NVivo for Literature Reviews

• A Memo is a text document which forms part of an NVivo project file.
• A Memo can be either:
  • created from scratch by a user; or
  • created automatically when source documents are imported from Endnote. See the earlier sections of this guide: Organising Your Endnote Library to Use with NVivo and Importing Source Documents from Endnote.
• A Memo can be used to record general details about the research journey, or details specific to a particular source document. (Simple parameters for editing fonts and formatting paragraphs are available within NVivo.) Each Memo can be linked to one source document from the Files or Externals folders.
  • To link a Memo, right-click on the name of the File or External in the List View and select Memo Link, then Link to Existing Memo or Link to New Memo.
• The sample Memo below, for example, was created when the source document to which it relates was imported into NVivo. A link to the source document itself was automatically established.

Memos have a number of potential uses.

• A Memo linked to an individual source document can record impressions (e.g. responses, criticisms, etc.) about that document.
• A Memo can be used to record key details of the overall research journey. This helps to make the NVivo project file a centralised repository of all relevant information about your project.
• Memos can be Coded in whole or part to Codes.
• Memos can be searched independently of source documents. For Memos created automatically when references are imported from Endnote, for example, a user can search keywords, abstracts, and Notes, without including the full text of the source.