Models are a way of illustrating and clarifying your ideas and of allowing you to reflect on different ways of seeing your data. During your analysis, models may be useful as aids to seeing links between concepts or items in your project, or as ways of reporting and demonstrating them.
Consider using models for the following purposes from the earliest stages of a project:
To set out and review initial ideas, hunches or theories about the topic or question of your project
In the Volunteering Sample Project
The First Thoughts model was constructed prior to the coding of the data and depicts the factors influencing individuals' tendency to and engagement in volunteer work based on the researchers' understanding of the literature in that area.
To visually represent the relationships between project items
To identify emerging patterns and hunches, theories and explanations
To provide a record of stages in a project
In the Volunteering Sample Project
The First Thoughts model was constructed prior to the coding of the data and illustrates the researchers' understanding of the possible factors at play based on their investigation of the literature. It contains only shapes and no project items as it was created before the project's nodes.
The Coding Stage 2 model was constructed to following the topic coding of the focus group and interview transcripts. It illustrates the growing understanding of the factors identified in the data, given the understanding of the body of data. This model was converted to a static model as its intention is to show the understanding of the data at that particular point in the project.
The Coding Stage 3 model was created following more analytical coding and in depth understanding of the data. It is a dynamic model (i.e. it contains links to project items) as its intention is to provide a different view of the information contained within the project.
To 'zoom in' on a specific group of themes to explore other possible ideas, connections and relationships
In the Volunteering Sample Project
The Perceptions model provides a 'zoomed in' view of all of the different images of volunteers. Custom groups have been added to show whether they are positive, negative or neutral perceptions.
To 'zoom out' to see your project as a whole at a glance
To demonstrate your findings to others
You can represent possible issues or factors in your model using shapes and choose to link these to project items (i.e. sources, tree nodes, relationships) as you create them in your project. On the other hand, you can construct a model using existing items in your project to provide an alternate view of the concepts in your data.
NVivo provides a number of ways to format and work with the content of your models, including:
Consider using custom and project groups in the following ways:
To displaying different views on a situation or groups of actors and their relationships
To represent the perspectives of different team members to discuss different interpretations
To represent rival explanations in the literature for the phenomena you are studying. Then you can move between these different accounts of the topic area and assess them based on your data
To break a model into simpler views and bring them together to see a logical whole
In the Volunteering Sample Project, the Perceptions model contains three different custom groups to gather together items in the model which reflect positive, negative and neutral perceptions. To see only specific types of perceptions, the unwanted custom groups can be hidden.
In the Volunteering Sample Project, a number of model styles have been created. These styles have been applied to items in the Perceptions model to add visual emphasis to their membership in the Positive Perceptions, Negative Perceptions and Neutral Perceptions groups.
Adding associations between project items
Consider adding associations between shapes linked to project items for the following analytical purposes:
To see new insights and recognition of unseen patterns as to how the project items are intertwined.
To interpret query results. If you add saved query results to your model and add associated items, you will have a visual display of the answer to your query to manipulate and explore the possible explanations.
Any shapes you link to project items in your model are 'live' to those items. This means that you can open the item from within the model. Also, if you change an item in any way after it has been linked to a shape in a model, these changes are reflected in the model (i.e. if you change the name of a source which is linked to a shape in a model, the name of the shape in the model will also change).
In the Volunteering Sample Project
The Coding Stage 3 model depicts the wide range of influences on the different motivations the participants had for volunteering and the influences on their perceptions of their own volunteer work.
It is a dynamic model (i.e. it contains links to project items) as its intention is to provide a different view of the information contained within the project.
Static models provide a way of showing the development of ideas, concepts and categories throughout your project. You can create a static version of a model which no longer retains links between shapes and any project items they are linked to. Therefore, this static model can show a snap shot of your project at a specific point in time, as the shapes linked to project items will not change.
In the Volunteering Sample Project
TheCoding Stage 2 model was constructed following the topic coding of the focus group and interview transcripts. This model was converted to a static model as its intention is to show the understanding of the data at that particular point in the project.
Consider using custom and project groups in the following ways:
To displaying different views on a situation or groups of actors and their relationships
To represent the perspectives of different team members to discuss different interpretations
To represent rival explanations in the literature for the phenomena you are studying. Then you can move between these different accounts of the topic area and assess them based on your data
To break a model into simpler views and bring them together to see a logical whole
In the Volunteering Sample Project, the Perceptions model contains three different custom groups to gather together items in the model which reflect positive, negative and neutral perceptions. To see only specific types of perceptions, the unwanted custom groups can be hidden.
