Wednesday 4 December
Unlock deeper connections with your data: AI-enhanced memoing and reflexivity in NVivo 15
Presenter: Dr Silvana Di Gregorio
Time: 9am–10am NZDT
There is much controversy about incorporating generative AI in qualitative data analysis software tools. While some people will see it as an opportunity to speed up the analysis process, others are wary of how it could replace the nuanced interpretation that human analysts provide. This presentation is not about speed nor about replacing human interpretation. It is about how generative AI can assist in starting the analysis process and helping researchers connect with their data and encourage, in an iterative fashion, a deeper connection with their data. This session will show how this can be achieved using the Lumivero AI Assistant in NVivo15.
*You* are the secret ingredient: Connecting inward and outward to do better data analysis
Presenter: Professor Sally Pirie
Time: 10:30am–11:30am NZDT
What if data analysis meant making connections not just within the data set but also beyond it? In this session, participants will be guided through how to do transformative, connection-focused data analysis vis-a-vis “looking for connections”—all toward the goal of better, deeper, more nuanced data analysis. This session will briefly review the qualitative data analysis process before going deeper into specific connection-focused strategies, including free coding, modified open coding, visual memoing, hot/cold spots, strategic free writing, and more. The focus of this session will be to learn practical techniques for doing practical data analysis as a chance to be creative and connected.
From coding to connections: Mastering NVivo’s analytic power
Presenter: Dr Lyn Lavery
Time: 12noon–1pm NZDT
Unlock the full potential of your qualitative data with NVivo’s tools for finding and visualising connections. This session will showcase NVivo’s powerful tools for making sense of complex datasets, including explore and comparison diagrams, coding queries, and maps. Through a live demonstration, you will learn how to identify patterns, draw meaningful insights, and create visual representations of your analysis. Whether you are just starting to use NVivo or are looking to refine your skills, this session will equip you with practical techniques to enhance your qualitative research and draw more meaningful conclusions.
Writing together and alone
Presenter: Professor Helen Sword
Time: 2pm–3pm NZDT
Between the allure of solitary writing, the intimacy of a writing partnership, and the comfort of writing in community, where is your own personal sweet spot? This session will guide you through a series of exercises to help you find your own ideal balance between solitary writing and community support.
Thursday 5 December
Lenses, provocations and surprises: Connecting with your data through a priori and emergent themes
Presenter: Professor Nigel King
Time: 9am–10am NZDT
Any form of thematic analysis is essentially a way for the analyst to connect with their data to identify meaningful patterns that help them address their research question. In this presentation, I will consider the different ways this connection manifests for a priori themes, defined (at least loosely) before analysis proper begins and emergent themes that arise through the process of analysis. With regard to the latter, I will make a case for the notion of “emergence”, partially challenging the common insistence that “themes do not emerge”. I will examine how a priori and emergent themes differ and the sometimes complex ways they relate to each other. My discussion will draw on and have relevance to a range of thematic approaches and will be illustrated with examples from my own and others’ work.
Lines connect more than dots! Visual memoing for better qualitative data analysis
Presenter: Professor Sally Pirie
Time: 10:30am–11:30am NZDT
Drawings, lines, doodles and dots are not just cute marginalia—they connect our research to bigger theories and ideas! In this session, participants will build on their existing knowledge of qualitative data analysis by learning skills from arts- and comics-based research. After a very brief overview of how arts- and comics-based researchers approach data analysis, we will dive deep into one particular technique common to both: visual memoing. Visual memoing is a process that connects free writing, doodling, and the close reading that characterises both constant comparative and grounded theory data analytic methods to analyse qualitative data. Participants will first practice making visual memos using pre-prepared data and then hone their new skills using their own research materials.
“See, snap, send” and iteratively “solve”—for theoretical insight
Presenter: Professor Pat Bazeley
Time: 12noon–1pm NZDT
Perhaps you are meeting the challenges of designing a qualitative or mixed methods study, gathering data, and developing and using a coding system. What now? This session will present strategies to help you avoid the trap of “simple” thematic analysis. “See, snap, and send” your emerging thoughts—AKA: draw it, write it, and tell it—making connections that prompt further questions, more listening, more testing, and deepening analysis (but alas! perhaps, also, an extended project). “Solve” as those connections take you iteratively beyond description to building (local) theory.
Writing and identity
Presenter: Professor Helen Sword
Time: 2pm–3pm NZDT
Do you feel like an outsider in an institutional environment where no one else looks, talks, or thinks like you? Do you long to align your academic persona more closely with your sense of self? Learn how to draw on the deep well of your own personal and cultural identity and write with power, purpose, and integrity.
Friday 6 December
Connecting through coding: Practical approaches to team-based analysis
Presenter: Dr Daniel Turner
Time: 9am–10am NZDT
Collaborating on qualitative analysis can improve the speed and rigour of the process, but managing this effectively can be tricky. This session will outline not just some of the ways that you can collaborate, such as double coding or split coding, but also share practical advice on making it go smoothly. We will discuss setting clear coding guidelines, fostering independent code generation, ensuring collaborators are (literally) on the same page, emphasising the importance of reviewing often and exploring differences in interpretation as discussion points rather than problems. The talk will use live collaboration in Quirkos to illustrate topics, but the tips equally apply to other qualitative or general software tools such as Word or Excel.
A match made in heaven? How to get the best from your supervisory relationship
Presenter: Professor John Parsons
Time: 10:30am–11:30am NZDT
This interactive session will explore how to get the best out of the relationship with your supervisors from the start when everything is exciting, through the often tough times in the middle stages, and onto the sometimes challenging final stages and the joy of walking across the stage. The possibilities for a relationship breakdown and separation will be explored together with issues such as the complexity of having a polygamous relationship with two, three or even four supervisors! This session will cover several concepts vital to effective supervision, including the benefit of an agreed supervision agreement document; clearly defined expectations, roles and responsibilities; resetting the supervision relationship; changes in the supervision relationship throughout the programme; and project ownership over time.
Tying it together: Enhancing connections in research and beyond
Presenter: Dr Lyn Lavery and Dr Anuja Cabraal
Time: 12noon–1pm NZDT
In this final session, we will revisit key themes from the conference, emphasising how connections—both within and beyond your research—can enhance your work. We will recap and expand on insights from the conference speakers on analysing qualitative data, writing practices, and working with others, before exploring how you can continue to forge meaningful connections. Whether you want to expand your academic network or enhance your research practice, this session will provide practical takeaways for staying connected long after the conference ends. Join us to reflect, discuss, and plan how you can strengthen your connections in the research world and beyond.