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Qualitative Research in Psychology
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Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo, by
P. Bazeley and K. Jackson
Catarina Brandãoa
a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of
Porto, Porto, Portugal
Accepted author version posted online: 09 Dec 2014.Published
online: 09 Dec 2014.
To cite this article: Catarina Brandão (2014): Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo, by P. Bazeley and
K. Jackson, Qualitative Research in Psychology
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2014.992750
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Qualitative Research in Psychology, 00:1–3, 2015
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1478-0887 print/1478-0895 online
DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2014.992750
Book Review
P. Bazeley and K. Jackson (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis with NVivo (2nd ed.).
London: Sage.
Catarina Brandão
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
This is a “how to” book by two experienced researchers, with vast experience in qualita-
tive research and NVivo, sharing many of the strategies and tips they learned while doing
research and using the software, and which can certainly enhance the work of those who
are interested in qualitative research with NVivo. Pat Bazeley and Kristi Jackson present
these strategies using an accessible and engaging language.
The book offers support on methodology and technology, declaring itself method-
free—in other words, not holding itself to a particular approach. It shows that NVivo
(version 10) has evolved into more than just a tool that stores and retrieves information,
becoming open to different methods and data and showing how the software can be used
from the first steps of the research.
The first three chapters serve as an introduction to NVivo and to the (fundamental) idea
that, as Bazeley and Jackson stress, the software should follow the research design and not
lead it. In Chapter 1, the authors emphasize the importance of choosing methods according
to the researcher’s purpose and how qualitative data analysis software (QDA) assists the
researcher in knowing data, enabling the exercise of closeness and distance toward the data
(borrowing the concept from Richards 1998) and that the use of QDA enables much more
than the simple (but important) mechanization of routine task (such as coding according to
certain criteria). Bazeley and Jackson take the reader on a guided tour of an NVivo sample
project and, at the same time, present the software’s tools. By showing how the sample
project is structured and possible ways to analyse it, the authors present a framework that
helps readers understand how the different phases and elements of a research project can be
realized in NVivo. Chapter 2 shows how the software can assist the definition of research
questions and, by focusing on memos and journals, highlights the importance of thinking
research from day one, putting thoughts and hypotheses on paper (i.e., on an NVivo memo).
This is crucial in qualitative research and can be very helpful in latter phases of the research
process, namely, when working in a team or writing about the research. In the first three
chapters the authors cover the basics that researchers should consider before proceeding to
coding in order to enhance the research process using the software. Chapter 4 and 5 focus
on coding, moving from basic to more advanced questions, such as building theory on the
basis of the fundamental process of coding.
In Chapter 6, the authors explore the concept of cases (dear to many researchers work-
ing with NVivo’s previous versions), that enables better representation of the units of
analysis of the project and, when important to the researcher, comparing and then using
1
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2 Book Review
classifications. By doing so, the authors open the door to mixed methods, showing how
to combine qualitative and quantitative data. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 explore the growing
potential of integration of NVivo with other software or resources, focusing on the interface
of NVivo with multimedia sources (e.g., images and social media data), reference material,
and datasets. The authors highlight the potential in using these different data and warn
the readers about pitfalls by flagging which strategies the researcher should adopt prior to
importing these types of data into NVivo and while analyzing the data. The reference to
studies that have already used different types of data while working with NVivo are useful
at this point since it enables the reader to understand in a more concrete way how the use
of these kinds of materials comes to life in NVivo and (more broadly) in qualitative work.
The tools and strategies for visualizing data are presented in Chapter 10, a chapter I found
very interesting also because I felt that mostly from here to the end of the book (the first
sections of Chapter 1 aside) we start talking more about methodology and ways of think-
ing about our data and our cases. The ways to operationalize this thinking are presented
throughout the book, but somehow at this point the book becomes richer in content and
reflections when compared with prior chapters, in a way more technical or instrumental.
It is well know that the amount of information the qualitative researcher has to manage
easily becomes daunting at times and that means and strategies of looking at the data and
thinking about them in insightful ways are needed. Bazeley and Jackson inform how a QDA
program (NVivo in this case) can be helpful at doing this. I find this one of the most useful
features of the book.
I also found particularly interesting Chapter 11’s section on using coding and queries
for further analysis because it places us at the centre of qualitative work—deep thinking
about data. NVivo’s ability to manage large amounts of information and the emphasis on
this feature sometimes overshadows the importance and richness of depth analysis and the
analysis of (perhaps) one deviant or marginal case, so fundamental to understanding phe-
nomenon and processes. I congratulate the authors for, at this point of the book, putting
the case at the centre of their reflections and technical support, supporting the learning of
the process of theory building and somehow encouraging researchers to engage in this task
and, consequently, taking away a bit of the apprehension associated with this task. The last
chapter of the book focuses on teamwork with NVivo and is fundamental considering the
importance of investing in collaborative and interdisciplinary work. The authors stress some
basic procedures that should be considered from the first stages of the project. I also find
important the discussion regarding the meaning of reliability of the coding process, explain-
ing the meaning of the statistical results when comparing coding by different researchers in
the software. Reliability has been an important concern of qualitative work, oftentimes as a
way to prove the quality of qualitative research. The authors discuss the meaning of this in
NVivo and the “caveats and alternatives to ‘proving’ reliability” (p. 290), focusing above
all on the way the research and the coding process unfolds.
Bazeley and Jackson show how NVivo has been advancing, supporting design, litera-
ture review, theory building, and reporting. They present the software’s various tools and
guide us through these tools’ operationalization, using clear and appropriate images. Each
chapter’s outline rapidly informs the reader about the tools explored in the chapter, which
is particularly useful in the sense that each chapter can be used independently from the oth-
ers, so it’s easy for the reader to look for the chapter that focuses on a specific NVivo tool.
The authors’ systematic use of pointers between chapters makes it easy to find additional
support regarding the use of a specific tool, function, or concept. The contextual reference
of the terms one should use when looking in the NVivo’s Help tool is another example
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Book Review 3
of the importance that Bazeley and Jackson place on supporting the researcher’s learning
process in a very instrumental way.
The fact that the authors introduce NVivo’s different tools from the very first pages
contributes to understanding the value of each tool and the way they all integrate with each
other. However, sometimes there is a sense of repetition of the concepts as we progress
through the first half of the book. This sensation ends, however, as we move to the second
half of the book when the authors introduce and discuss important issues in qualitative
research.
It is understandable that the authors focus on the advantages of using this software
program as a support in the research process, beginning with the research planning phase.
However, Bazeley and Jackson are also able to signal some of the software’s limitations.
Knowing these is also important in order that the researcher understands what the software
can and cannot do.
In summary, it is a great textbook that is easy to read. It will be useful to the novice
but also to experienced researchers who wish to be up to date regarding the software and
qualitative research and have access to the tips and practices of fellow researchers. I have
found it a great resource. I would recommend this book to those who wish to delve into the
intricacies of QDA and to those who know NVivo and are looking for a book where they
can quickly access specific tips based on realistic scenarios, with the aim of really using
the software to its full potential and, as a consequence, producing high-quality qualitative
research. As an early career researcher interested in qualitative research using NVivo I
consider that Pat Bazeley and Kristi Jackson have provided us with a great resource that I
will surely have to hand from now on when talking about NVivo or doing research. I believe
this book should be available to all those who want to make use of NVivo as a research tool.
Reference
Richards, T 1998, ‘Closeness to data: the changing goals of qualitative data handling’, Qualitative
Health Research, vol. 8, 3, pp. 319–328.
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