and (4 5) ‘fear-anxiety-worry’. Each type of search operator is illustrated. The simplest search is Intersection, i.e. what text do these nodes have in common? Select them via the explorer tree display. Do you want to search and compare coding, including the results of text searches?

NVivo: N6: N6: Searching Where are you looking? Restrict the scope to search only that part of the data you are interested in. Here the search will be restricted to the text coded at (10 5 1) ‘interviews’. Search results are stored as coding at nodes so they can be used in later searches. Browse the results node to examine and refine its coding and/or spread coding to include context. Overlap is often a more useful search. Wherever the text at nodes intersects, the returned find will include as context all the text of the intersecting passages. Do you want to search a subset of your data?

NVivo: N6: N6: Searching Use a matrix search to cross-tabulate aspects of the data. For example, a range of issues relating to (1 2) ‘Trusting’ versus the values of (10 6) ‘Stress’. The resulting table shows the amount of coding found at each pair-wise comparison. Click on a row or column header to browse that node. Click on a cell to report the text referenced there. Make a report of all the cells’ text. Or export the table as a tab delimited text file for import into external applications such as word-processors, spreadsheets and statistics packages. Buttons illustrate each type of search. Do you want to cross-tabulate the children of two nodes?

NVivo: N6: N6: Modeling Examples of how exported nodes can be used in models. Export nodes and their properties to an external modeling program. N6 exports to Decision Explorer or Inspiration format. Do you want to export nodes and their properties to an external modeling program?

NVivo: N6: To summarize… Whichever you choose, both NVivo and N6 provide: an integrated approach to managing qualitative data the ability to edit document text without disrupting your coding a range of ways to view your coding the ability to browse and refine coding in a live node browser the ability to store demographics and other descriptive data via table import the ability to search your data for text patterns and auto-code keywords search tools with a logically complete set of operators to compare coding

NVivo: N6: To summarize… If these things matter to you then the choice is clear: To summarize… A fine-detail analyzer, allowing fluid exploration and interpretation and integrating the processes of interpretation and questioning. Annotating of text or discourse, hyper-linking to other texts or multimedia data – as well as fluid, think-aloud coding? NVivo has many ways of recording the links between data and ideas that go way beyond coding. Filtering finely and integrating searches of text, coding and attributes? Rich text, freely edited, representing the richness of your data? Ability to import it directly and use color, font to mark it up. Seeing it, to model and visually display matrices or rich text reports? You need NVivo

NVivo: N6: To summarize… A responsive, pragmatic toolkit - a reliable workhorse with a track record of hundreds of doctorates and crucial policy projects. Keeping close to your data and in charge of your growing interpretations. Managing documents, ideas and your thinking about them. Access to data primarily by coding and searching, swiftly and reliably, with rigorous search tools to discover patterns and test hypotheses. Restricting searches to just the data wanted, using results to build new inquiries. Ability to handle large, even very large amounts of data (plain text or external?) Automating clerical processing with a command file (macro) feature that would change your life! You need N6 If these things matter to you then the choice is clear:

Full descriptions of NVivo and N6 and an extensive comparison table and system requirements can be found at N6 handles significantly more data than NVivo. If you are considering NVivo, please see the information about project size at Try the demonstration software using your own data or the online tutorials provided. Context sensitive help (press F1) provides instructions any window in the software. Self teaching materials, including workshop handbooks that summarize the software tools, are also available at If you have any further questions, please see our website or ask us at What other information can inform your choice? NVivo: N6: Further information

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