About sources
In NVivo, 'sources' is the collective term for your research materials—anything from primary materials such as documents, videos or survey results, to memos that record your ideas and insights.
In this topic
- Understand source folders
- Understand the different source types
- What kinds of files can I import?
- Importing source material from the web
- Importing notes from OneNote
- Importing notes from Evernote
- Importing journal articles (and other files) from reference libraries
- Tips for preparing source files for import
- Can I import a lot of source files at once?
- How to handle source materials that cannot be imported?
- Record bibliographical data about your sources
- What can I do in a source?
- Switch to edit mode to change the content of a source
Understand source folders
When you create a new project, you will see ready-made folders for your sources:
You can store your primary research materials in the Internals or Externals folders:
- Internals are primary research materials that you import or create in NVivo—including any combination of documents, PDFs, audio, video, pictures or datasets.
- Externals are proxies that represent research materials that you cannot import such as books or manuscripts—you can create an external source and summarize the content of the item. Refer to Create externals for sources you cannot import for more information.
You can store secondary research materials in the Memos and Framework Matrices folders:
- Memos record your observations and insights about the material you are analyzing. You can link a memo to the source or node that inspired it. You can import memos or create them within NVivo. Refer to About memos for more information.
- Framework matrices provide a way to summarize or condense your source materials by case (for example, people you interviewed) and theme. Framework matrices are created within NVivo. Refer to About framework matrices for more information. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
You can create your own folders under each of these high-level folders. For example, under Internals you could create separate folders for Stage 1 Interviews and Stage 2 Interviews. You cannot delete or rename the high-level folders (or create your own folders at this level).
Understand the different source types
The Internals folder in your NVivo project can contain different types of sources—documents, PDFs, datasets, audio/video sources and pictures.
You can create documents directly in NVivo (and transcripts for audio and video sources)—other source types are usually created by importing source materials into NVivo, as described in the following table:
| Source | Description | Examples |
|
Documents |
Documents can be created in NVivo or created by importing Microsoft Word documents or text files. Document sources can also be created in other ways—refer to Other ways documents or PDF sources can be created. Documents can be edited in NVivo—for example, you can apply paragraph styles, format text and insert images. Refer to About documents and PDF sources for more information. |
Interview transcripts Field notes |
|
PDFs |
PDF sources are created by importing PDF files. PDF sources can also be created in other ways—refer to Other ways documents or PDF sources can be created. PDFs cannot be edited in NVivo. Refer to About documents and PDF sources for more information. |
Journal articles Web pages |
|
Datasets (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
Datasets contain structured data arranged in records (rows) and fields (columns). They are created by importing tabular data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or structured text files. Datasets can also be created by importing social media data collected using NCapture—for example, data from Twitter or Facebook. Datasets cannot be edited in NVivo Refer to About dataset sources for more information |
Online survey results Facebook wall posts |
|
Audio and video sources (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
An audio or video source consists of the media and (optionally) a transcript. They can be created by importing audio or video files. If you want to work with YouTube videos, you can create a video source that is linked to the video on YouTube—refer to Import from YouTube for more information. Audio and video transcripts can be created in NVivo or imported from Microsoft Word or structured text files. You can also have your media files professionally transcribed using an integrated transcription service provided by TranscribeMe. Transcripts can be edited in NVivo (the media file cannot be modified). Refer to About audio and video sources for more information |
Recorded interviews or focus group discussions Observational videos |
|
Pictures (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
A picture source consists of an image file and (optionally) a log which describes the picture. They are created by importing image files into NVivo. Picture logs can be created in NVivo or imported from Microsoft Word or structured text files. Picture logs can be edited in NVivo (the image file cannot be modified). Refer to About picture sources for more information. |
Photos and drawings |
|
Externals |
Externals are used to represent source materials that you cannot import into your project. You can summarize or describe the source materials within the external. Externals are similar to documents, except they are stored in their own folder. Just like documents, you can use standard formatting tools to apply fonts, indents and paragraph styles. Externals can be created them in NVivo. They can also be created when you import bibliographical references (for example, when you import an EndNote library) Refer to Create externals for sources you cannot import for more information. |
You could create an external that represents a physical book or an 8mm film. You could import your journal references into your project (without importing the articles), each article will be represented by an external. |
|
Memos |
Memos are used to record your insights, observations and interpretations, and can be linked (via a memo link) to a source or node. Memos are similar to documents, except they are stored in their own folder. Just like documents, you can create them in NVivo or create them by importing Microsoft Word documents or text files. Also like documents, you can apply paragraph styles, format text and insert images. Refer to About memos for more information. |
Project journal A memo to record why you created a particular node. |
|
Framework matrices (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
Framework matrices provide a way to summarize your source materials in a grid that has rows for case nodes (for example, people you interviewed) and columns for theme nodes. At the intersection of each row and column, you can enter a summary. You can apply formatting (for example, colors, bold and italics) to text in the summaries. Framework matrices (and summaries) are created within NVivo or can be imported from other NVivo projects. Refer to About framework matrices for more information. |
You could use a framework matrix to summarize what different respondents said in response to questions about their family and educational background. |
What kinds of files can I import?
You can import source files in the following formats:
| File Format | NVivo Source |
|
Document Memo |
|
|
|
Dataset (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
|
Audio (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
|
Video (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
|
Picture (NVivo Pro and Plus only) |
Importing source material from the web
This feature is available in NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.
If you want to bring web pages into NVivo or gather social media data—for example, from Twitter and Facebook—you can use NCapture to collect the web content, and then import it into NVivo.
NCapture is a web browser extension that allows you to:
-
Capture a web page for import into NVivo as a PDF
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Capture Facebook or Twitter data for import into NVivo as a dataset
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Capture YouTube content for import into NVivo as a video source (and optionally, a dataset source containing comments).
The web content you gather is saved to NCapture files (.nvcx) on your computer—you can then import the NCapture files into your project.
For information on using (or installing) NCapture, refer to the NCapture Help.
Importing notes from OneNote
If you use OneNote to record field notes and observations or gather other materials (such as articles or screen images), you can import your OneNote notes into your NVivo project.
Connect to your work, school or personal Microsoft account from within NVivo, and then select the pages that you want to import. Alternatively, use the NVivo Add-In for OneNote to export pages from OneNote 2007 or 2010 and then import the exported pages NVivo.
When you import your OneNote pages, they are converted to document sources. Other source types (for example, picture sources and PDFs) may also be created if your notes include attached files.
Refer to Import from OneNote Online and Import from OneNote using the NVivo Add-In for more information.
Importing notes from Evernote
Do you use Evernote to record field notes and observations or gather other materials, such as images and web pages? When you are working mobile, do you use your smartphone to snap photos and record audio and video clips? If you gather your research materials in Evernote, you can import it later into NVivo for analysis.
For tips on using Evernote on smartphones and tablets to gather your materials, refer to Bring in your sources and get organized (Collecting data on smartphones and tablets).
When you import your notes from Evernote, they are generally converted to document or PDF sources—however, other source types (for example, audio and picture sources) may be created, depending on the type of content you have within your notes.
Refer to Import from Evernote for more information on importing your notes.
Importing journal articles (and other files) from reference libraries
If you use EndNote or RefWorks to search online databases for published articles and other literature, you may have gathered files containing journal articles, figures and other material. You can import files associated with your references, when:
-
EndNote—your EndNote library is available on your computer (or a network drive), and the files are in supported formats.
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Mendeley or RefWorks—the 'file URL' is record in the Links or URL fields, the files are in supported formats and are accessible on your computer (or a network drive).
Refer to Exchange data between NVivo and reference management tools for more information.
Tips for preparing source files for import
As long as the source file is in a supported format, you can import it into NVivo—so there is no need to 'prepare' the file for import, however, to make the most of NVivo you may want to consider the following tips.
For document sources:
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If your Word documents are structured (for example, question and answer interviews), you may want to apply paragraph styles so you can make use of 'auto coding'. Refer to Automatic coding in document sources for more information about auto coding. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
-
If you have a brief description at the top of the document, when you import the document into NVivo you can choose to use the first paragraph as the document description.
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If you want to create case nodes for your document sources as you import them, your files should be appropriately named—refer to Create case nodes when you import source files for more information.
For dataset sources containing data imported from spreadsheets or text files: (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
-
You cannot edit dataset content inside NVivo, so it is important to check and prepare your data before you bring it into NVivo. For example, you might want to check spelling or hide the identify of people or organizations mentioned in survey responses.
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You cannot change the analysis type and data type of fields (columns) after import, so you should consider how you want to use the fields, before importing the data. Refer to About dataset sources (import data from spreadsheets and text files) for more information.
For audio and video sources containing imported media files: (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
-
If you want to edit audio or video material, you will need to do this before importing it into NVivo. For example, you might want to import only a short segment from a longer video, or hide the identity of participants. Determine what editing software you will use and check the equipment manuals for information about downloading media files from a recorder to your computer.
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Consider where you want to store your media files. If you are going to work with large video or audio files, you may want to store them outside of your project—refer to Store audio and video files for more information.
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If you want to import transcripts for your audio or video sources, ensure that they are correctly formatted—refer to Import audio or video transcripts for more information.
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If you want to create case nodes for your audio and video sources as you import them, your files should be appropriately named—refer to Create case nodes when you import source files for more information.
For picture sources: (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
-
You cannot edit images within NVivo. If you want to modify the image—for example, hide the identify of individuals, or crop an image, you should do this before you import it into NVivo.
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If you want to import picture logs for your picture sources, ensure that they are correctly formatted—refer to Create a picture log (Import log entries) for more information.
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If you want to create case nodes for your picture sources as you import them, your files should be appropriately named—refer to Create case nodes when you import source files for more information.
Can I import a lot of source files at once?
You can select multiple document, PDF, picture, audio and video files, and import them into NVivo at the same time (datasets must be imported one-by-one).
When you import more than one source:
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You are not prompted to define the source properties—you can do this later on.
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NVivo uses the file name as the name of the source
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All the sources are imported into the same folder
How to handle source materials that cannot be imported?
If you have digital content in formats that you cannot directly import into NVivo (for example, Microsoft PowerPoint), you may be able to save or export the content to a PDF file which you can import into NVivo as a PDF source. If this is not possible, then you can create an 'external' to represent the source in NVivo.
Similarly, if you have physical source materials that you cannot import into NVivo (for example, a book), you can create an 'external' to represent the item in NVivo.
Refer to Create externals for sources you cannot import.
Record bibliographical data about your sources
You can record bibliographical details about your sources. For example, you could classify a PDF source as a Journal Article and specify the author and year. To record this descriptive information you can:
-
Import data from reference management tools like EndNote or Zotero.
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Classify the sources directly in NVivo.
You can classify internals, externals and memos. Framework matrices cannot be classified.
Refer to About classifying sources for more information.
What can I do in a source?
When you import or create a source, you can analyze content in the following ways:
- Code to gather source content by theme or topic
- Annotate to make notes about source content
- Create 'see also' links to draw comparisons or connections between sources (NVivo Pro and Plus only)
- Link to memos to store insights, interpretations or observations about the source content
Framework matrices are different from other types of sources—you cannot code, annotate or create 'see also' links in framework matrices. Refer to About framework matrices for more information.
Switch to edit mode to change the content of a source
You can switch to edit mode when:
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You are working with a document, external or memo and want to edit the content
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You are working with an audio, video or picture source and you want to edit the transcript or log
You cannot switch to edit mode when you are working with a dataset or PDF source.
When you work with a source in edit mode you can:
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Add, delete and change text
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Insert symbols or the current date and time
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Apply paragraph styles (documents, memos and externals only)
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Insert images and tables (documents, memos and externals only)