Helen wrote:
>According to the QSR website's comparison of NUDIST 4 and NVivo, the latter
is suitable for projects of a "smaller size range" and not "massive"
projects. What is the definition of a "smaller" project please?
Hard to be specific since number of documents and length of them is only
part of the challenge. But like Dean, I'd class "150 hours of focus/group
discussions, 'several' individual interviews, 2 years worth of diary notes
and associated literature/internet searches & links, etc". as not a small
project. NVivo will certainly not handle very big numbers of documents as
rapidly as N4, (in which people have handled extraordinary bodies of for
example open-ended questions from massive surveys). The difference is of
course because NVivo is handling rich text, fully editable with character
based coding and multiple forms of links. And this difference remains, even
though speed issues were addressed in the new update (NVivo 1.1 is free to
download on the website - *please* go get it if you still have 1.0!)
Rich text, editable, linkable etc would of course be great to have in even
very big projects (though probably not so much used as in small ones). But
for now NVivo is best suited for smaller bodies of rich, varied data where
detailed analysis, annotation, linking etc is required. While N4 wasn't
designed for big projects (and the methodology of large qualitative projects
is of course a hot issue) it will handle a huge range of size. Its plain
text and unit-based coding make speed easier to attain even though editing
is possible after coding, and the command files and ability to merge
projects support those whose projects must grow.
hope this helps
Lyn
Lyn Richards,
Research Professor of Qualitative Methodology, University of Western
Sydney,
Director, Research Services, Qualitative Solutions and Research.
(email) [log in to unmask]
(Ph) +61 3 9459 1699 (Fax) +61 3 9459 0435
(snail) Box 171, La Trobe University PO, Vic 3083, Australia.
http://www.qsr.com.au
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