NVivo: Interpreting Reference Counts

NVivo counts: codes include overlaps; files/cases track unique items; queries may count distinct text or matches differently.

Aug 25, 2026
Knowledge

Title

NVivo: Interpreting Reference Counts

Answer

Case Reference Counts vs File Reference Counts:

Files
Nodes/Codes - references the number of Overlapping Codes in the File
References - equals the amount of Overlapping Coded Text in the File

Cases
Files - references the number of Unique Files for the Case
References - equals the amount of Unique Coded Text for the Case

Interpreting Coding Reference Counts

The count for a code indicates the instances of coding done to this code, including any areas of overlapping coded text.
The count in a simple coding query of a code indicates the number of instances of distinctly coded text. It eliminates instances of overlapping coded text.
The count in a text search query of a code indicates the number of instances in the code where a positive result of the text query is found.
The count in a matrix coding query indicates the distinctly coded text for each of the coding attributes selected. It also eliminates instances of overlapping coded text.

URL Name

Interpreting-NVivo-Reference-Counts

NVivo: Interpreting Reference Counts

Information

Case Reference Counts vs File Reference Counts:

Interpreting Coding Reference Counts

Related Articles

Trending Articles