NVivo 12: Charts

Charts in NVivo let you visualize coding, files, or cases to explore patterns, themes, or demographics using bar, column, pie, bubble, heat map, or radar charts.

Aug 26, 2026
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NVivo 12: Charts

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Visualizations > Charts

Charts

You can use charts to present or explore the coding in your project. Charts can help you answer questions—for example, What are the dominant themes in this interview transcript? or How is coding spread across the different demographic groups in my project?

The Chart tab displays the visual representation of your data.

Example of a chart.

The Summary tab displays data values that were used to generate the chart.

Example of Summary tab showing the data that was used to generate a chart.

Create a chart

On the Explore tab, in the Charts group, click the Chart image.
Follow the steps in the Wizard, and then click Finish.

The chart is generated and displayed in Detail View.

You can use the options on the Chart tab to change the appearance of your chart.

What can I display in a chart?

Chart your coding

You can create charts to display:

Coding for a file Shows coding information for a particular file. You can see which nodes are most used to code a file—for example, the file Competing water uses is most coded by the node Economy. You can also see how much coding is done on a file and which users coded the file.
Coding by attribute value for a file Shows how a particular file is coded against one or two classified case attributes and their corresponding combinations of attribute values. This can help you see which demographic groups are most/least represented in cases that code a specific file—for example, Interview about Coastal Flooding is least coded by nodes representing males aged over 50.
Coding by attribute value for multiple files Shows multiple files as coded against a particular classified case attribute and its set of attribute values. This can help you determine which demographic groups are most/least represented in cases that code a range of files—for example, Discussion Group 1 is coded mostly at cases representing participants under 40 years old, while Discussion Group 2 is coded mostly at cases representing participants over 50.
Coding for a node Shows how a particular node is used in coding files. This can help you see which files are most or least coded at a node—for example, the node Habitat has more coding references from the file Interview with Barbara than from any other file. You can also display the users that did the coding.
Coding by attribute value for a node Shows how coding at a node is distributed across one or two attribute values. This can help you see which demographic groups have most coding at a node—for example, residents from Riverside have spoken out the most about flood control.
Coding by attribute value for multiple nodes Shows multiple nodes matched against a particular classified case attribute and its set of attribute values. This can help you determine which demographic groups have been coded most or least at a set of nodes—for example, residents from Bayview are most concerned about land reclamation, while residents from Riverside are most concerned about flood control.

Chart your files

If you have classified your files, you can create charts to display:

Files by attribute value for an attribute Shows the number of files that match each value for a particular attribute. This can help you see the range of journal articles or other files in your project—for example, the year of publication.
Files by attribute value for two attributes Shows the number of files that match various combinations of two attributes. This can help you see the range of journal articles or other files in your project—for example, year of publication and journal.

Chart your cases

If you have classified your cases, you can create charts to display:

Nodes by attribute value for an attribute Shows the number of cases that match each value for a particular attribute. This can help you see the demographic spread of your survey participants by a single attribute—for example age group.
Nodes by attribute value for two attributes Shows the number of cases that match various combinations of two attributes. This can help you see the demographic spread of your survey participants by two attributes—for example, age group and education

Types of charts

NVivo provides a range of chart types—the available chart types vary depending on the data you have chosen to view in the chart.

Type	Description	Example
Bar	Bar charts are useful when comparing quantity or analyzing an increasing/decreasing trend. Variations on this type of chart include: 3-axes bar chart Stacked bar chart 100% stacked bar chart Grouped bar chart
Column	Column charts are useful when comparing quantity or analyzing an increasing/decreasing trend. Variations on this type of chart include: 3-axes column chart Stacked column chart 100% stacked column chart Grouped column chart
Pie	Pie charts effectively show the proportion of different parts that make up a whole.
Bubble charts	Bubble charts show varying density of data when comparing combinations of variables.
Heat maps	Heat maps show varying density of data when comparing combinations of variables or matrices.
Radar charts	Radar effectively displays direction or trend when comparing several variables.

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NV12Win-Charts

NVivo 12: Charts

Information

Charts

Create a chart

What can I display in a chart?

Types of charts

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