2. Managing Reference Data

What do I do with my Reference Data?

In the previous section, we learnt how to import reference data into NVivo. Now, we are going to figure out the best way to work with that data so we can best begin writing our literature review.

It can be really tempting in NVivo to begin by coding the .pdf files of your references. This can end up being a lot of work, and skews your research in favour of resources where the text has nicely imported itself into NVivo. With this method, it can also be very difficult for your data to integrate well with your particular research question, data, and methodology.

How do I do it?

There are a few ways that I managed my reference data in NVivo that I think would be helpful for researchers:

1. Don't code the .pdf's, instead, write memos and annotations from your own critical engagement with the literature and code those (See Module 3)

2. Create two separate folders for your nodes, one will be for managing your reading list, and the other for managing themes in the data

These steps might seem like a bit of extra work - and they are - but they're designed to get you to critically engage with your literature and to assist you when it comes to writing up your literature review (or methodology section, for that matter).

Other ways to Manage Reference Data

Anuja Cabraal has a great series of blog posts on literature reviews in NVivo. Before we go any further, I'd really recommend reading them and checking them out!

• Part 1: Why use NVivo for your literature review?

• Part 2: Managing your reading lists

Booth, O'Neill and Lamb (2018, p.24) have developed an 8 step pedagogical framework for conducting literature reviews in NVivo. you can read the full version of the article here. Their steps are:

1. Set up NVivo Project

2. Searching Literature using the NCapture Tool (See Module 6)

3. Sort Literature, prepare your reference management software and import into NVivo

4. Classifying your literature (See Module 2)

5. Visualising your literature (See Module 4)

6. 1st level descriptive and topic coding of literature for themes (See Module 2)

7. Summarise your NVivo project

8. Write up

In the first section of this module, we covered steps 1-3. The third section of this module covers how to begin writing up your review.

Task: Managing your Reference Data

1. Create separate folders for your themes and your reading list nodes

2. Write several annotations about your research data in NVivo (for both internal files and external files)

3. Code the themes from the notes that you have written