STATISTICAL SOFTWARE
NVivo Qualitative Data Analysis
Coding You Can Trace to the Source
Our NVivo qualitative data analysis service carries out coding, theme development and mixed methods analysis in NVivo, working from your project and source files, and returns the project with a codebook, coded extracts and analytic memos where the method calls for them.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Fixed Project Fee
Same-Day Response
What Is NVivo Used For in Research?
NVivo is a commercial qualitative analysis package from Lumivero, formerly QSR International, used to code interviews, focus groups, documents and open-text survey responses inside one project file. Researchers choose it for its codes, called nodes in earlier versions, its cases with attributes and its matrix coding queries, which keep a large body of material searchable while each theme stays tied to its source. NVivo organizes and retrieves the material but does not interpret it: themes come from reading the coded passages within the method chosen. OnlineSPSS, a specialist statistical consultancy for academic, clinical and professional research, provides an NVivo qualitative data analysis service in which an in-house PhD-level statistician carries out the agreed analysis in NVivo from your project files and documents each coding decision.
WHEN TO ENGAGE
Where an NVivo Project Usually Needs Support
The request depends on how far the coding has come: sources still to be coded, a node tree that has outgrown its definitions, themes resting on counts, or questions from a supervisor or reviewer.
Sources Ready, Coding Not Begun Your transcripts and documents are in an NVivo project and the method is chosen, and an NVivo coding service here means setting up the coding approach and applying it consistently.
A Node Tree That Has Outgrown Itself Overlapping nodes with no written definitions or inclusion and exclusion rules have built up, and the structure has to be reviewed and documented before themes are built on it.
Themes That Rest on Counts Queries have been run and the counts look persuasive, but in NVivo qualitative research a theme is interpreted from the excerpts, with memos and source context kept attached.
Supervisor or Reviewer Questions A committee or reviewer asks how the themes were reached, so the path from source text through nodes to themes has to be made visible and written down.
ANALYSES IN NVIVO
Qualitative Approaches Carried Out in NVivo
Each approach is chosen for the research question and the kind of data, and its card links to the method page that explains what the approach asks of the coding.
Thematic Analysis
NVivo thematic analysis moves from initial codes to candidate themes, with each theme kept attached to its coded excerpts and to the memo that records why it was developed.
Framework Analysis
Cases are charted against a framework of themes in a matrix, so that summaries for each case and theme can be compared, with the source passage one step away.
Content Analysis
Categories with inclusion rules are applied unit by unit, matrix coding queries tabulate them by case attribute where counts matter, and coder agreement is checked only if the method uses it.
Grounded Theory
Coding proceeds through the stages of the chosen grounded theory tradition alongside memo writing, so the node structure is allowed to change as the categories develop.
Mixed Methods Research
NVivo mixed methods analysis imports case attributes from a survey or spreadsheet, so that matrix coding queries can compare themes across groups within a stated integration design.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
Each transcript is analyzed as a case in turn, with experiential notes recorded as memos before themes are compared across participants, so the coding stays close to each account.
COMMON NVIVO ISSUES
Where NVivo Projects Lose Their Audit Trail
A tidy node tree can still hide codes that mean different things to different coders, so these checks are made before any theme is reported.
Overlapping Nodes Several nodes capture nearly the same idea under different names. Each is given a written definition, then merged, split or retired, and the change is recorded.
Nodes Without Inclusion Rules A node with no rule for what belongs under it is applied differently from one transcript to the next, so rules are written from examples and earlier coding is rechecked.
Counts Read as Findings Coding queries show where codes occur, not what they mean. A theme rests on the excerpts and memos, and counts appear only as descriptive context.
Excerpts Cut From Context A coded passage far from its transcript loses its meaning, so the source and the case stay attached and participant identifiers are kept consistent.
Coding Merged From Several People Differences between coders are settled by discussion and recorded. A coding comparison query is run only where the method uses agreement between coders.
Case Attributes That Do Not Match Attributes imported from a spreadsheet must line up exactly with the cases, so identifiers are checked before any matrix query compares groups.
DELIVERABLES
What You Receive From an NVivo Analysis
The package follows the agreed scope and the chosen method, and is provided where applicable so that your coding decisions stay open to review.
NVivo Project The project returned with sources, nodes, cases, queries and memos organized, so that you or your team can open it and continue the work.
Codebook Node names, definitions and inclusion and exclusion rules with the hierarchy, supplied where the method uses a codebook.
Coded Extracts Extracts for each theme or category with the source and case identified, so that every claim in the write-up can be traced to the text.
Matrices and Queries Matrix coding or framework matrices and the queries behind them, exported for an appendix, where the design uses them.
Analytic Memos Memos recording how nodes were merged and how themes were developed, linked to the excerpts that support them.
Coding and Methods Description A description of the coding procedure within the chosen method, with its limitations stated plainly and each theme linked to its coded extracts, for you to check and incorporate.
OTHER PLATFORMS
When Another Platform May Be More Appropriate
The choice of tool follows the design, the size of the material and where the team already works, and these are situations in which a platform other than NVivo fits better.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
How an NVivo Analysis May Look in Practice
An illustration of how interview coding with a tangled node tree becomes a traceable thematic analysis.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT SERVICE RESEARCH · UNITED STATES
A university research team interviewed caseworkers and the families they support at a resettlement agency about how services are coordinated, and coded the transcripts in NVivo with several coders.
Thematic analysis was chosen as the method before coding began. When the project reached the team, the node tree had expanded over several rounds: nodes such as communication and information were used interchangeably across coders, and none had a written definition. The nodes were reviewed against the excerpts, merged where they described the same idea, and each retained node was given a definition with inclusion and exclusion rules, after which earlier transcripts were recoded under the revised rules. Case attributes for role were checked against the transcript identifiers before themes were compared between caseworkers and families, and counts were reported only as context, with the reasoning for each theme held in memos.
Outcome: The team received the NVivo project, a codebook with definitions and rules, coded extracts for each theme, a matrix comparing themes by role and the memos that record how the themes were developed.
This example does not describe a real client or project. We never share details of actual client work, in line with the confidentiality we promise every researcher. This illustrative example is included to show the type, scope, and standard of work involved in this kind of analysis.
RESEARCH DISCIPLINES
Research Fields Where NVivo Is Common
NVivo is commonly used in health, education and social research, and the same questions about code definitions and traceable themes arise wherever interviews and documents are analyzed.
HOW WE ASSESS YOUR PROJECT
We Review Your Actual Research
Your assessment is based on a review of your actual research materials and analytical requirements, not a generic project category.
You Submit Your Project Details
Share whatever is available at the current stage, such as the research aim, protocol or proposal, dataset, variable list, manuscript or statistical requirements.
We Review Your Research and Define the Scope
Your statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the materials to understand the study design, research questions, data structure, analytical requirements and expected deliverables. If clarification is needed, additional documents or information can be requested before the assessment is finalized.
Your Analysis Is Completed and Delivered
Once the scope and fixed project fee are agreed, the in-house statistician completes the work and the Research Coordinator remains the communication point through delivery, with the analysis, deliverables and timeline as agreed.
RESEARCHER VOICE
What Researchers Say
Feedback from a research manager on overlapping nodes and a workflow rebuilt from the project files already in hand.
“We already had most of the project in NVivo, but our main issue was too many overlapping nodes with no clear inclusion and exclusion rules. The team worked from the files we already had, cleaned up the workflow, and returned the analysis in a form we could reproduce. I especially appreciated not having to rebuild everything in another program.”
Statistical Support Within Your Research OnlineSPSS provides the agreed methodological, analytical and statistical reporting support, including the NVivo project files described in the scope. The researcher or research team retains the scientific question, substantive interpretation, conclusions and overall responsibility for the research.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions About NVivo Analysis for Research
Short answers to what researchers ask before sharing an NVivo project, from the approaches we carry out and existing projects to counts, merging team copies and confidentiality.
Which analyses do you carry out in NVivo?
NVivo analysis at OnlineSPSS covers the approaches researchers most often take in it: thematic, framework and content analysis, grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis and the qualitative strand of mixed methods research. The approach follows your research question and is confirmed during the assessment.
Can you work from my existing NVivo project, or only from exported text?
We work from the project itself, with its sources, nodes, cases and memos, and not from exported text alone. A project begun by a coauthor is read before it is changed, and a completed analysis can be checked through Independent Statistical Review for coding consistency and for the evidence trail from source text to reported themes.
Do node counts and coding queries show which themes matter?
Not by themselves. A count shows how often passages were coded to a node, and frequency is not the same as importance, so a theme is judged from the excerpts and the memos that explain it. Counts and matrix queries are reported as descriptive context, and the interpretation stays tied to the participants’ words.
My team coded in separate copies of an NVivo project. Can the copies be merged?
Usually, yes, but a merge is only as clean as the structures being combined. When one project is imported into another, NVivo treats items with the same name in the same location as duplicates to be merged, so code names, hierarchies and source names are aligned across the copies first; otherwise one idea can arrive as two codes. After the merge, coding is compared by team member, and the differences found are settled and recorded.
How do you protect my research data and confidentiality?
Your NVivo project, transcripts and codebooks are handled confidentially, and project information is not published. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared. Read more about confidentiality and data security.
What happens when I request an assessment, and how long does it take?
You share your research question, design and relevant materials, such as the NVivo project or the transcripts, and a statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the request and responds the same day. The analysis, deliverables, timeline and one fixed project fee are then confirmed before any work begins, so the timeline follows from the agreed scope.
Still have a question? Find more answers in our full FAQ.
NEXT STEP
Discuss Your
NVivo Project With Us
Share your research question, the approach you plan to use and the NVivo project or sources you already have. We read the code structure and confirm the coding approach before any work begins.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
Fixed Project Fee
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Same-Day Response
Serving Researchers Since 2014