Contribution of Nvivo software in the evaluation of a discipline with content in a virtual learning environment

Abstract

Qualitative data analysis has aroused the interest from researchers, especially in social sciences. At the same time, the volume of this data has grown so much that it has favored the emergence of tools to assist in its processing. Among them we have NVivo software, which is accepted by researchers. This article aims to analyze the contribution of NVivo software in the evaluation of a discipline with its content in a Virtual Learning Environment. For such purpose, we used the materials and discussions available in the discipline Qualitative Methods Research of Information and Knowledge, from a post graduate program in a public university in the South of Brazil. The discussion forums were organized into archives, which constituted the research analysis corpus, totaling 21 archives. We have read and categorized them according to categories and units proposed by Bardin. The use of NVivo facilitated the coding task, as well as the creation of graphs and matrices that contributed to the interpretation of the following results: a) predominance in discussions of themes related to data collection, with emphasis on interviewing techniques, narrative and focus group; b) there are different types of contributions and interactions among students; c) students have done a complete approach in the production of the texts for the forums; d) a greater availability of materials does not mean a greater contribution to the discussions of the themes. Based on the results, it is possible to affirm that the use of the software to perform the content analysis of the texts produced by the students can contribute to the evaluation of the discipline, so that adjustments can be made for planning the next offer, as well as contributing to the evaluation process of the students.