NVivo 9 Database Error

Something wonderful happens where NVivo can't open any projects because the "database doesn't respond in time."  Why would someone take the time to type that out, as it means absolutely nothing?

Anyway, this worked this time:

• Task Manager, kill any processes with SQL in the name (this is probably pretty stupid as I can't tell the difference between these processes, but I know that this is the database management software)
• Restart
• Try again

I got this from a variety of places, but this thread was helpful.  Also suggests "optimizing for large projects" and making big nodes display with plain text.  Sounds good.  I'm trying it.

Close to completely giving up on NVivo though.

NVivo 9 and Atlas 6.2

If I knew how to blog, I'd make this a table.

1] Audio files -> Nvivo


I'm not actually sure about this one - I just like the interface in NVivo 9 WAY better with audio files, especially when it's able to load the waveform.  That being said, I have had trouble actually using the annotation/coding features.  I can't tell if it's inherently clunky, of it I'm just awkward figuring it out.

Also worth noting that the majority of my audio files have failed to import into NVivo.  Tech support acts like I'm the only one with this problem so...meh.

2] PDF's -> Atlas

Holy Heck is Atlas better with the PDF's.  I just loaded and coded about 10 articles in Atlas Ti while waiting for NVivo 9 to FAIL to load one.

Some insight to this from ITman across the hall: NVivo runs a whole database underneath the interface, which results in greater data mining/sorting capabilities, but naturally slows things down a little.  I'll just have to figure out if I actually use any of those advanced features, or if I ever expect to use them.  Right now it's not really looking like I will.

3] Survey Results -> ?


4] Learning Curve -> ?

Memory Juice

So, I've got the memory, I just need to figure out how to properly juice it so that Parallels can run quicklyfast on the the sweet, sweet memory juice.

I used the Crucial scanner on the home laptop today, and learned a thing: apparently there's an upper limit the the RAM any given OS and motherboard can use.  I tried to use the Crucial scanner on the Parallels VM, and it was all "whaaaaaa" in a high squeaky voice.  Point is, I wonder if there's a limit to what it can make use of - probably not really, or at least it's the exact same limit as the Mac OS, so it doesn't matter.

Also wondering if 64-bit has anything to do with enabling the 2 CPU's.  I'm sure I'm supposed to know that already, but I don't, so deal with it, Internet.

NVivo 9 Service Pack 1

It doesn't fix the problems with PDF's, although it does make it all screwed up in a new way.  Performance isn't noticeably improved for me (still annoyingly slow - how can other programs be so, so, so much faster when doing basically the same thing?).

Hasn't crashed yet (after 10 minutes).

64-bit version also no improvement.

Import NVivo Classification Sheets

Make the Classification (Transcript in this example, applied to all the....transcripts)

Add the Attributes (Original Audio Name and New Audio Name in this example)

Export the Classification Sheet

Put your data in the columns

Import

Stop Annoying Flicker in NVivo 9

It's apparently caused by something called "Aero" in Windows (limited to 7 and Vista, I think).  It also may have something to do with checking to make sure the application is on top of others.  Here's a helpful thread.

To make-it-stop-for-the-love-of-god:
Just pick a "Basic" theme for Windows 7 in the Display / Personalization options in the Control panel.  Also available through right-clicking on the Desktop.

UPDATE: 

That didn't work.  So Coherence is dead to me now.  And Full Screen makes everything dump in its pants when I have two monitors, so I'm basically stuck with Window mode.  Which isn't bad.  At least I'm free from the loathsome, unavoidable task of worrying about it all the time.

UPDATE: 

There's an option in the Parallels to disable Aero.  Virtual Machines -> Configure -> Options -> Coherence.  This also doesn't work, suggesting perhaps that I was wrong about Aero causing the flicker.

Import From Endnote into NVivo 9

Is there any way to change the name so it's the Author instead of the article title?

Doesn't seem to be.


WORKAROUND: I make a group in Endnote and only include the articles imported into a specific project. Then you can sort in Endnote by article name, and have the list conveniently in the same order as in NVivo.  But you have to manually type to rename each one.  Laaaaaaaaame.

NVivo 9 File Management

I'm going to test out what happens when you import a file into NVivo as an "internal source," and then move the original file.

UPDATE 

Nothing.  That was dumb.  I guess it depends on whether it's imported or not, which is determined by file size and a setting in Preferences.

Literature Review in NVivo 9

I think I've got a system that will work for me.

1] Literature search, enter each article into EndNote
Make a new group in Endnote to facilitate exporting.

2] Export from EndNote to xml format

It's in the File menu somewhere.

3] Import into NVivo

External Data tab on "ribbon," click "Bibliographic data." Select the XML File. I haven't tried any of the options that create internals out of the linked PDF's (worth a try, although it seems very likely it will just crash the whole village green). So I just use it to create a list of External sources that are automatically classified.

4] Make notes and code notes in NVivo while reading

There's a new problem here with my shortcut keys - Cmd+E turns on and off the "editable" option for each source.  (Sometimes...not lately, using Window mode...whatever).

You can add new articles in NVivo using the classifications, and then export them back out to Endnote.

Here's a picture of that!

PDF Files in NVivo 9

1] Importing 45 PDF documents at once (FAIL)

2] Importing 15 PDF documents at once (FAIL)

3] Importing 5 PDF documents at once (FAIL)

4] Importing 4 PDF documents at once (SUCCESS....THEN SNEAK-FAIL)

The sneaky part is that it works most of the time. So I added 16, and then it crashed, and now I get to add them again, because I didn't save.

5] Importing 4 PDF's at a time and saving after every one (SHOCKING FAIL)

When it crashes, for some reason it removes all the PDF's you've added in that session. So I've now successfully imported the same PDF's 3 times and then lost them.

6] Avoiding importing PDF's as much as possible (SUCCESS?)

Definitely a success for the soul-crunching demons in charge of my computational self-efficacy. I'm making the PDF articles I was trying to import into External sources...which basically removes the benefits of using NVivo for this task.

This is probably a good idea because having too many big internal sources seems to really slow NVivo down. Like, saving takes 20 seconds or so.

Apparently some PDF's are un-importable.

I've found 2 varieties:

1. NVivo says it needs a password to open the file. The file opens fine otherwise, but when I did a save as it said "The font 'Symbol,Italic' contains a bad /BBox." Unforgivable.
2. NVivo dies when it looks at the file. I don't know how to find these other than opening each one in a batch to see what damage it does.

I guess it's supposed to get better in a year.

See Lit Review post for how I solved this (or, as the case may be, meekly submitted to the immutable forces of developer-focused software development).

Organizing Codes in NVivo 9

In Tree Nodes, in Node Properties, there's a check box for "Aggregate Node" or something - that lets me create heirarchies like I want, with accurate reference counts for the "title" nodes, instead of it always saying they're at zero. BUT, this means that every time you code something with a "child" node, it also codes it with all the parents. So, if the codes are organized like:

Does it Work

Evidence

Yes

No

Bad Idea

Bad Implementation

And I code something as "Bad Implementation," if the "Aggregate" option is checked in all the superior nodes it will be coded as "Bad Implementation," "No," "Evidence," and "Does it Work." Which is annoying. Luckily, the "Aggregate" option can be flipped at any time and it goes and changes the codes. Plus, you can just choose not to see those coding stripes.

Only Display Certain Nodes in Selection Windows

Doesn't seem to be any way to do this. Based on Atlas Ti's "filters" based on families, which meant that I could have 10,000 codes, but set it up so that only 5 would show up on all the menus.

Maybe Classifications? Sets?

Audio Files in NVivo 9

• Click "Transcribe Mode" as a Play Mode to make it automatically timestamp your comments.

• Changed (again) hotkeys set up. Turned off Mac OS shortcuts in Parallels Preferences, checked "Function keys operate normally" or whatever it is in System Preferences.

• "Transcribe Mode" works best using play and stop, instead of pause. Everytime you play after stopping it makes a new entry in the transcript, automatically timestamped. Pause just stays in the same entry. If it's not available as an option, right-click in the transcription pane and select "Edit."

F8 to stop

F7 to play

F11 to start a selection

F12 to stop it

• I'm coding the audio instead of the transcript, so that I can use the transcript as notes supporting the codes. Plus, codes hyperlink to the audio, so I can get the quote right there, one-click.

• Even if you don't record video with Skype's Call Recorder, it saves it as a .mov file. There's a whole different thing to coding those, so it's better to convert it to an mp3. Call Recorder comes with a Movie to Mp3 Converter!

• To add "See Also Links" you have to copy a selected part of the "to" source, and Paste it into the "from" document (the one you want the link to show up in) using the "Paste as See Also Link" option in the Home menu ribbon.