NVivo

NVivo, produced by Lumivero, is a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) program. It is one of the CAQDAS programs popular among education researchers.

NVivo Access

Available to the EHE community:

• On-site free access (Windows) at the EHE Student Computer Lab (Ramseyer #329):
  • The Lab should be open as long as the building is open. If you encounter any issues accessing the Lab, please contact Ramseyer Building Coordinator Crystal Obiukwu (obiukwu.3@osu.edu) at Ramseyer #121.
• Remote free access (Windows):
  • An EHE faculty member must complete this form to request the remote access. The request is valid for one year from submission.
  • If you encounter any issues during the process, please contact EHE’s Office of Information Technology (OIT).
  • You can remote in on your Windows as well as Mac computers.

Available to the university community of any disciplines:

• On-site free access (Windows) at the Research Commons Computer Lab (18^th Avenue Library #360)
• Remote free access (Windows) through the Research Commons Computer Lab, Ohio State library.
• Individual site-licensed software purchase (Windows and Mac) through the Ohio State IT Service Desk:
  • Cost: $220 per license (upgrades to newer versions during the year are free).
  • Licensing year: July 1 – July 1 of each We recommend purchasing it in July so it can be used the entire year.
  • Home use is allowed for Ohio State business purposes only. It is available to you while you are affiliated with Ohio State and must be returned or deleted from your home computer when you leave Ohio State.

Available to all:

• Licenses purchase through Lumivero (Windows and Mac):
  • NVivo 14-day free trial.
  • NVivo 12-Month Student License Annual Subscription: $118.
  • NVivo Collaboration Cloud Annual Subscription: $499:
    • Allows five team members to collaborate. Every member must be on the same operating software (Windows or Mac) on the same version.

NVivo Resources

Introductory Videos:

• QualLab Lunch on “Introduction to NVivo” by Dr. Rhodesia McMillan:
  • Who is Dr. Rhodesia McMilliam? She is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University, QualLab Faculty Fellow, and a stellar educational policy scholar. She teaches courses on critical race policy research and CAQDAS. 
• QualLab Lunch on “Welcome to NVivo” by Dave Kolodny:
  • Who is Dave Kolodny? He works with Lumivero which operates NVivo. He runs numerous trainings across the globe.
• Presentation on “Utilizing NVivo for Literature Review” by Dave Kolodny, NVivo Account Director.

Additional Resources:

• NVivo YouTube channel:
  • Watch QualLab Director & Professor Penny Pasque’s presentation “What More Can I Do? An Exploration of Critical Advocacy Research and Decision Points towards Culturally Responsive Research” as part of the Culturally Responsive Research webinar series.
• NVivo podcast, Between the Data hosted by Dr. Stacy Penna:
  • Who is Dr. Stacy Penna? She is the NVivo Engagement & Enablement Director.

EHE Course:

• ESQUAL 8289 Digital Tools in Qualitative Research by Rhodesia McMillan, Professor of Educational Policy. Offered as a 6-week summer course every year:
  • The course counts toward the Qualitative Inquiry in Education ESQUAL Embedded Certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions 

• Q: What are the differences between using NVivo through remote-in and a license purchased through the IT Service Desk/ Lumivero?
• A: 1) Remote access requires stable Internet access while a license purchased can be used offline; 2) Unlike with a purchased license, you cannot upload local data to NVivo while remoting in. You will need to first upload such data to your cloud stage, and then sign into the cloud storage to access the data.

• Q: How can I collaborate on NVivo?
• A: Neither the remote-in option nor the purchased individual license allows collaboration. The Collaboration Cloud Annual Subscription is the only option for collaboration.

• Q: I am using the remote access now, but I plan to purchase an individual license for my Mac computer after my remote access expires. How can I convert my NVivo projects from Windows to Mac version?
• A: We recommend saving extra copies of your project in Mac version while you still have remote access. If your remote access has already expired, check here for instructions on converting Windows projects to Mac and vice versa.