NVivo for Qualitative Research

Course Description:

Are you working with qualitative data in your PhD project — or planning to? This hands-on PhD course gives you the tools to make your analysis more structured, rigorous, and insightful using NVivo software.

Across two course days, you will learn how to import, organize, analyze, and visualize qualitative data (e.g., interview transcripts, focus groups, documents, and multimedia). Between Day 1 and Day 2, you will work independently on your own NVivo project to consolidate learning and progress your analysis.

The course is relevant for PhD students at any stage who work with qualitative data — either as the main focus or as part of mixed methods. Participants must bring their own dataset (e.g., interview transcripts) and have access to NVivo 15.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge

1. Understand NVivo’s structure and functions, and how it supports the research process from protocol to manuscript/report.

Skills

Apply NVivo’s tools to plan and conduct qualitative analysis on your own data.

1. Explain and demonstrate analytic features used in the analysis.
2. Establish an audit trail to ensure quality and transparency (credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability).

Competences

1. Critically reflect on using NVivo in your own analysis.
2. Evaluate the quality of using NVivo in the qualitative analysis.
3. Discuss strengths and limitations of NVivo across different qualitative data types.

Course Structure (2 days + independent work):

• Day 1: NVivo user interface and core features. Guided, hands-on practice with your own data.
• Between days: Mandatory independent work on your analysis (with peer group check-in or open supervision).
• Day 2: Advanced tools and deeper analysis (e.g., case classifications, queries, maps/diagrams). Student presentations, peer feedback, problem-solving, and presenting results from NVivo.

Teaching Methods:

Combination of short lectures, live demos, and hands-on exercises:

• Create and manage an NVivo project
• Import and organize text, audio, video, images, spreadsheets, emails
• Explore data with queries to identify themes
• Code data systematically (iterations, node structure)
• Create cases and add attributes for group comparisons
• Visualize with word frequencies, word clouds, comparisons, maps/diagrams
• Quality checks (coder comparison) and building an audit trail

Students are placed in small groups and meet online or face-to-face at least once between the two days.
Alternative/add-on: Open, two-hour lecturer-led supervision between the days.

Student Tasks:

1. Submit a research proposal (max 5 pages) before the course, focusing on your qualitative approach.
2. Work on your own NVivo analysis between course days.
3. Participate in the group meeting / open supervision between Day 1 and Day 2 and share progress/challenges.
4. Present ongoing analysis on Day 2, including one issue for discussion (upload to Itslearning 1 week before Day 2).

Evaluation: Pass/fail based on participation, submission of preparations, and in-class presentation.

Readings: Announced on Itslearning.

Requirements for participation: Participants must have NVivo 15 installed on their computer. Also, knowledge regarding qualitative research methods is expected.

Course fee:

Free for PhD students at universities within the Open Market Agreement or members of NorDoc

Others 1900 DKK/ 255 EUR