NVivo for Beginners: How to Categorize Codes to develop Themes

The process of categorizing codes to develop themes in NVivo is discussed in a tutorial. There are two options for categorizing codes: categorizing them within NVivo or exporting them to Excel and categorizing them in a word document. Sorting codes is about grouping them based on their relationships and identifying commonalities to create categories. The tutorial explains how to export codes from NVivo to an Excel spreadsheet, where they can be used to create a table to categorize the codes into various clusters. After categorizing codes for each research question, the clusters can be labeled based on their content. The tutorial also highlights the importance of identifying dominant codes based on code and case counts. These codes can be used to start categorizing the codes into clusters.
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[@user-rn1bh9vq6u]

Dr. Adu, You are my "go-to" for all things NVivo, and I cannot thank you enough!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!!

[@andrewburton4600]

Dr. Adu, you are a legend, thank you SO MUCH.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome @andrewburton4600!!

[@diannamcfarlane4814]

Thank you so much Dr. Adu, this is so simple and helpful. Your one on one consultations are a God send! Thank you Thank you!!!!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome Dianna! It is always wonderful working with you!!

[@liapachalski2345]

Very clear guide on how to use nvivo. Thank you so much Dr Adu. Especially the coding and themes.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!! Thank you for your kind words!

[@cherylsmith6865]

Dr. Adu, you are really a lifesaver. Thank you so much!

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You’re welcome Chery! Thank you for your kind words! I’m so glad it was helpful.

[@fionabrown8631]

you are an absolute gift to me, Dr. Adu!

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you! I'm glad it is helpful to you.

[@cynthiaavoada8540]

Thank you for all the videos under NVivo, I am using them as a manual together with your books to get through my phenomenology research. I will definitely book consultation again ( the first one I booked was distracted by the poor internet outage). Thank you always!!!!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome Cynthia! I look forward to our meeting!!

[@wadeboyce4828]

You are a life saver, your videos helped with many questions concerning the analysis and discussion for my research paper. 👍

[@drphilipadu]

I'm so glad my videos were helpful. Thank you for your kind words and sharing your experience.

[@aishaksiddiqui5977]

Really helpful, categorizing codes is messy, but you made a logical and simple connection...Thanks

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!! Thank you for your kind words!!

[@ujjaltripura3290]

Thank you so much for this video with simplification explanation and discussing each and every points.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!! Thank you @ujjaltripura3290 for your kind words!!

[@joshuakarani8764]

Simple and straight forward, thank you Prof.

[@drphilipadu]

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[@TriniteeStokes]

This video gave my mom so much clarity. Thank you

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!! I'm so glad it was helpful to your mom.

[@muhammad.ali2121]

Great job, Dr. Adu. Keep up the good work.

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you so much!!

[@bryanhall1388]

I am so grateful for this content. Thank you so much !

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!!

[@MultiChanging]

Dr. Adu-You are a God-send. Ase! God bless you!

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you!! God bless you too!!

[@user-gj9tg8wq3u]

thank you for all of your very informative videos!

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!! Thank you for your kind words.

[@jeromeemillianianakpatrick3488]

Thank you Prof, easy to understand on what you explained. Good day & God bless

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!! God bless you too!

[@englishacademy22]

So helpful and easy to understand. Thank you so much Dr. Adu

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!!

[@toluwalopeoluwadare9552]

Thank you so much Dr Adu, this was so helpful.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@craftychinurse5240]

Thank you for your great teaching skills!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome @craftychinurse5240!

[@tamaradicarlantonio73]

Man you are saving my life! Thank you so much!

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!! Thank you for your kind words!!

[@melodykuziwajombe660]

Once again thank you Dr Philip

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome @melodykuziwajombe660!

[@saheedabdullahibusari6548]

Very clear presentation, thanks for sharing

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@user-sf2uc1xe5z]

It's very helpful. Thank you !

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you!!

[@folaogunsola445]

Very helpful. Thanks, Dr. Adu

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!! I’m glad it was helpful!!

[@LetiMatlelemu]

So insightful 🙌🏽💯

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you!!

[@virginiaericsmart5956]

thank you so much! Very helpful!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!! I'm glad it was helpful!!

[@gorissuriandfriendsmusic]

Thank you Dr Philip

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome 😊

[@christinabuckzermane1945]

This has been very helpful -- thank you@

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!!

[@lovefromcheyenne]

Thank you so much!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@Drcoup100]

Top man Phil.

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you!

[@vkerosevic]

Super helpful video. Thanks for putting in the time to explain how it all works.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!! I'm glad it was helpful to you!!

[@latifahalsqeah8581]

It's very helpful!

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful to you!

[@ahmedelmi3196]

Excellent thank you

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@emmanuelmakafu7336]

Thank you Phillip!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@user-bo1ej2jg2t]

thought this was excellent intro to coding and developing themes

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you 😊

[@annataranenko10]

Thank you!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome!!

[@sarabdeir2400]

Thank you for this video, great help. Can I ask is 9 themes a lot for a phd thesis as in the video ?

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome @sarabdeir2400!! Having 4-6 themes for each research question would be great!! You can explore each themes to see whether you can combine some of them.

[@user-dc7hx1us3k]

Thank you for sharing these videos. They are so useful. How do you change a child code into a parent code please?

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! I suggest you drag and drop it into the 'Codes' tab at the blue navigation side bar.

[@abrahamfomboh2403]

Very educative

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you!!

[@nightangel8087]

Please showcase use of coding tree, maps too.. this is a very good video. Thank you

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! I explore some in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5bJeoaAiqZ5odU

[@Piyo-yl2ro]

Hello, can you clarify whether a grounded theory requires deductive coding or themes? so we develop the codes base on the concept/theory?

[@drphilipadu]

Normally, grounded theory requires abductive (which is both inductive and deductive). First, you start with inductive by using open coding to help develop codes and axial/focused coding to help generated themes based on the data. Second, using theoretical coding and constant comparative method, you compared the proposed theory to new sets of data leading to the refinement of the theory. I provide methodology consultation, if you are interested, you can email me: [e-mail]

[@BudurAlJahwari]

Thank you so much Dr. Adu for the valuable content. I have just one question. How can I label the sub-codes based of the files they were derived from? And is there a way to export such details?

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! You could add the file name when creating the subcodes. However, you don't have to do that since you will know the source of the statements you have connected to the subcodes when you double-click on them. Concerning exporting details, I would use 'Framework matrix' function (see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5bJeoaAiqZ5odUsi=EFFxJVMvuxluE4i9&t=754)

[@budooraljahwari]

I appreciate your reply. I did actually use the ‘framework matrix’ and ‘matrix coding query’ thanks to your video on visualizing the findings.

[@aynur8339]

Thank you!!

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome!!

[@kerynbolte9014]

Hi thank you, great videos that are very instructive. Do you have a video for developing themes from the codes? I am using Nvivo 12 plus.

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you! I have one for NVivo 11 but not 12 plus: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6Hci3utqtegiKc

[@kerynbolte9014]

@@drphilipadu thank you for your VERY prompt response.

[@drphilipadu]

@@kerynbolte9014 You’re welcome

[@rezzena9329]

Thank you, Professor for this! I hqve a question, can I add the same codes to different themes of a reseach question. In that case, once I drop the code to theme1,it is gone right. Then how can use the same code for theme2? Thank you

[@drphilipadu]

NVivo doesn't allow us to drop one code into more than one themes. However, you can duplicate the code by right-clicking on it to copy and paste it under the other theme.

[@amandabastaman5501]

Hi, thank you for the clear explanation. Would this method of categorising codes into themes work for grounded theory?

[@amandabastaman5501]

I also do not have research questions so I am currently open-coding. How would you propose I should go about this with NVivo? Thank you!

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! Yes, it is similar to conducting axial coding. After sorting codes based on shared commonalities, you develop themes. You then explore the connection between the themes and compare the proposed connection to the new sets of data. This constant comparison process could lead to the development of a theory.

[@drphilipadu]

@@amandabastaman5501 In this case, you don't have to create a container for a research question. However, I would ask myself, 'what do I need from the data?' You can then create a container (similar to creating a container for your research question) reflecting what you want from the data. For example, let's say, you want to develop a theory to understand how people cope mental health, then you can create a container called 'Coping mental health condition'. Creating a container like this would help in reminding you what you are looking for in the data. It also helps in develop relevant codes and putting them under this container. I hope this helps!

[@Periodontology-rd8my]

Dr. Adu- I could not have figured this out on my own. You made it so simple. My only question: if we created an "outside" code as you called it in one of your videos, where does it go? Do we just mention it in our write up? Thank you again! With much appreciation from a doctoral candidate!

[@drphilipadu]

You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful to you. Can provide more clarification about the questions? Are you referring to grouping codes into categories?

[@Periodontology-rd8my]

@@drphilipadu - I was referring to the write up. If we have a finding that was important but not part of the research question, is it mentioned just in the write up or is it included as part of overall analysis with the themes that do align with the RQs.

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you for the clarification! Since it is not addressing any of the research questions, I suggestion you mention it in the write up.

[@Periodontology-rd8my]

@@drphilipadu Thank you very much!! One last question- do you have a video for coding a focus group ?

[@drphilipadu]

@@Periodontology-rd8my You're welcome! I don't have one for focus group.

[@CookieRoseBarroga]

Hello Dr. Adu, thank you for this helpful video. If you have an excel spreadsheet where all the details of the survey are there, is there a way that you can individually assign one row as one file. There are times that I have created 2 codes from 1 respondent but I want to reflect it as only one respondent. How can that be possible? Thank you in advance

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! You could use Project Map to determine respondents connected to a code or theme (see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5bJeoaAiqZ5odUsi=Rw9mBngpVF5IIeJE&t=76)

[@anointednurse5250]

Hi Dr Adu, i have small data set ( interview transcripts) to analyse using inductive thematic approach, am not sure if i can use NNIVO

[@drphilipadu]

Yes, you can use NVivo to conduct thematic analysis!!

[@anointednurse5250]

@@drphilipadu okay, I am not Tech savvy, but I will have a go.

[@mrpaulashman]

Hello Dr. Adu from New Zealand! Loving your video series, I am just beginning my PhD and using your efforts to support me! In your book, you refer to slides, “Grounded Theory from start to finish” but the link doesn't work!

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you for watching my videos and buying my book! I really appreciate it. I'm sorry the link is not working. Here is the link to download the slides: drive.google.com/file/d/1yMwBfuPRnkNltwFQTfXSpd6CIFhe4xyS/view?usp=sharing

[@mamary9800]

Thank you Dr. Philip. I have a question. When I create the theme in NVivo and drag the codes in to the new code called theme, the counting in of files and reference are still 0. Why is that? Thank you for your answer. BTW, I did it on Mac with NVivo 12.

[@drphilipadu]

You need to press on 'Control' and click on the theme and select 'Get Info'. You then check 'Aggregate Code from the Child Code'. Let's see whether this works.

[@mamary9800]

No, still not work.@@drphilipadu

[@alicurry4074]

Thank you for this tutorial! A question: when the same themes emerge from across a number of different nodes, is there a way to bring these together in NVIVO 12 into a 'master theme' to show the number of files and references coded across the research questions? I tried doing this by creating Search Folders and Sets. With a Set, I can see all of the references are brought together in one place, but when I try to 'Create as code', the resulting node only brings in two references (seemingly at random. With a Search Folder, again I can see all the references brought together, but when I try to 'Create as code' the resulting node has zero references. I am ticking 'aggregate coding from children' when I do this. Any ideas please?! Many thanks for your help.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! The simplest way is to create a copy of the project by clicking on the 'File' tab and select 'Copy Project'. Working on the copied project, you create a 'Master theme' and drag and drop the nodes into it.

[@alicurry4074]

Great, thank you for the quick reply@@drphilipadu

[@nabilatabassum5805]

Thanks for explaining well. Please guide, if I have mistakenly droped the reference text in a node, later I realized my mistake. Now how can I extract it out of that node and put it in the right node? I am working with Nvivo 10.

[@drphilipadu]

You're welcome! You first open the node (container) and locate the reference text. Select the text and drop it into the right node. You then select the text again and right-click on it and select 'uncode' and check the node you plan to remove the text from. You then click on ok. I hope this works!

[@nabilatabassum1995]

I cannot drop reference text directly into the desired node because there are a number of nodes and I need to scroll up and down to find the desired node. If I go to scroll up and down then it ultimately deselects the the selected text. So what will be the solution in this case?

[@drphilipadu]

@@nabilatabassum1995 Alternatively, you select the text and right-click and go to 'Node Selection' and you look for the Node you want to connect the text to.

[@nabilatabassum5805]

@@drphilipadu Many thanks for resolving the querry.

[@drphilipadu]

@@nabilatabassum5805 You're welcome!

[@serenayben9660]

hello, am starting my thesis about Entrepreneurship in fashion industry: Gucci as a case study. it is a qualitative research based just on papers and books about the history of the brand and all. I am so confused as to how do I gather my data that I will later code? do I take quoted from papers I will read that answer my research questions or how? since I have no interview or questionnaire, just texts?

[@drphilipadu]

First, I suggest you develop a data collection protocol which contains the kinds of documents you plan to collect and the sources of the document. It should also contain the conditions each document should meet to be selected for the analysis. You could also indicate the number of documents you plan to review. After gathering the data, you start the coding process. Here is where you extract relevant information from the documents and develop codes representing the excerpts and also addressing the research question (see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKi8kIuOp9WXopY).

[@serenayben9660]

@@drphilipadu Thanks a lot! appreciate your response. Thanks for your efforts, very detailed videos

[@drphilipadu]

@@serenayben9660 You're welcome!

[@cindygoodson5946]

Dr. Adu, I'm told that I need to create categories from the codes and then create themes from the categories. It seems as though you skip that step and take the codes straight to themes. Please help...

[@drphilipadu]

You could first create categories if you have a lot of codes. You could do that by exploring the relationships between the codes and grouping them into 8 to 10 categories. You then explore the categories to help generate themes.

[@salahuddinzehri2165]

Hi, how can I undo codes if deleted mistakenly in NVivo 14 for windows?

[@drphilipadu]

Normally, when they are deleted, you can't undo it. However, if you didn't indicate 'Auto Save' and you manually save the project, you can close and reopen the project. Let's see if this works.

[@user-bt8tu6jn8i]

my text won't highlight black so I can't code my data or put them into cases. is there any reason why my data won't highlight properly?

[@drphilipadu]

I'm not sure why. Are you using the mac version? Also what NVivo version are you using?

[@farheenzeb5539]

I am having this error in nvivo 11 . How to resolve this ? Please anyone help Outline level must be between 0 and 7. Parameter name : value Actual value was 8

[@drphilipadu]

I'm not sure how to address this but I suggest you contact NVivo help desk for support: help-nv.qsrinternational.com/14/mac/Content/about-nvivo/customer-support.htm

[@farheenzeb5539]

@@drphilipadu .... Thanks ... This error appears , once I tried Exporting List to MS Excel .... Then I tried navigating to sub-sub-theme and exporting of sub-sub-themes (to curtail 7-8 levels) ... But didnt resolve and still same error ...

[@chidi2811]

This was brilliant and very insightful, sir. As you suggested, I contacted you via email, but I am still waiting to receive a reply. I tried several times to upload my demographic data to Nvivo on a spreadsheet. It kept showing me error messages. What can I do sir?

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you! I'm so sorry I didn't get your email. Can you email me again? Before uploading, make sure you close the excel (demographic data). I hope this helps!

[@cynthiaavoada8540]

Can we get a video on how to code focus groups?

[@drphilipadu]

I'll try but in the meantime, you can follow the same steps when analyzing focus group data.

[@cynthiaavoada8540]

@@drphilipaduokay thank you, my confusion is what to do with the individual speakers in the transcript?

[@Ms.Robinson__]

My 'Name' column is bunched up....how did you get it to expand @11:56. I couldn't catch it

[@drphilipadu]

You can hover your cursor around the border between the "Name" and 'File' column. When the cursor shows a '+' sign, press and drag it to the right. I hope this helps!

[@Ms.Robinson__]

@@drphilipadu I will try this. I was looking for handles to pull but came up empty. Thanks so much

[@farheenzeb5539]

Hello .... Very useful video ...thanks ... I need to use nvivo for my MS research work ... Anyone to tell me ... From where to get nvivo version 12 (with licensed key) ...

[@drphilipadu]

Thank you! You can buy the student version by going to: lumivero.com/buy-now/

[@farheenzeb5539]

@@drphilipadu .... Free license key required .... For nvivo 11 .... If anyone can help ....

[@tosinakinkugbe5006]

How did you bring the theme back from word to Nvivo? Did you import again?

[@drphilipadu]

You manually create the themes in NVivo and drag and drop the codes into them.