Mixed Methods Research with NVivo

Webinar Series:
Evolving Research in Qualitative and Mixed Methods
Host
Dr. Stacy Penna has combined her educational and
research experience with her work in the software
industry and is delighted to be supporting and building a
wider research community. Stacy earned a doctorate in
education using NVivo for both her literature review and
qualitative research. She has worked at QSR
International, now Lumivero for 10 years and is excited
for the future of research.

STACY PENNA, EdD

Customer Engagement & Enablement Director
Lumivero
spenna@lumivero.com
Jane is a sociologist who has been using software
packages to aid the analysis of qualitative data for
around thirty years. She has a particular interest in
combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to
analysis and the use of narrative as a research tool. Her
current work focusses on successful ageing, wellbeing in
mid life and planning for the future.
JANE ELLIOTT, PhD
Professor of Sociology
University of Exeter
Poll:
Do you conduct Mixed Methods
Research?
Mixed Methods
Research with NVivo
16th February 2023

Professor Jane Elliott, Dept of Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy and
Anthropology
University of Exeter
Jane.Elliott@Exeter.ac.uk
@JaneElliott66
Introduction
• This webinar will focus on how to leverage the capabilities of NVivo for conducting mixed
methods research,
• Specific focus is analysis of textual responses to open ended-questions embedded
within a survey.
• Approach is applicable to any data that includes both structured data and text
• Examples will be drawn from a project that has analysed qualitative responses from
individuals aged 50 who wrote about their imagined future life at age 60.

Mixed methods is a research approach where

researchers collect and analyse both
quantitative and qualitative data within the
same study
Conceptual and practical
overview

https://www.anikasdiylife.com/diy-floating-shelves-plans
Further details in my recent paper in
The Qualitative Report
Paper motivated by a previous paper in TQR

A couple of
‘errors’ in this
paper:
- don’t mention
stop words
- use of matrix
query
 Analysis: how do
Understanding Coding of
qualitative concepts Writing up and
structure of data qualitative link to attributes of presenting our results
element cases?
Iterative
Crosstab query

Importing data to
NVivo – using Review of existing
Refining or aggregating
‘Import survey’ literature –
codes into categories and
(Survey import wizard) conceptual
concepts
framework
Codes based
Word on text search
frequency queries
query

Keeping a reflexive journal to

Sentiment record progress, emerging
analysis ideas, and hypotheses
{Memos}
Overview of
Help from
the process NVivo
Rumpelstiltskin – spinning
straw into gold…
• Mixed methods research can feel overwhelming
• We have too much ‘straw’ i.e. text/empirical material
and need to spin it into golden concepts and themes
• These can then be woven into our research reports
• NVivo can be a great help - a modern day
Rumpelstiltskin

https://www.paulozelinsky.com/rumpelstiltskin.html
Key topics in this webinar
• the importance of understanding the structure of your data
• using text searches to help with semi-automatic coding
• the importance of stop words
• refining your coding
• using crosstab queries
• to analyse relationships between codes and attributes
• to understand the patterns in your data
• to move back and forth between quantitative summary and qualitative detail
Exemplar project
•Survey embedded within the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study
•Longitudinal study starting with over 17,000 births in one week of 1958
•Self-completion questionnaire returned by over 8,000 individuals when they
were aged 50 in 2008
•Mainly multiple choice questions but with a final open ended question:
‘Imagine your life at age 60…’
Extract from the age 50 self-completion
questionnaire
https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/NCDS-2008-
Self-Completion-Questionnaire.pdf
Every question in the self-completion questionnaire had fixed-choice responses,
but the final question invited respondents to ‘write a few lines’…
Examples of qualitative responses
• AS MOST OF MY LIFE HAS BEEN LOOKING AFTER FAMILY I WOULD
HOPE I WILL STILL BE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO ENJOY THE REST OF MY
LIFE TAKING IT EASY AND HAVING TIME TO ENJOY THE LATER YEARS
ON MY LIFE. RETIRED FULL STOP!
• I am now 60 years old & left the UK with my daughter & 2 granddaughters. We
are now liveing in The Maldives, I am married and am leading a happy life,
plenty of sun & free time to myself & helping my husband run a successful
restaurant business. I sometimes take/pick up grandchildren from school, and
it's good to see/feel us so happy.
Structure of the data

Each column is a variable - often called an attribute in Nvivo

Each row is
a case i.e.
an
individual

We capitalise on the fact that Nvivo automatically detects that ‘IMAGINE’ is a

qualitative/text based variable
Using the Survey Import Wizard
•NVivo will automatically import data that is in a rectangular dataset with
some quantitative and some textual information/variables:
Nvivo then allows you to
1) Check your data format
2) Manage your survey respondents
- Case for each respondent
- Unique ID for each case
- Group your cases into a
classification
3) Identify open-ended and closed
questions
The survey import wizard
Closed ended = attributes = quantitative

Open ended = qualitative

The Survey Import Wizard – step 5
The imported data within Nvivo

Note that the

variable names
are identical to
those in the
original data and
that Nvivo has
added an
additional ID
variable
When importing the survey file NVivo automatically creates a code for all of the
qualitative responses – in this case it is called ‘IMAGINE’

This makes it straightforward to do further coding either

a) Manually
b) Semi-automatically
Text analytics is a complex
process—manual coding is
always going to be more
accurate.
Using NVivo to assist
your coding – exploring
your data

Word Frequency and Text Search

Using word frequency analysis and text
searches
•A starting point for understanding our large amounts of qualitative data is to
use semi-automatic elements of NVivo
•Word frequency analysis summarises the most frequently occurring words
in the corpus
•Text searches – allow us to search for specific words and create codes that
allow us to retrieve segments of text including those words
The word frequency query in NVivo
 Weighted
cum
Word Length Count Percentage Similar Words
%
Rank (%)
1 health 6 146 2.27 @health, health 2.27
2 life 4 144 2.24 life, lifes 4.51
3 still 5 138 2.15 @still, still 6.66
hoping 6 135 2.10 @hope, @hopefully, hope,

The most frequent words in 4

5
working 7 100 1.56
hopefully, hoping
@work, @working, work, worked,
working
8.76

10.32

the corpus of responses 6

7
8
now
time
years
3
4
5
83
71
70
1.29
1.11
1.09
now
time, times
year, years
11.61
12.72
13.81
living 6 69 1.07 @living, live, lived, liveing, lives,
9 living 14.88
enjoying 8 66 1.03 @enjoying, enjoy, enjoyable,
10 enjoyed, enjoying 15.91
11 60 2 64 1.00 60 16.91
12 going 5 61 0.95 @go, @going, go, going 17.86
13 family 6 56 0.87 families, family 18.73
14 good 4 55 0.86 good 19.59
15 like 4 55 0.86 like, liked, likely, likes 20.45
16 able 4 51 0.79 able 21.24
17 get 3 50 0.78 get, getting 22.02
18 homes 5 47 0.73 @home, home, homes 22.75
19 grandchildren 13 46 0.72 grandchildren 23.47
20 happy 5 46 0.72 happiness, happy 24.19
love 4 45 0.70 love, loved, loveing, lovely, loves,
21 loving 24.89
22 looks 5 44 0.68 @looking, look, looking, looks 25.57
interests 9 42 0.65 @interests, interest, interesting,
23 interests 26.22
24 children 8 42 0.65 children 26.87
The word frequency query is already a
powerful tool for understanding key themes in
your data
• In this data key themes are:
• Positivity (hoping, enjoying, happy, good, able)
• Stability (still)

• Key topics are

• Work
• Health
• Family
• Interests
The importance of stop words
Default English stop words in NVivo
a about above after again against all am an and any are aren’t as at be because been before being
Nvivo ignores ‘stop’ below between both but by can can’t cannot can't could couldn’t did didn’t do does doesn’t doing
words – for example don’t down during each few for from further had hadn’t has hasn’t have haven’t having he he’d
• in word frequency he’ll he’s he'd he'll her here here’s hers herself he's him himself his how how’s ii’d i’ll i’m i’ve i'd if i'l
queries stop words li'm in into is isn’t it it’s its itself I've let’s me more most mustn’t my myself no nor not of off on
are ignored once only or other ought our ours ourselves out over own said same say says shall shan’t she she’d
• in text search she’ll she’s she'd she'll she's should shouldn’t so some such than that that’s the their theirs them
queries stop words themselves then there there’s these they they’d they’ll they’re they’ve they'd they're they've this

are invisible those through to too under until up upon us very was wasn’t we we’d we’ll we’re we’ve were
weren’t what what’s when when’s where where’s which while who whom who's whose why why’s
will with won’t would wouldn’t you you’d you’ll you’re you’ve your yours yourself yourselves
How to modify stop words within Nvivo
• Set the text content language for your project
1.Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
2.On the General tab, select the language used in your files from the Text content language list
• View, add or remove stop words
1.Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
2.On the General tab, click the Stop Words button. The Stop Words dialog box opens.
3.Add or remove words from the list. Each word must be separated by a space.

https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/12/win/v12.1.112-d3ea61/Content/queries/text-content-language-
and-stop-words.htm#View,
Word clouds of common words in the corpus
with and without stop words
Without ‘stop’ words Including all words
(Nvivo default)
The NVivo text search feature as an aid to
coding
•Coding large quantities of texts is facilitated using the “Text search” feature in
NVivo
•The results of an automatic search for specified text can be saved as a new
code/node
•Default settings in NVivo will only code the word itself – usually you want to
see/understand the context
•The option – Spread to – Custom context facilitates this
 Text search query and saving to a new code

https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/12/win/v12.1.112-d3ea61/Content/queries/text-search-
query.htm
Refining or
aggregating your
coding
Aggregating coding
• Initial individual codes created using a text search query are a way of ‘indexing’ the
data
• These granular codes can then be refined or aggregated to form parent codes
‘categories’
• A strength of NVivo is the ability easily to manipulate codes
• For example in the material about imagining life at age 60 many individuals wrote
about their specific interests…
Example of active and passive interests
Using Crosstab
Queries

Bringing together qualitative and

quantitative elements of your data
Using crosstab queries to examine patterns of
responses
• Crosstab queries create tables with codes in rows, and cases or attributes in columns
• The cells show the patterning of codes by different attributes
• Table cells can be colour coded to identify quickly where most coding occurred
• Cells can be double clicked to view the coded data
• i.e. moving from the quantitative summary to the qualitative context
• The Crosstab query is a simplified version of the matrix coding query

• For the testing of statistical significance it is recommended to export data into a statistical
software package e.g. R, SPSS, Stata
The Crosstab Tool in NVivo
The Crosstab Tool in NVivo: Output Example 1
 Cases and references in NVivo

• I am now 60 years old & left the UK with my daughter & 2 granddaughters.
We are now liveing in The Maldives, I am married and am leading a happy
life, plenty of sun & free time to myself & helping my husband run a
successful restaurant business. I sometimes take/pick up grandchildren from
school, and it's good to see/feel us so happy.

This is an example response…. It is the response of an individual person or ‘case’,

but highlighted in yellow are two separate extracts or ‘references’ that could be
coded as about grandchildren.
When carrying out a Crosstab Analysis in Nvivo you can specify for the numbers
in the cells to refer to cases or references.
 Crosstabs Query Example 2 (cases and
references)
Cell content – cases coded
Survey Respondent Male (92) Female (93) Total (185)
health negative 28 19 47
health neutral 14 4 18
health positive 48 61 109
Total (unique) 76 77 153

Cell content – coded references

Survey Respondent Male (92) Female (93) Total (185)
health negative 29 20 49
health neutral 14 4 18
health positive 50 64 114
Total 93 88 181
By clicking on the cell of a crosstab
query you can see the coded references

Imagining life at
60: Women who
are positive about
their health
Further resources (1)
• Feng, Xiaoying, and Linda Behar-Horenstein. "Maximizing NVivo utilities to analyze open-ended
responses." The Qualitative Report 24.3 (2019): 563-572.
• Elliott, Jane. "The Craft of Using NVivo12 to Analyze Open-Ended Questions: An Approach to
Mixed-Methods Analysis." The Qualitative Report 27.6 (2022): 1673-1687.
• Singer, Eleanor, and Mick P. Couper. "Some methodological uses of responses to open questions
and other verbatim comments in quantitative surveys." Methods, data, analyses: a journal for
quantitative methods and survey methodology (mda) 11.2 (2017): 115-134.
• Viewing, adding and editing stop words:
• https://help-nv.qsrinternational.com/12/win/v12.1.112-d3ea61/Content/queries/text-content-language-and-stop-
words.htm#View,
Further resources (2)
• Elliott, V. (2018). Thinking about the coding process in qualitative data analysis. The Qualitative Report,
23(11), 2850-2861. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3560
• Weber, M. (2021). How do 50-year-olds imagine their future: Social class and gender disparities. SAGE Open,
11(4), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211061567
• Singer, E., & Couper, M. P. (2017). Some methodological uses of responses to open questions and other
verbatim comments in quantitative surveys. Methods, Data, Analyses, 11(2), 115-134.
https://doi.org/10.12758/mda.2017.01
• Fielding, J., Fielding, N., & Hughes, G. (2012). Opening up open-ended survey data using qualitative software.
Quality and Quantity, 47, 3261-3276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9716-1
• Elliott, J. (2012). Imagine you are 60. Centre for Longitudinal Studies. https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2017/07/FINAL-CLS-WP-20126.pdf
Further resources (3)
• Bazeley, P. (2009). Editorial: Integrating data analyses in mixed methods research.
Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 3(3), 203–207.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689809334443
• Jackson, K. and Bazeley, P. (2019) Qualitative Data Analysis with Nvivo (3° Edition).
Sage: London. (particularly Chapter 6 – Surveys and Mixed methods)
• ‘Empowering Researchers in the Age of Big data’ Silvana di Gregorio. 16 minute
YouTube video on further automated coding in NNVivo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvoDzMtu4V8
Thank you for your
attention

Any Questions?
Jane.Elliott@Exeter.ac.uk
@JaneElliott66
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