Real teamwork in real time with NVivo Server

In possibly our most exciting development to date, combining our two new NVivo software products will allow team members to work in the same project at the same time. You’ll be able to work with projects stored on a server, which also means you’re working with virtually unlimited volumes of data in a secure environment.

Ensuring teamwork is a fluid process

From October 2010, combining NVivo 9 with NVivo Server 9 means your team can work with projects stored on a server.

Imagine you’re a member of a team that’s researching the impact of climate change on the fishing industry. Your team has gathered over one thousand journal articles, hundreds of interview recordings with fishing workers and scientists, video footage from affected fishing spots and hundreds of photographs of fishing communities.

By combining NVivo 9 with NVivo Server, each team member will be able to work in the project at the same time from their own computer. You might choose to have all team members analyzing (for example, ‘coding’) different materials at the same time, speeding up the analysis process and removing all of the administrative tasks associated with merging everyone’s work later. Or you might choose to let team members analyze the same materials, but with a different approach that reflects their different background.

Working in the same project at the same time, also means your project is always ‘live’. So any work completed by an individual, can immediately be seen by the whole team. For example, test a theory by asking NVivo to show you the references related to poor water quality and rising water temperature. Store your results and all members of your team can view them immediately. There’s no need to wait until the next time the projects are merged and distributed.

Virtually no limit to project size

Storing your project on a server, rather than your own computer, also means that you can work with virtually unlimited volumes of data – or as much as your server’s available disk space will allow. That’s ideal if you’re working with lots of data and very large files such as video footage or high resolution digital photos.

Superior security for your information

Combining NVivo 9 with NVivo Server also gives additional security to keep your project and information safe. Firstly, as your project is stored on a server, access is more controlled, and it won’t be lost if you lose your computer.

New features in NVivo Server also let you control who accesses the project and how. For example, give the project supervisor full rights to change any aspect of the project, and provide a colleague who’s not directly involved with the project, ‘read only’ access. Each user is authenticated according to their existing network accounts.

See who’s done what at a glance

While a new fluid approach to teamwork brings new advantages, it also brings new challenges. NVivo 9 gives you a new ‘project event log’ which lets you see the changes that have been made to the project. See which team member deleted an interview, analyzed or ‘coded’ information to a specific theme or edited a model for example. You choose to use the event log by turning it on or off at any time.

You can also filter the log, sort it, or even export it to prompt discussion with your team. Use it to check on the contributions made by each team member. Or track the early work of a new team member and prompt discussions to correct it if necessary. Even if you don’t purchase NVivo Server 9, your NVivo 9 software still lets you use the new event log in your own project.

Work in a way that suits you

NVivo Server is easy to install, and easy to administer via its own web based interface. And even if your organization does combine NVivo 9 with NVivo Server, you’ll still be able to work on your own projects from your local computer. Swap seamlessly between a project on the server and a project on your own computer – you’ll still be working the same way.

Supplementary Information

NVivo 9 allows you to open and work with projects developed using previous versions of QSR software including NVivo 8, NVivo 7, NVivo 2, NVivo 1, N6 (NUD*IST 6), N5 and N4.

(Source: QSR International)