Using NVivo™ for Literature Reviews: The Eight Step Pedagogy (N7+1)

Authors

Maureen M. O'Neill Dr, Australian Catholic UniversityFollow
Sarah R. Booth Mrs, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Janeen Therese Lamb PhD, Australian Catholic UniversityFollow

Abstract

While a literature review is a necessary milestone to be completed by all researchers in a timely and efficient manner, it is often one of the most difficult aspects of the research journey. Moreover, traditional approaches often leave novice researchers, to struggle with the conceptualisation of their literature review, now complicated by the overwhelming quantity of research available online. This paper presents a rationale the use of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) programs for literature reviews. QDAS tools allow the researcher to explore large amounts of textual documents to see patterns. These programs are often overlooked by novice researchers due to their complexity and the lack of expertise provided to assist them. To combat this dilemma our paper outlines the N7+1 approach to using Nvivo11™ for literature reviews. Through this approach researchers can develop an “auditable footprint,” keep everything in one place, and go paperless.

Keywords

Doctoral Research, Novice Researchers, NVivo™, Literature Review, Transparency, QDAS, Data Analysis, Teaching Qualitative Research, CAQDAS

Author Bio(s)

Maureen O’Neill is a Research Assistant for an ARC Grant project and an online lecturer/tutor for CORE Curriculum at Australian Catholic University. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: maureen.oneill@acu.edu.au.

Sarah Booth is in her final year of her PhD candidature at Edith Cowan University where she also is the Student consultant for NVivo. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: s.booth@ecu.edu.au.

Janeen Lamb is Associate Professor and Director of Higher Degree Research at Australian Catholic University. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: janeen.lamb@acu.edu.au.

Acknowledgements

The inspiration and passion to develop and write about the use and tools of NVivo was encouraged by Dr. Bill Allen who was Maureen's PhD supervisor and currently is Sarah's supervisor at Edith Cowan University. Without Bill’s encouragement to include a chapter highlighting the “How I Used the Tools in NVivo” in my own PhD, this endeavour would never have been possible. Maureen and Sarah further would like to acknowledge Dr. Janeen Lamb for her wonderful constant support in her role as Associate Professor and Director of Higher Degree Research at Australian Catholic University.

Publication Date

3-6-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3030

Recommended APA Citation

O'Neill, M. M., Booth, S. R., & Lamb, J. T. (2018). Using NVivo™ for Literature Reviews: The Eight Step Pedagogy (N7+1). The Qualitative Report, 23(13), 21-39. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3030