About teamwork
Many projects involve multiple researchers working together. When each team member accesses the project using their own 'user profile', you can track the work done in your project by each team member.
In this topic
- What is a user profile?
- Why each team member should use a unique user profile
- Why all team members should use the same version of the software
- Can my team collaborate in a standalone project?
- How does NVivo Server support teamwork?
What is a user profile?
A user profile consists of a user name and initials.
When you first launch NVivo, you are prompted to provide your user name and initials. The name and initials that you enter, are saved as your NVivo user profile. This user profile will be used every time you launch NVivo under this Windows user account.
When you work in a project, a project user profile is created. In a standalone project, your project user profile is based on the NVivo user profile you set up when you launched in NVivo. In a server project, your project user profile is based on your windows user profile.
Why each team member should use a unique user profile
If each team member accesses the project using their own 'user profile', you can track work done in your project by each team member. For example, you can see who has coded content at a node, or who last modified a source.
Why all team members should use the same version of the software
Some of the features released in service packs are not available in earlier versions of NVivo 10 for Windows—for example, Service Pack 2 added the ability to work with YouTube videos and the new Maps tab for social media datasets. Therefore, if multiple researchers are working with the same project, we recommend that all team members use the same version of the NVivo 10 software.
We do not recommend working in teams with some members using NVivo 10 on Windows and others using NVivo for Mac due to some known limitations and issues. Refer to the NVivo 10 for Mac Help for more information.
Can my team collaborate in a standalone project?
Yes, it is possible to collaborate in a standalone project. The simplest way for team members to collaborate on a standalone project, is to work with a single project file—however only one user can open and work with the project at any point in time.
Make sure all team members are using the same version of the NVivo software, because projects in NVivo 10 format cannot be opened in NVivo 9. You can check which version of the software is installed on your computer.
If more than one user wants to work on a project at the same time, you can establish a 'master' project, and then give a copy of the master project to each team member. The team members work in the copied projects while you work in the master project. At regular intervals, you can import your team members' work into the master project—refer to Import selected content into an open project for more information.
You can set up separate user profiles for your team members. However, users are not 'authenticated', so team members must take care to use the correct user profile when they are working in a standalone project—refer to Teamwork in a standalone project for more information.
If you are working in a team you should consider combining NVivo with NVivo Server—refer to How does NVivo Server support teamwork for more information.
How does NVivo Server support teamwork?
Although it is possible to collaborate in a standalone project, NVivo Server provides better support for teamwork.
Server project user profiles are linked to Windows user accounts. In a server project, the Project Owner controls who can view or modify the project. Users are authenticated when they connect to the server, and when they connect to a project.
The NVivo Server allows concurrent multi-user access—this means that everyone in your team can work on the same project at the same time. Team members can code, annotate, and link source content at the same time.
'Edit mode' ensures that team members do not making conflicting changes to source content. A source must be open in edit mode, if you want to modify the content—for example, edit the text in a document source, or add transcript rows to a video. When you have a source open in edit mode, you have exclusive control of the content—other users can view the source, but they cannot edit, code, annotate or link the content. Edit mode also prevents conflicting changes to models and reports.
If necessary, a Project Owner can open the server project exclusively, locking out all other users. This is necessary when importing structure or content from another project. It can also be useful if you are making large scale changes, and want to be certain you can reverse your changes using the undo function.
Make sure that all team members who are working on a shared project are using the same version of the NVivo software. NVivo Server can host projects in both NVivo 10 for Windows and NVivo 9 formats, however projects in NVivo 10 format cannot be opened using the NVivo 9 software. You can check which version of the software is installed on your computer.