NVivo organizes, analyzes and displays information with powerful search, query and visualization tools. The application allows users to organize their material by topic, uncover trends and emerging themes, and create diagrams, charts or models to present and clarify discoveries.

NVivo is available for Windows and Mac. Windows licenses can be used for both Windows and Mac installations—Mac licenses for Mac installations only.

Project and other NVivo files can be moved between the platforms, but NVivo Mac does not have all the functionality that NVivo Windows has, so data can be lost moving a project from Windows to Mac.

Features

  • View all data coded to a pattern in a single place
  • Identify frequently occurring terms in data
  • Precise searches of all or a portion of data
  • Code data automatically from text search
  • Display a matrix of codes in data
  • Visualize data with models and relationships
  • Capture and analyze social media data from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
  • Import a wide range of data formats including (but not limited to):
    • Word, Excel, PDF and rich text
    • Audio Files – .mp3, .mp4, .m4a, .wma, or .wav
    • Video Formats -.mpg, .mpeg, .mpe, .wmv, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .qt, .3gp, .mts & .m2ts
    • Digital Image Formats – .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .tif or .tiff formats
    • Reference management software files – EndNote, Zotero or RefWorks.
    • Evernote or OneNote Files

Software Requirements

BU has access to the most recent release of NVivo (NVivo Release 1) and the previous release (NVivo 12). Each release has a Windows version and a PC version, each with their own hardware requirements.

NVivo Release 1 – Windows 

Minimum system requirements 

  • 2.0 GHz dual-core processor (64-bit) 
  • 4 GB RAM 
  • 1680 x 1050 screen resolution 
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 
  • Approximately 5 GB of available hard-disk space – or more depending on data storage needs 

Recommended system requirements 

  • 3.0 GHz quad-core processor or faster 
  • 8 GB RAM or more 
  • 1920 x 1080 screen resolution or higher 
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 or later 
  • Approximately 8 GB of available hard-disk space – or more depending on data storage needs 
  • Internet connection 
  • Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome 44 or later 

NVivo Release 1 – Mac 

Minimum system requirements 

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor 
  • Mac OS X 10.13 (High Sierra) 
  • 4GB of RAM 
  • 1280 x 800 screen resolution 
  • 8GB SSD of available disk space—or more depending on data storage needs 

Recommended system requirements 

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor 
  • Mac OS X 10.13 (High Sierra) or later 
  • 8GB of RAM or more 
  • 1440 x 900 screen resolution 
  • 8GB SSD of available disk space—or more depending on data storage needs 
  • Internet connection 
  • Google Chrome (required for NCapture—a browser extension that allows you to gather material from the web)  

NVivo 12 Windows 

Minimum system requirements 

  • 1.2 GHz single-core processor (32-bit), 1.4 GHz single-core processor (64-bit) 
  • 2 GB RAM 
  • 1024 x 768 screen resolution 
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 
  • Approximately 5 GB of available hard-disk space – or more depending on data storage needs 

Recommended system requirements 

  • 2.0 GHz dual-core processor or faster 
  • 4 GB RAM or more 
  • 1680 x 1050 screen resolution or higher 
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1, or later 
  • Approximately 8 GB of available hard-disk space – or more depending on data storage needs 
  • Internet connection 
  • Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome 44 or later 

NVivo 12 Mac 

Minimum system requirements 

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor 
  • Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) 
  • 4GB of RAM 
  • 1280 x 800 screen resolution 
  • 3GB of available disk space 

Recommended system requirements 

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor 
  • Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later 
  • 8GB of RAM 
  • 1440 x 900 screen resolution 
  • 4GB SSD of available disk space—or more depending on data storage needs 
  • Internet connection 
  • Google Chrome (required for NCapture—a browser extension that allows you to gather material from the web) 

Download and Install

NVivo for Mac OS X and Windows can be downloaded and activated for free by active Boston University faculty, staff, and students.

Download now

Renew/Replace a License

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The new license key is only available to those who have agreed to the download terms.

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