Using Nvivo for qualitative data analysis Sue Jones Workshop 1

What is Nvivo? Software that facilitates the analysis of qualitative data Become familiar with the software Become familiar with the coding of qualitative data It doesn’t do the analysis for you

The workshops Week 1 Coding interview data Navigating through Nvivo 8 Week 2 Project walk through  Enter data  Code data  Restructure analysis  Explore analysis

Qualitative data Qualitative data can take many forms Interview transcripts Transcripts of discussions Transcripts from school lessons or any real life setting Field notes Observation records Video data Photographs Children’s drawings Children’s written texts The workshop will focus on coding from interview transcripts

Interview data isn’t neat When girls come into school they are really quite ready just to sit down and to learn Well what can I say about Jade –she just does not see the importance of school at all I think girls will learn which ever way you teach them, they’re more accommodating than boys. I don't think men have the same sense of urgency as women Boys would much sooner be using their bodies physically.... They're not nearly so keen on sitting and looking at books Emily is very lively and enthusiastic and about all of her school work James is interested in everything that we do, he has an incredible facility with language and I have never had a child in my class who could write such fantastic stories he can also concentrate pretty well Well of course I'm one of these women who think men basically are lazy toads

Interview data isn’t neat People don’t always know what they think People think out loud The interview shapes their ideas People are naturally contradictory The data is often conflicting and difficult to categorise

Interview data is rich You can explore opinions and attitudes  Tell me more  Do you mean...  Why and how questions You can be faithful to the tentative, speculative nature of people’s responses You can reflect on the emergent, fluid nature of people’s ideas rather than fixing them in stone You can explore the creation of meaning You can pick up on recurrent themes and ideas You can explore what is informing their ideas

The Grounded Theory Approach Developed by Glaser and Strauss in the 1960’s Theory emerges from the data (inductive) It is rigorous and time consuming Creation of codes that classify the data for minute details (open coding) This is iterative, emergent and in the initial stages highly fluid Through analysis codes will be merged, split, clustered and refined (axial coding) When no new codes emerge and all new data can be classified using existing codes the coding frame is said to be saturated

Coding data When girls come into school they are really quite ready just to sit down and to learn (girls as passive), (readiness for school), (school as passive) I don't think men have the same sense of urgency as women (women as driven) (gender polarising) Emma is very lively and enthusiastic and about all of her school work (girls and HA as active learners), (girls and HA as engaged) (girls and HA as enthusiastic) I think girls will learn which ever way you teach them, they’re more accommodating than boys. (girls don’t need strategies), (girls as accommodating) Boys would much sooner be using their bodies physically.... they're not nearly so keen on sitting and looking at books (boys as active), (boys and literacy)

Coding In pairs read the interview creating codes as you go Record your codes Make notes of any discussions you have about the phrasing of a code, or about the meanings in the interview Compare your codes with another pair

The coding process Interview 1: Start the process of open coding Axial coding may start to emerge Keep memos – personal notes about possible coding structures, links to the reading, theoretical echoes Capture Interview 1: Vertical coding

The coding process Interview 2: How well do existing codes capture interview 2? Redefine codes, create new codes, merge and split codes (axiel coding) In the light of these changes revisit interview 1(iterative process) Capture interview 2 Check codes and coding structure are faithful to both interviews Repeat process for subsequent interviews – redefining, creating, changing and altering as you go Keep revisiting previously analysed interviews to check the codes and the emerging coding frame still captures their meanings

The coding process A point is reached where every new interview is captured within the existing codes and coding frame (saturation) Horizontal coding of themes reflected across the interviews Vertical coding to account for individual perspectives Write definitions for every code and every cluster of codes Identify and describe links and relationships between codes Finally consider all of this in the light of existing theory and literature

Coding Remember - coding frames emerge from hours of analysis. In the early stages of analysis these codes are fluid, changing and emerging Some research projects involve teams of coders, for whom part of the process will involve developing inter coder reliability  How similar or different were your codes? – Does it matter ?  What does this tell you about analysing qualitative data?