Using NVivo for a cross-national, mixed methods project on European higher education students

In this webinar, we will explore the use of NVivo for a large European Research Council-funded project that has been running since 2016. The research explores the various ways in which higher education students are conceptualised across Europe, examining similarities and differences both within and across countries.

Data have been collected in six nations (Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Spain) and with four different social actors (policymakers, media, higher education staff and students themselves). Methods have comprised: document and website analysis (qualitative and quantitative), focus groups (using creative methods), and in-depth individual interviews.

The webinar will consider how NVivo has been used to integrate data from the various different strands of the project and strengthen the rigour of the analysis, while also discussing some of the challenges the project team has faced along the way. No prior experience of using NVivo is required to engage with the content of the webinar.

Speaker

Rachel Brooks, University of Surrey

Rachel is Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey and an executive editor of the British Journal of Sociology of Education. She has conducted research on a wide variety of topics related to the sociology of higher education, including international student mobility, student politics, experiences of non-traditional students, and transitions from education to work. Her recent books include: Education and Society: Places, Policies, Processes (2018); Materialities and Mobilities in Education (2017, with Johanna Waters); and Sharing Care: Equal and Primary Carer Fathers and Early Years Parenting (2020, with Paul Hodkinson).