Last Updated on 2 days ago by Grace Nyambura

  How to Analyze Interview Transcripts in NVivo [Step-by-Step]

What is reflexive thematic analysis? Reflexive thematic analysis is a qualitative research method developed by Braun and Clarke (2006) for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns — called themes — within a dataset. Unlike rule-based approaches, reflexive TA treats the researcher’s interpretation as central to the analysis, making it one of the most flexible and widely used frameworks for analyzing interview transcripts.

You’ve designed your questionnaire, conducted your interviews, and completed the transcription process. Now comes the most important — and often most daunting — question: how do you actually analyze all of this data?

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through the exact process I use to analyze interview transcripts in qualitative research using NVivo 14. We’ll follow Braun and Clarke’s six-step reflexive thematic analysis framework from start to finish, going from raw transcripts all the way to a well-organized analysis report.

By the end of this guide you’ll have a clear, repeatable process you can apply to your own PhD or master’s research — and you’ll know exactly how to use NVivo 14 to support every step.

What Is Reflexive Thematic Analysis? (Braun & Clarke’s Framework)

The most effective way to analyze interview transcripts in qualitative research is to follow the systematic approach developed by Braun and Clarke in their landmark 2006 paper, published in Qualitative Research in Psychology. Their framework — known as reflexive thematic analysis — gives researchers a clear, step-by-step process for moving from raw interview data to meaningful themes.

Since its publication, reflexive thematic analysis has become one of the most widely cited qualitative research methods globally. It’s especially popular among PhD students and academic researchers because it works across disciplines and doesn’t require a fixed theoretical stance.

Braun and Clarke’s framework involves six core steps:

1. Familiarizing yourself with the data
2. Generating initial codes
3. Generating themes
4. Reviewing potential themes
5. Defining and naming themes
6. Producing the report

In this guide, I’ll walk through each step using a real example study: Young People, Identity and the Media — a study of self-identity conceptions among youth in Southern England. I have six interview transcripts to analyze in NVivo 14. Let’s get into it.

The Study Title

Before you can analyze your interview transcripts, you need to know them deeply. This step is about immersing yourself in your data — reading each transcript carefully, not skimming.

Start by creating a new NVivo project. Click the ‘New Project’ button, give it a meaningful name, and click Create. Once your project is open, go to the Files section, create a folder called ‘Interview Transcripts’, and drag and drop all your transcripts into it.

With your transcripts imported, read through each one as you would read a book. Pay attention to language, tone, and recurring ideas. Don’t code yet — just read.

An important note: familiarization actually begins during transcription. If you transcribed your own interviews, you’ve already started this step. If you used a transcription tool or service, you’ll need to spend more time here to compensate.

Step 2 — Generate Initial Codes in NVivo

Generating Initial Codes

Once you’re familiar with your transcripts, it’s time to start coding. Coding is the process of labelling meaningful segments of your data — a word, sentence, or paragraph — with a short descriptive tag called a code.

In NVivo, right-click on the Codes section, create a folder called ‘Initial Codes’, then open your first transcript and start working through it. Highlight any relevant text and drag it into the Codes section — NVivo will prompt you to name the code. For a broader introduction to how qualitative coding works across different research traditions, SAGE Research Methods has an excellent overview.

The Folder Initial Codes is Created

Here’s an example from the David transcript in my study:

• “I’ve got a picture of Tony Blair because he’s like all powerful like me.” — Coded as: powerful
• “My voice — I’m very opinionated.” — Coded as: opinionated
• Karen: “The crossword is I think I’m intelligent.” — Coded as: intelligent
• “The Alex Ferguson one because he demands a lot from the players.” — Coded as: demanding

Interview transcript open in NVivo 14 for qualitative thematic analysis

Creating the initial code ‘powerful’ in NVivo 14 during reflexive thematic analysis

A Section of a Transcript in Nvivo 14

Generating initial codes from interview transcripts in NVivo 14

A Section of a Transcript in Nvivo 14

Coding interview transcripts in NVivo 14 using Braun and Clarke framework

A Section of a Transcript in Nvivo 14

Creating a latent code in NVivo 14 — coding interview transcripts qualitatively

There are two main approaches to generating codes:

• Semantic coding: You take the surface-level, literal meaning. If a participant says “I talk a lot”, you code it as talkative. The meaning is clear from the words themselves.
• Latent coding: You look for the deeper, implied meaning. Karen says “I like people to run around for me because I don’t like to do a lot for myself.” She never says ‘lazy’ — but the latent meaning gives us exactly that code.

Continue coding until you’ve worked through all your transcripts. In my study, I generated 41 initial codes across six transcripts. For a full NVivo project setup walkthrough, see my NVivo free training for beginners.

Step 3 — Generate Themes from Your Codes

Generating Themes

With your initial codes complete, look for patterns across them. Grouping related codes together is how themes emerge from your data.

In NVivo, create a new folder in the Codes section called ‘Initial Themes’. Then read through all your codes and ask: what do these have in common?

From my 41 codes, I identified three clear patterns:

• Positive Traits
• Negative Traits
• Ethnicity

To organize them in NVivo, drag and drop each code into the relevant theme folder. A theme is simply a group of codes that share a meaningful pattern.

The Folder Initial Theme 2 is Created

Full list of 41 initial codes generated from interview transcripts in NVivo 14

Creating initial themes from qualitative codes in NVivo 14 thematic analysis

The Theme Negative Traits is Created

The Theme Ethnicity is Created

Step 4 — Review Your Potential Themes

Reviewing Potential Theme

Generating initial themes is just a starting point. Step 4 is where you critically assess whether those themes actually answer your research questions.

Go back to your research questions before reviewing. My study had three:

1. What is the prevalent perception of participants about their ethnicity?
2. What is the prevalent self-perception among youth in Southern England?
3. What is the opinion of youth about how other people perceive them?

Reviewing my initial themes against these, I realised ‘Positive Traits’ and ‘Negative Traits’ didn’t directly answer questions 2 or 3. I revised: I created two new parent themes — ‘Self Perception’ and ‘Other People’s Perception’ — each with positive and negative subthemes, and redistribute

Reviewing and refining themes during reflexive thematic analysis in NVivo 14

The Theme Other People’s Perception is Created

The Subtheme Negative is Created

The Subtheme Positive is Created

Step 5 — Define and Name Your Themes

Defining and Naming Themes

Once you’re satisfied that your themes answer your research questions, clearly define what each one means. In NVivo, right-click on each theme or subtheme, open Properties, and write a description.

Examples from my study:

• Self Perception (Positive): Codes describing how participants positively characterize themselves — their qualities, strengths, and self-image.
• Other People’s Perception (Negative): Codes capturing how participants believe others view them negatively — judgements, stereotypes, or negative assumptions made about them.

Step 6 — Produce the Analysis Report in NVivo

Producing the Report

The final step is producing your written report. Before you write, export supporting materials from NVivo:

1. Initial codes list: Select your initial codes folder, press Ctrl+A, right-click → Export → Export List.
2. Initial themes list: Same process for the initial themes folder.
3. Hierarchy charts: Right-click on a theme → Visualize → Hierarchy Chart of Codes.

Your data analysis section should include:

• A description of the analysis process you followed (citing Braun & Clarke 2006)
• A table showing initial codes, initial themes, and final themes
• Hierarchy charts as supporting visuals

A narrative discussion of each theme, supported by verbatim participant quotes

Exported initial codes list from NVivo 14 for inclusion in thematic analysis report

Exported initial themes table from NVivo 14 for qualitative findings report

NVivo 14 hierarchy chart showing positive self-perception codes from interview data

NVivo 14 hierarchy chart of negative self-perception codes in qualitative research

To see what a complete findings report looks like in practice, check out my walkthrough of deductive coding in NVivo, which includes a sample report structure you can adapt.

Need hands-on help with your analysis?We offer a done-for-you NVivo thematic analysis service for PhD students and researchers. Learn more here.

How long does it take to analyze interview transcripts in NVivo?

It depends on the number of transcripts and depth of analysis, but for a typical PhD dataset of 8–12 interviews, expect 20–40 hours of analysis work. NVivo speeds up organization and visualization, though coding and theme development still require your own judgment.

Do I have to use NVivo to do thematic analysis?

No — the reflexive thematic analysis framework can be applied manually or with tools like MAXQDA and ATLAS.ti. NVivo simply makes it easier to manage large datasets, organize codes, and export visuals. For small datasets, a well-organized Word document can work.

What’s the difference between reflexive thematic analysis and other types?

Reflexive TA treats the researcher’s interpretation as core to the analysis — not bias to be minimized. This differs from codebook thematic analysis, where codes are defined in advance. For most PhD students doing exploratory research, reflexive TA is the more appropriate choice.

Can I use both inductive and deductive coding in the same study?

Yes. Some researchers use a deductive framework based on theory, then apply inductive coding for ideas outside that framework. For a full comparison with worked examples, see my guide on inductive and deductive thematic analysis.

How many themes should I have in a thematic analysis?

Most qualitative studies report between three and six main themes. Themes should be meaningfully distinct — if two overlap heavily, consider merging them or using subthemes. For more on theme structure in practice, see my guide on thematic analysis of interviews in NVivo.

Key Takeaways

• Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) is the most widely used framework for analyzing interview transcripts in qualitative research
• The six steps: familiarization → initial codes → generating themes → reviewing themes → defining themes → producing the report
• NVivo 14 supports every step — importing transcripts, creating codes, visualizing themes, and exporting tables
• Semantic codes capture surface meaning; latent codes capture deeper implied meaning — both are used in reflexive TA
• Always review your themes against your research questions before defining them — this is what makes the analysis reflexive, not mechanical
• Your report should include a table of codes and themes, hierarchy chart visuals, and a narrative discussion supported by participant quotes

Need Help With Your Qualitative Analysis?

If you’re working through your own interview transcripts and want expert support, I offer a done-for-you NVivo thematic analysis service specifically for PhD students and academic researchers.

Learn more about the done-for-you service or explore more NVivo tutorials on the Surviving Research YouTube channel.