Introduction to NVivo

This page explains how to set up your own project in NVivo by importing and organising your project materials.

Note that this page includes several examples that use materials from the Environmental Change Down East sample project. You can follow these examples using your own materials, but if you would like to use the materials specified in the examples, you will first need to export them. To do this, open the Environmental Change Down East sample project (as explained in the Sample projects page), then follow the instructions below:

• To export the required Word documents: Select the Interviews folder under Files. Select the Margaret and Maria and Daniel files together, then right click and choose ‘Export’ and ‘Export Documents…’. Make sure the ‘MS Word (*.docx)’ file type is selected, choose an appropriate save location and then select ‘OK’.
• To export the required audio file: Select the Interviews folder under Files. Select the Helen file, then right click and choose ‘Export’ and ‘Export Audio/Transcript…’. Select to export only the Media Item (.mp3), select an appropriate save location and then select ‘OK’.
• To export the required PDF: Select the Literature folder under Files. Select the Analyzing Estuarine Shoreline Change~ A Case Study of Cedar Island, North Carolina file, then right click and choose ‘Export’ and ‘Export PDF…’. Choose an appropriate save location and then select ‘OK’.
• To export the required Excel file: Select the Survey folder under Files. Select the Survey Responses file, then right click and choose ‘Export’ and ‘Export Dataset…’. Choose an appropriate save location and then select ‘OK’.

Creating a new project

To create a new project in NVivo, go to File > New. Enter a name and description for your project, then browse to choose a location to save it (it will be saved as a .nvp file). For example:

Click ‘Next’. You now have the option to choose ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for a reminder to save your project. Click ‘Create project’, then click ‘Skip Tour’ and, once you have read the information provided under Files, click ‘Close’.

Creating folders

It is generally easiest to create folders to store your project materials before you import them, as you can then import the materials directly into the appropriate folder. However, you can create new folders at any time. You can also move materials from one folder to another by dragging and dropping them, or delete folders or materials by right clicking on them and selecting ‘Delete’.

To create a new folder, for example an Interviews folder, follow these steps:

1. Right click on the Files folder in the ‘Data’ group (or, if you would like the new folder to be a sub-folder of a different folder, right click on that folder instead)
2. Select ‘New Folder…’ from the top of the list. The ‘New Folder’ dialog box will appear
3. Enter a name for your new folder (for example Interviews), and a description if required
4. Click ‘OK’, then click ‘Close’ once you have read the information provided under Files

Alternatively, you can create a new folder by clicking on the Files folder, or another parent folder of your choice, selecting the ‘Create’ tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen, and then selecting ‘Folder’.

Repeat this process to create folders titled Literature, Surveys, Web Content, Email Content, and Pictures. Also create a sub-folder of Literature called EndNote, so that the folders for your project files are as follows:

You can now import files directly into the folders you have created, as explained in the next sections.

Importing materials saved on your computer

The simplest materials to import into your project are Microsoft Word, text, PDF, audio, video and/or picture files saved on your computer. To import these types of files, follow these steps:

1. Select the folder you wish to import the files into (for example Literature), so that the folder opens in the List View, then close the information about Files
2. Right click in the blank area of the List View
3. Select ‘Import Items…’
4. Locate the file/s you wish to import (for example, Analyzing Estuarine Shoreline Change), then import either by:
   a. selecting an individual file and clicking ‘Open’ (as in this case); or
   b. selecting multiple files and clicking ‘Open’
5. Click ‘Import’
6. When importing an individual file, a ‘Properties’ box will appear, where you can rename the item and provide a description and colour if desired. You can still do this for items imported as part of a group by right clicking on the relevant item in the List View, then selecting ‘Document Properties…’ or ‘Video Properties…’, etc. as applicable

Alternatively, you can import an item into a folder by clicking on the appropriate folder, selecting the ‘Import’ tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen, and then selecting the ‘Files’ option.

Once you have done this, repeat the process for the Interviews folder, this time importing the Margaret and Maria and Daniel files together.

Importing surveys

You can create datasets in your project by importing Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, text files with comma or tab separated values and/or results from SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics. When you do this, the survey dataset is created in the relevant folder (in Files in the ‘Data’ group). In addition, ‘codes’ are created for the responses to each open-ended question (in Codes in the ‘Coding’ group), while ‘cases’ and ‘case classifications’ are created for each survey respondent (in Cases and Case Classifications respectively in the ‘Cases’ group). Codes are covered in the Codes & coding page of this module, while cases and case classifications are covered in the Classifications page.

In the meantime, to import an Excel file, follow these steps:

1. Select the folder you wish to import the data set into (for example Surveys)
2. Right click in the blank area of the List View
3. Select ‘Import Survey’, then choose where you wish to import the survey from (for example ‘From Microsoft Excel File…’)
4. Locate the file you wish to import (for example Survey Responses.xlsx) and click ‘Open’
5. Navigate through the Survey Import Wizard. You can keep the default settings if you are importing the example survey data, but the wizard also gives you the opportunity to:
   • Specify the number of header rows and the format of any dates in the survey data
   • Specify the name of the folder where the cases will be stored, and select a survey variable to use as a unique ID for these
   • Specify a name for the case classification that the cases will be grouped together in
   • Identify open and close-ended questions in the survey, as well as any questions you do not wish to import
   • Choose whether to autocode themes and sentiment

Alternatively, you can import survey data into a folder by clicking on the appropriate folder, selecting the ‘Import’ tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen, and then selecting the appropriate option in the ‘Survey’ group, for example ‘Excel’.

For more information on preparing a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for importing, as well as importing other types of data sets, you may like to view the NVivo User Help - Surveys and datasets online help.

Importing web content

You can import web content, such as articles, blog posts or social media content, into your project using a free web browser extension called NCapture for Google Chrome. NCapture may have been included with your NVivo download. To check, open Google Chrome and look for the NCapture icon to the right of the address bar:

If the icon is not visible, try clicking on the ‘Extensions’ icon (the puzzle piece). If NCapture is listed as an extension, choose to pin it to the toolbar. If it is not listed, you can search for the extension by clicking on the ‘Customize and control Google Chrome’ icon (the three vertical dots to the right of the address bar), then selecting ‘More tools’ and ‘Extensions’. Search for the ‘NCapture’ extension and, if it is listed, move the switch to the right so that the icon is visible, then pin it to the toolbar.

If NCapture is not installed for Google Chrome, you can download it from the Chrome Web Store.

Alternatively, if you would like more information about NCapture you may like to view the NCapture online help.

Once you have NCapture installed, open Google Chrome and find a web page that you would like to import. For example, in keeping with the sample project, you may like to import the web article North Carolina’s Fishing Industry Catches Up to a Changing World.

You can import this or another item of web content into NVivo using NCapture by clicking on the NCapture for NVivo icon. The NCapture dialog box will then open as follows:

You can choose to save an article either as a PDF of the web page or as a PDF of just the article. The second option should remove any additional, unnecessary content. Other types of web content will have different source type options. Once you have made your selection, check that you are happy with the source name and change it if needed, add a description if desired, then click ‘Capture’. You can also code to new or existing codes if you wish.

Once you have captured the web content in this way, you can import it into NVivo as follows:

1. Select the folder you wish to import the web content into (for example Web Content)
2. Right click in the blank area of the List View
3. Select ‘Import from’, then choose ‘Import from NCapture…’
4. Click ‘Browse’ to locate the web content you just captured (for example, in your Downloads folder)
5. Select the item(s) you wish to import
6. Click ‘Import’

Alternatively, you can import web content into a folder by clicking on the appropriate folder, selecting the ‘Import’ tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen, and then selecting the ‘NCapture’ option.

Importing from EndNote

Importing EndNote references into NVivo is a two-step process. First, you need to export the references from EndNote and then import them into NVivo. Instructions for both steps are provided below using a sample EndNote library that contains references for seven journal articles (with attached PDFs) and a book. If you would like to work through the instructions using the sample library, you can download it from the following link. Alternatively, you can use your own EndNote library:

• Sample EndNote library [ENLX, 4.41MB]

Once you have identified and opened an EndNote library, you can export references from it as follows:

1. Select the references you wish to export into NVivo. For the sample EndNote library provided, this will be all eight references. A large library can take some time to import into NVivo, so it is recommended that you work with smaller groups of references at a time
2. Go to File > Export…
3. Give the file an appropriate name (or leave the existing name) and choose a location that will be easy to find, for example your Desktop
4. Save the file as a .xml file by using the drop down arrow at ‘Save as type:’
5. Adjust the referencing ‘Output style’ if required
6. Click ‘Save’

The second step is to import the references into an appropriate folder in NVivo, as follows:

1. Open Files or one of the folders you have created (it does not matter which) in the List View
2. Right click in the blank area
3. Select ‘Import from’, then choose ‘Import from EndNote…’
4. Browse to the .xml file and select ‘Open’
5. In the ‘Name by’ option, choose whether to name the records by ‘Title’ (the default option) or by ‘Author and Year’
6. In the ‘Assign to’ option, choose whether to assign all the records to ‘A single classification (Reference)’ (the default option, which creates one ‘Reference’ file classification for all references) or to ‘Different classifications based on record type’ (which creates different file classifications for each type of reference, for example ‘Journal Article’, ‘Book’, ‘Report’, etc.)
7. Check that the number of records being imported into NVivo is correct (the figure below shows 8), then choose the appropriate folder at ‘Create Files in’ (for example Files\Literature\EndNote)
8. Click ‘Import’

Some additional things to note about the import process are:

• NVivo recognises records that have previously been imported and will not import duplicates.
• Only one file attachment, URL or figure per reference can be imported into NVivo. If a reference contains multiple file attachments, the first file attachment is imported by default. If you want to import a different file, click the ‘Advanced…’ button on the import dialog box, then use the drop down arrow in the ‘Import Content’ column to select the file you wish to import for that reference.
• Changes you make to your EndNote library or your NVivo project will not automatically make changes in the other.

Furthermore, when EndNote references are imported into NVivo, the following happens:

• References with attachments, such as Word documents, text files and PDFs, will be stored in the specified folder in Files. For example, the references with PDFs in the sample EndNote library have been stored in the EndNote folder in the example above.
• References without attachments will be stored in the Externals folder. To retrieve a reference, right click on the external reference in the List View, choose ‘External Properties…’ and select the ‘External’ tab. The ‘General’ tab shows the abstract, if applicable, while the ‘Attribute Values’ tab allows you to view the reference information (also available as explained below).
• Reference information will be stored in the File Classifications folder, either in one ‘Reference’ classification or in different file classifications, depending on what you selected in step 6 above. You can see these in the List View by selecting File Classifications in the Navigation View, and you can add new attributes to a reference type as required (see the Classifications page of this module for details).
• Abstracts, keywords and notes for applicable references will be stored in memos. To view these, click on the ‘Notes’ group in the Navigation View, then on Memos, and double click on any item you wish to open. Alternatively, open the folder containing the PDF or reference in the List View, then right click and choose ‘Memo Link’ and ‘Open Linked Memo’ (if there is one). You can also add your own notes to these memos; for details, see the Memos page of this module.

Importing from Microsoft Outlook

If you use the desktop version of Outlook (rather than Office 365 on the web), you can quickly and easily import emails into NVivo. You can either drag an email into the appropriate folder in the List View in NVivo, or save it as a .msg file in Outlook and then import it.

Either way, the email will be imported as a PDF. Any associated email attachments will also be imported and saved in a folder called Email Attachments, except for Excel files, which need to be saved first and then imported, and any unsupported file types. This new folder will be a sub-folder of the folder where you imported the email. However, you can then move the attachment(s) to another folder and delete any unnecessary folders if preferred.

Importing emails in this way will also create a ‘file classification’ for the email, as well as ‘cases’ and ‘case classifications’ for the sender and recipients (classifications are covered in the Classifications page of this module). ‘Relationships’ between the sender and recipients will also be created (in Recipients in the ‘Coding’ group). For more information on importing emails in this way, the results of the process and how to work with them, you may like to view the NVivo User Help - Email online help.

Alternatively, you can import email attachments without the associated email as follows:

1. Select the folder you wish to import the attachment into in NVivo (for example Email Content)
2. Open the email containing the attachment(s) you wish to import
3. Drag the attachment(s) into the List View of the appropriate folder

Opening and editing project materials

To open project materials after you have imported them, open the appropriate folder in the Navigation View (if required), then double click on the file in the List View. The file will open in the Details View on the right. You can have multiple files open at the same time and move between them by clicking on the tabs at the top of the Details View.

To edit a document (not a PDF) that is open in the Details View, tick the ‘Edit’ box. You can then make any changes you wish to the editable document. You can also run a spell check by selecting the ‘Spelling’ option in the ‘Edit’ tab on the ribbon at the top of the screen.

You can also turn pictures found in PDF files into separate picture files if required. For example, to turn the large Figure 3 on page 821 of the Analyzing Estuarine Shoreline Change PDF into a picture file, follow these steps:

1. Right click anywhere in the document and choose ‘Selection Mode’, then change it to ‘Region’
2. Click on the appropriate picture in the PDF file so that it is selected (surrounded by a dotted line)
3. Right click and select ‘Copy’
4. Select the folder where you want to place the new picture file from the list of folders in the Navigation View (for example Pictures)
5. Right click in the blank area of the List View for that folder
6. Select ‘Paste’
7. Enter a name for the picture and a description if you wish, then click ‘OK’

Once you have done this, you can comment on a particular area of the picture by selecting the area, right clicking and choosing ‘Insert Row’. The coordinates of the selected area will then automatically appear in the ‘Region’ column, and you can type your comments in the ‘Content’ column. If you select the number(s) assigned to a particular row or rows at a later date, the corresponding area of the picture will be highlighted.