• Ribbon: Query > Select the Query you want to run.
• Enter the criteria from one of the following Queries > Run Query.

See the section after the last Query (Coding Comparison Query, later in this chapter) for more information on saving Queries and handling Query Results.

This is a wide net and captures question numbers, participant names, etc. You may instruct NVivo to ignore words by adding them to the Stop Words List (for both this and the Text Search Query):

• Menu bar: File > Project Properties > General tab > Stop words.

You should look at the words already in this list by default, which includes conjunctions, pronouns, etc. Delete any that you would like to appear in your word-based Queries (e.g., because and if can be useful if you are looking for causal relations). The customization is only set for the current Project, but you can save it in a document and paste it into other Projects if you wish.

• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc.
• Display words: Allows you to set the number of words or Select All.
• With minimum length: Allows you to set a number for the minimum number of characters in order to eliminate short words.
• Finding matches: Allows you to combine similar words, such as stemmed words.
• Run Query: Generates the output in the bottom half of the Detail View.
  
  • Note the tabs on the above the Results in the Detail View to access the Word Cloud, etc.
  • Right-click on a word in the list or any of the visuals > Run Text Search Query (and see next Query for additional information).
  • Double-click on any word in the Result to go to the data and investigate further.
  • Right-click on any word in the list or any of the visuals > Add to Stop Words List.

• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc.
• Search for: Allows you to add any words or phrases using quotation marks for phrases.
  • See information at the beginning of the Word Frequency Query section regarding Stop Words, as they apply here as well.
• Special: Provides operators such as the spanning wildcard (*) and alternator (OR), but once you learn these you can simply type them into the window yourself.
• Finding matches: Allows you to combine similar words, such as stemmed words.
• Run Query: Generates the output in the bottom half of the Detail View.
  • Note the tabs on the above the Results in the Detail View to access the Word Tree, etc.

• Show node against: By default, the columns of your Crosstab will be Attribute Values but you can select Cases if you prefer.
• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc.
• Plus symbol: Takes you to the Select Project Items window to identify the rows of your Crosstab. Or you can drag them into the relevant panes from List View.
• Classification: When you select the Classification of interest, you can further identify either one or two Attribute Values.
• Include “Unassigned” and “Not applicable”: Tick this box if you want to see the potential impact of missing data.
• Run Query: Generates the output in the left half of the Detail View.
• The Results of the Crosstab present a Case count by default but you may change this to Coding References by right-clicking on any cell > Show Results As > Coding References.
• Double-click on a cell to see the intersecting material.
• After you run the Query, see other available options in the Results tab on the far right.

• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc.
• Rows plus symbol and Columns plus symbol: Allows you to choose Select Items (or Select Attribute Values) > in the Select Project Items window to identify the rows and columns of your Matrix Coding Query.
• Run Query: Generates the output in the bottom half of the Detail View.
  • See other available options in the Ribbon: View > Node Matrix.

• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc.
• All: Indicates that all of the lines of criteria in the entire Query must be true (think of it as an intersection). This can be changed to ‘Any’, which instructs NVivo to retrieve data if it satisfies any of the lines of criteria (think of it as a union).
• For the individual lines in the criteria:
  • All of these nodes: The default option indicates that all of the Nodes within the line must be true (Boolean AND). This can be changed to ‘Any of these Nodes’ (Boolean OR) or ‘Any Case Where’ (which allows you to identify an Attribute Value instead of a Code or Case).
  • The Arrow: Allows you to select items > Select.
• Plus symbol and minus symbol: Add another line of criteria or remove a line of criteria.
• Run Query: Generates the output in the bottom half of the Detail View.

• User Group A and User Group B: Allows you to choose one or more Users to compare with one or more other Users.
  
  • When selecting a group of users instead of a single user, NVivo treats their coding as though it was conducted by one researcher.
• Search in: By default, NVivo will look in all of your Files and Externals.
  
  • Selected items: Allows you to scope the Query to a smaller area of the Project, including Files, Nodes, Sets, etc. Other options are also available.
• Coded At: Determines the Nodes you want to include.
  
  • Selected Nodes: Arrow allows you to scope the Query to a subset of Nodes. Other options are also available.
• Calculations based on:
  
  • Optional levels: Character, sentence, or paragraph.
• Run: Generates the output in the Detail View.
• To compare the coding of a Node at a File:
  
  • Tick Show coding comparison content and select a node.

Saving the Query to your Project

To save the Query so you can run it later without having to reconstruct it:

• Detail View: Save Query > provide a Name and Description > Save Query.

If you closed the Query and want to save it to your Project:

• Ribbon: Query > Last Run Query to re-open and save it.

Modifying your saved Query

The Query has a permanent location in your Project unless you modify or delete it:

• Navigation View: Search > Queries.
• List View: Right-click on the Query > Open.

Saving the Query Results to your Project

Results of Queries are provided in preview mode by default, which means the Results will appear on the screen but will disappear when you close them. You might receive a message when you save the Project that ‘Preview query results will not be saved.’ This is usually not a problem because you can run the Query again. Generally speaking, the Query Results are intended for rapid perusal and then deletion. However, some might warrant saving as a way to log and review your trajectory in the Project, because they are a particularly important set of Results that you will want to refer to when writing things up, or because they deserve to be in your coding system. As you work with a few Queries, you will become more comfortable with your decision to save either the Queries or the Results or to leave the defaults and let them ‘disappear’ after you are done with them.

Outside of your Project

You can Export the results from any of the Queries to save them elsewhere on your computer:

• Detail View: Right-click > Share…

Inside your Project

You can save the Query Results from most of the Queries and store them inside the Project, with the exception of the Word Frequency, Group, and Coding Comparison Query Results.

• Detail View: Save Results (or sometimes via the Query Options tab in the Query or in the Ribbon: Query/Store Query Results).
• Navigation View: Search > Query Results.

This location provides a fixed-in-time view of your data. If you wish to modify your Results, you will need to either (a) rerun the Query with changed specifications, or (b) copy and paste the Result into your Node system. Because the output is then stored in a Node, you will be able to add or remove coding from it.