L’utilizzo di un software per l’analisi nella ricerca qualitativa : potenziali e limiti di NVivo in un progetto fenomenologico-ermeneutico

This paper will present a critical reflection about using NVivo software for the analytic process in qualitative research. It was aimed to explore the interaction between medical and pedagogical knowledge in healthcare professional practice. Framed in a qualitative approach, the project was based on phenomenological-hermeneutical method and on case-study strategy. Data gathering was based on several instruments: ethnographical observation, semi-structured interview, collage-making and participants’ narratives about art crafts, and writing a research diary. The analytic process, according to the phenomenological-hermeneutical model, was supported by NVivo. A previous acquainting with the software allowed researchers to employ NVivo as a support for the phenomenological-hermeneutical analysis, maintaining the irreplaceable researcher’s meaning making process. Based on this research experience, the paper will present strengths and limitations of NVivo in supporting data analysis, highlighting how the use of a software in qualitative analysis is necessarily rooted in the researcher’s acts of mind.