WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID
Francesc Galban Horcajo
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Medical Innovation Lead
Médecins sans Frontières
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Oct 2023
I worked with Sarah and the team on a project which required analytical and strategical support, to shape a qualitative assessment from the learnings of a preliminary quantitative piece.
The work was complex and required an in-depth understanding of our programmatic strategic priorities as well as an insight into innovation trends and how those have been shifting influenced by demographics.
Sarah adapted to the work incredibly fast, providing timely delivery and very valuable insights which have helped shape the direction our qualitative assessments will take. It has been a pleasure working with them, and we will most certainly work with them in the future.
Sarah Lawther
Education Research & Evaluation Specialist
Nottingham Trent University
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June 2023
The NVivo training from Dr Christina Silver has been invaluable to our team.
We had three sessions with Christina that were tailored to our project and this allowed us to practice what we had learnt between sessions and provide Christina with guidance on what we would like to cover in subsequent sessions.
As a result of the training the team now has an agreed approach to analysis, we have completed a pilot, and we are all confident of the process of analysis using NVivo going forwards. We are also very reassured that we can have further training with Christina as needed!
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We have all really enjoyed the training sessions with Christina and are now excited about how we can use NVivo in both our analysis and reporting.
Dr Carlos Montoro
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Learning Designer & Data Analyst
The Open University
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June 2023
I’m just writing to let you know that I’ve been blown over by the great workshop you delivered in the last two days.
Not only did you deliver so professionally and in such a knowledgeable way but… oh, how you adapted so skilfully to everyone’s needs and purposes – it was a joy to experience the real connection you made to participants from the first minute and how you kept that going throughout.
I normally struggle so much with training sessions and meetings, particularly long ones, but yours gave me hope that it is possible to learn and enjoy if a safe space with no faff is created for participants to come as they are and grow from there.
Many many many congratulations on your wonderful workshop!
Ben Redmond
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Researcher
Pearson
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May 2023
The training was of a very high standard, in terms of the quality of the information provided and the presentation of the information.
Sarah was an excellent trainer, and despite the complexity of the course content, she was friendly, engaging, and helped to make everything easy to understand.
All those participating in the training had good feedback about it and noted that it would change their approaches to all stages of the research process.
Andy Curtis
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Head of Evidence and Learning
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
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December 2022
My team needed NVivo training and had had some mixed experiences with other training courses, which was often too generalised. Christina’s training was just what we needed. We had three sessions (9 hours in total), and Christina is a brilliant trainer. Our team had a mix of experience with NVivo and qualitative research experience in general, and the training was useful to all us.
It helped us understand the basics of the software and the more advanced options, contextualised in using NVivo as a tool in analysing qualitative data (eg developing an analysis framework). What really helped was that it was bespoke training which let us use our own data. The team was highly complementary about the training and it has put us in an excellent position for the next stage of our work.
Alex Rizzo
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Senior Academic and Researcher
Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology
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November 2022
We have had the excellent opportunity to have Dr Christina Silver presenting a most dynamic and positively intense workshop on 'Reviewing the Literature using MAXQDA Software' at the annual MCAST Qualitative Research Conference on the 25/11/22.
The depth and insights of Christina, when using QDA software and processes, are really admirable, so too are her top presentational and explanatory skills. Our 80+ delegates to this workshop were very appreciative to the high quality and depth of this workshop, we are already receiving requests for a repeat next year! We thank Christina for her brilliant workshop delivery.
Jessica Nina Lester
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Professor
School of Education
Indiana University Bloomington
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November 2022
Without a doubt, Christina Silver is the best of the best when it comes to QDAS trainers! She recently provided a 3-day MAXQDA workshop to me, my colleagues, and graduate students. This workshop was followed up with an additional 3-day workshop on using MAXQDA for systematic literature reviews.
Her pedagogical approach was methodologically and theoretically grounded, intentional, and well-executed. It was truly the best QDAS training I have ever participated in -- and I've been involved in quite a few QDAS trainings across my career! Her ability to think across QDAS packages and promote methodological thinking when making QDAS decisions is an exemplar for the field.
Lesley McDonagh
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University Coordinator for Doctoral Researcher Development
Graduate School
University of Westminster
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November 2022
The Graduate School at the University of Westminster has worked with QDAS for a number of years. The team consistently delivers high-quality, professional training for our doctoral researchers which is reflected in the evaluation forms submitted by the students.
Their communications and instructions to the students are clear and engaging and the training is enhanced by the provision of further resources and references.
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They are great to work with, demonstrating not only expertise on the topic but also providing excellent customer service which instils confidence and reassurance – always a priority when managing a large number of training and development workshops for students!
Dr John Mahoney-Phillips
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Global Head
Talent, Performance, Acquisition and Learning
VISTRA
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May 2022
I commissioned a one off coaching on MAXQDA from Christina - I needed to check on the way I had loaded data and potential analysis.
This was honestly the best money I have spent - Christina was VERY knowledgeable, skilled in communicating, was able to link screens to share hers and share mine.
I was really very impressed and would without hesitation recommend her for Qualitative work and especially MAXQDA.
Dr Okeoma John Paul Okeke
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Senior Lecturer
University of Wales
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March 2022
Sarah was very hands-on with her approach to the session.
She ensured that our students were carried along during the entire session. She encouraged students to ask questions and challenged the students in a way that brought the best out of them.
Overall, her approach was well suited to our Doctoral students whose learning styles were very different
Grazia Marta Caleo
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Social Science Team Lead
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
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December 2021
I worked with Jason on a mixed method research, conducted in Sierra Leone.
Jason has been excellent on quickly supporting the analysis of the qualitative data set. He also supported the write up of the report.
Jason has been very flexible to adjust to different meeting across time zones and supportive to capitalise on the work done in the field by other anthropologists.
I strongly recommend Jason and I hope to work with him in the future.
Dr Brandi Lee Lough Dennell
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Research Associate
University of Strathclyde
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October 2021
Thank you very much for the training today, I really enjoyed it. The training was clear, well-paced and balanced (discussions, questions, and hands-on), and you created a comfortable environment where it felt like we were all learning together even when we had different prior experiences of NVivo.
I appreciated your extensive understanding of different methodological approaches and how they would influence how we used the software.
Thank you
Dr Barry Ryan
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School of Food Science and Environmental Health
Technological University Dublin
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September 2021
Working with QDA Services was a pleasure from start to finish. Both Christina and Jason were professional, practical, knowledgeable and supportive in all aspects from initial consultation, through the tendering process and onto final report close-out.
Regular update and discussion meetings ensured the project stayed on track and on time, with the standard of the completed analysis being excellent.
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I would highly recommend QDA Services to colleagues seeking consultative support for any form of qualitative data analysis.
Dr Rand Irshaidat
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Associate Professor
Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Jordan
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September 2021
Allow me to reiterate my gratitude for the very rich and informative sessions you have given me over the past couple of weeks. Your genuine efforts in conveying thick descriptions about MAXQDA are deeply appreciated.
Once again, thank you very much for your time, knowledge, and utmost dedication. I can't wait to start exploring MAXQDA on my end
Lea Stadtler
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Associate Professor
Grenoble Ecole de Management
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July 2021
I participated in an NVIVO training that Christina offered to our large (14+) research team. I was impressed by her ability to flexibly adapt to our needs and to stay calm, focused, and solution-oriented even during more challenging discussions (because of the complexity of our project). She has fantastic knowledge about how to design and execute qualitative research analysis and transmits that in a successful way.
Dr M. May Seitanidi
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Reader in Strategy
Kent Business School, University of Kent
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July 2021
I was first trained by Christina Silver when I attended a specialised workshop on NVivo while I was a PhD student at the LSE. I was impressed by her level of experience with the software, rigour in answering questions and infectious passion for qualitative research and NVivo. Years later we met again when we hired her company for a large research project (14 member team + 3 PhD students) to advise us on the design of attributes for a Systematic Literature Review & Knowledge Synthesis).
Christina's flexibility, deep knowledge, experience in research design, rigour in providing answers and solutions before-during-after the training sessions was admirable. She helped the team develop quickly familiarity with customised training sessions that we co-developed and that met fully our specific needs. Importantly, her humour and quick thinking encouraged us to delve deep in the use of NVivo while saving us from serious mistakes that would otherwise take endless hours to sort out. Thank you Christina for sharing your top knowledge with us!
Natasha Barker Bradshaw
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Doctoral Researcher
University of the West of England
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May 2021
Christina offered expertise and advice around the use of NVivo which was invaluable. She helped me problem-solve a complex dataset between Excel and NVivo for multiple analytical tasks and tutored me in the scope (and limitations) of NVivo, a powerful qualitative analysis tool.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Christina as a group and individual tutor or analyst to work with. Her knowledge of QDA and its application is at the forefront of knowledge.
Christos Mylonas
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Corporate and Public Affairs Executive
World Health Organisation
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March 2021
I have worked with Christina in the qualitative analysis of the WHO's Big Idea survey, which crowdsourced ideas, for shaping the future of learning, training and education for public health.
Christina provided excellent support, applying her expertise in qualitative analysis, at every stage of this project. Christina was always available to discuss and address any issues and was flexible to accommodate, often at short notice, changes in the schedule. She is very thoughtful and strategic in her approach, which was reflected at the high quality of the final analysis.
I would highly recommend Christina for qualitative analysis projects.
Charles Stone
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Stonewell Ministries
Chicago
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January 2021
When I began my PhD and faced the daunting task of how to use qualitative software for my literature review and the qualitative research to follow, I was quite flummoxed as to where to turn. I did a bit of a Google search and came upon Dr. Silver. We corresponded a bit and I contracted her to coach me in understanding MAXQDA and how to most effectively perform a quality literature search.
She exceeded my expectations, even after the very first session! She goes above and beyond in her communication, thoroughness, clarity, and desire to really help. She tailors her coaching to your unique needs. She knows qualitative research incredibly well. My comfort level and understanding of qualitative research and MAXQDA has grown considerably through her guidance.
I highly recommend her if you need wise coaching for qualitative research
Eden Tariq Smith
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Research Fellow
University of Melbourne
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December 2020
I highly recommend asking Christina for advice on finding the best CAQDAS for complex projects.
I reached out to Christina due to data-management constraints I had not previously encountered with the CAQDAS we have been using on one of my current projects. During our initial meeting, Christina provided valuable recommendations for alternative CAQDAS specific to the needs of the project I'm part of, and then followed up by sending relevant resources that should solve the data-management hurdle we had encountered.
While only previously knowing of Christina via their publications, I felt immediately comfortable when we met (on a video call). When relevant, I'll also be recommending our team do one of the Support Workshops Christina offers through the CAQDAS Network Project.
Katarzyna Rozenkowska
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Associate
University of Warsaw
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December 2020
I think that every researcher (no matter how smart or ambitious) is bound to encounter (less or more) serious research obstacles. When that happens, you can either suck it up and wander around trying to find the right solution (who knows for how long) or you can reach out to someone who will guide and inspire you through the process.
I made an inquiry for a MAXQDA 1:1 training for the purpose of my systematic literature review. I really needed a tool that would make my work… “flow and go”. This was when I got to know Christina and that was when I received far more than I was asking for. Not only did I find out that MAXQDA was exactly what I needed, but I also received an incredible deal of guidance from Christina whose openness, enthusiasm and positivity made me feel that “I could do it”.
Christina is one of those researchers who wants other researchers to thrive – trust me, not all of the people in the science sphere are like that. So, rest assured: Christina will give you far more than customized training on a software. She will also equip you with proper tools and an attitude that is going to pull you through, no matter how doubtful you are about your research.
We all know that those are the things and qualities which money cannot buy.
Željka Knežević
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Assistant Professor
Faculty of Teacher Education
University of Zagreb
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December 2020
Thank you one more time for the fabulous online education. Those two sessions that you've tailored especially for our small research group were great. For me it was really useful because I could refresh everything we've learned during the training in Zagreb and I got deeper insights into working possibilities with NVivo. There are so many things that are more clear to me now. Also the way you organize and do the training is very inspiring and I learned a lot from you, not only about NVivo but also about training methods.
You are a trainer that I can only recommend and I hope that in the future we'll manage to find some funds and to invite you once again for another training session.
At the end I would like to say that the online training was as good as the training we had in Nvivo at our university at the beginning of the year. To provide an online training that has the same quality as a face-to-face education is, in my opinion, the best evidence of your expertise and training skills.
Graham Farrant
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Chief Executive
The Social Research Association
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October 2020
Christina Silver's practical support was invaluable to the Social Research Association (SRA) in spring 2020. She set up a programme of work to help trainers to deliver SRA courses online that had previously been delivered in face-to-face settings. She provided expert advice, insight and encouragement to many individuals, enabling the SRA's training programme to reposition itself for online delivery.
Her expert knowledge of the Zoom platform was vital, but more than this, as a professional trainer herself she knew precisely what people needed to know. I recommend Christina very highly.
Erik Wästlund
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Associate Professor
Karlstad University
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October 2020
Me, and my team, had the great opportunity to be guided into the world of CAQDAS by Christina Silver. Our training began with a general overview of software and techniques followed by a more in-depth workshop series tailored to our specific needs and revolving around our data and research questions. Christina has been, and continues to be, an indispensable source of information and support.
Sture Nöjd
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Lecturer
Department of Social and Psychological Studies
Karlstad University
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October 2020
Christina Silver has in a pedagogical way, via a series of online courses, explained how content analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, can be carried out in a structured and transparent manner with the aid of QDA Miner 5 and Wordstat 8. This knowledge is making a positive difference to the work on my doctoral dissertation. I can recommend anyone who needs knowledge of analysis methods and analysis software to consult Christina Silver.
Rob Green
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National Programme Coordinator - Research and Evaluation
NHS Leadership Academy
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October 2020
Christina has just delivered a full introductory MAXQDA course over 2 days and virtually. Her facilitation was wonderful with both myself and my colleagues totally involved in the sessions due to Christina's passion for her work. I can only recommend her work as our team now has a thorough understanding of the functions of this programme and the ability to use it immediately thanks to the way in which the training was delivered. The pace was perfect with regular check-ins to ensure everyone was on the same page.
If you are in the process of acquiring MAXQDA, have used it for a while or are considering your analysis options, you should definitely speak with Christina.
Peter Meister-Broekema
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PhD Researcher
Hanze University of Applied Sciences
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September 2020
In September 2020 I was participant in an online ATLAS.ti course, given by Christina. All though I was quite hesitant at first - how interesting could an online two-day-course on data analysis be - Christina had the ability to captivate us and showed us the way in the maze ATLAS.ti could be. This was so much more helpful than the numerous handbooks I tried and I would definitely recommend her services to anyone!
Abdullah Alsharif
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Lecturer
Umm Al-Qura University
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September 2020
Christina has really helped me in the analysis stage of my PhD research. I had 3 ATLAS.ti sessions with her and she taught me how to do an analysis and guided me in the use of the software. Before her sessions I had no idea how to work on qualitative analysis, but she aided me a lot. If you need help planning an analysis or using qualitative software, I'd recommend Christina - she will be able to help.
Sam Gottlieb
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Principal UX Researcher,
FitBit
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March 2020
I hired Christina to help my team identify possible qualitative software tools that would serve our needs in doing user experience (UX) research in the private sector. I had hired Christina previously for an academic research project of mine, and I had been incredibly impressed with her thoroughness and ability to guide researchers at all stages of experience. Her preparation and workshop were excellent and insightful. She is able to tailor her guidance to the audience and ensure that everyone comes away with new strategies and tactics. I look forward to working with Christina again!
Thomas Lowe
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PhD Candidate
Faculty of Spatial Science
University of Groningen
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September 2020
I found Christina's course very informative and engaging. The course was instructed online, but remained engaging and interactive for all participants. The course content was conveyed to the group in a clear way and the instruction was both helpful and interesting. The ability to shape the course to the needs of the group was very useful. I would recommend anyone who has an interest in or use of ATLAS.ti to get in touch with Christina.
Elizabeth Mamali
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Postgraduate Researcher Development Officer, University of Bristol
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March 2020
Sarah was fantastic in adapting her ‘Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis’ workshop in webinar format with extremely short notice. Both her and Jason fully supported the logistics of this abrupt change, advising on the appropriate technology and helping us prepare the students for what to expect on the day. Feedback from participants has been excellent both with regards to the content and the engagement and interactivity that Sarah managed to bring in the webinar.
Ern Nutcha Charoenboon
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PhD Candidate
Population Health Sciences
Bristol Medical School
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March 2020
Thank you so much for the Qualitative Data Analysis course you gave today. I’d just like you let you know that I found it really useful and you broke it down in the way that it makes me feel that PhD is actually possible! (Very, very thankful!) As someone who is only 2 months into her PhD, the course material and the way you presented it was exactly what I needed to hear. A couple other (health sciences) students who started the same time as me said the same thing. As an anthropology student who will have to take fieldnotes every day, I will try to find a way to structure my notes like you suggested, and actually do my literature review in the CAQDAS software. It just makes so much sense!
Beth Thompson
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Head of Insight and Learning
UK Coaching
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February 2020
UK Coaching worked with QDAS over a period of months to undertake the qualitative analysis of a large and complex dataset – involving over 18 hours of interview and focus group discussions. Jason’s personal expertise in qualitative data analysis, and his ability to transform complex and rich data into meaningful insights, has helped us to develop a framework for a learning curriculum that is now embedded within our organisation.
We would highly recommend QDAS and Jason’s services to any organisation looking for qualitative research analysis.
Lidija Cvikic
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Assistant Professor
Faculty of Teacher Education
University of Zagreb
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January 2020
At my University, we organised 2 day Nvivo workshop led by Christina. From the first contact, Christina was extremely engaged and helpful, and she tailored the workshop exactly to our needs. The workshop surpassed our expectations in every way. We got excellent insight into the program, learned the logic behind it, got amazing amount of useful tips and learned how to use program with our own research data.
Christina is an amazing trainer: knowledgable, patient flexible, with great sense of humour. We really enjoyed the workshop and hope to have opportunity to work with Christina again.
Dr Alexandra Okada
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SFHEA Fellow and Researcher
Open University
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January 2020
I attended two workshops about NVivo v11 and v12 with Christina. It was a ’deep fun’ experience with lots of practical examples, engaging activities and useful discussions about the software's features and applications. She offered a great overview about how to use NVivo including personal advice and support.
Christina has excellent teaching and research skills to assist a multidisciplinary team with different expertise including NVivo novices and users. She creates opportunities for each participant to discuss and apply their learning in their own context. Her session was very useful for me.
I applied NVivo 11 in a large mixed-methods study and now I am ready to use NVivo 12 in a significant literature review study. Christina’s work is amazing !
Vanessa Stefanou
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Professor
American College of Greece
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September 2019
We had a 3-day NVivo seminar with Christina, it was a very fruitful experience. Christina is an excellent trainer, with admirable analytic skills. She is very committed to her work, and quite passionate about qualitative analysis. After she explained everything to us, she allowed us to work on our projects and she supervised each and every one in the best possible way. I strongly recommend Christina, and I am looking forward to more seminars with her!
Nestor Singer
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PhD candidate, University of Manchester
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June 2019
Dr. Christina Silver delivered an amazing workshop in early June 2019 at the University of Manchester. She is really passionate about her work and committed to supporting her students. She was authentically interested in our projects to find the best possible solution for our needs during the workshop. I strongly recommend her for guiding courses and seminars related to the use of software to facilitate qualitative analysis.
Becky Ward
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Researcher, University of Southampton
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June 2019
Christina delivered a very useful 2 day NVivo training workshop. At the end, I strongly felt like I had a handle on some of the ways in which I'll use NVivo and had the skills to use it. She also shared multiple resources which will mean I can keep learning more ways as I go along. Her teaching was clear and engaging, and she was able to support each one of us with our own questions. It was one of the best training sessions I've been to since I started my PhD. I think the combination of sections where she explained an overview of the content, and then got us to try it, or walked it through with us was very helpful.
Also, her use of the concept of the bigger picture of strategy followed by developing tactics helped me to work out what I am trying to do before diving in, so it has also made me think more about my methodology and the links between my different studies. I actually feel quite excited about using the software and developing my analysis.
Nancy Nkirote
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Leadership Consultant and Lecturer
Pan African Christian University, Kenya
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May 2019
Christina Silver is an amazing professional! She does what she does best, with her heart –training in computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). She trained me on f4anlsyse within days and I was able to teach the same to my students who were very excited too; quite a number used the software for their class project.
Though I had not met Christina before and we are yet to meet face to face, she made our zoom lessons so friendly that I transferred the knowledge to the students with the same ease. I met Christina online towards the end of last year when I needed urgent help to prepare teaching materials for qualitative data analysis using software. She understood my needs and was able to advise and coach me within a very short time. I will forever be grateful to Christina for her kindness and skill. She is a world-class human being!
I can highly recommend Christina having now attending two of her qualitative methods courses. Christina excellently conveys complex, and often ethereal, academic concepts in an accessible manner. Currently in the first year of a PhD, through her teaching each course has provided a light bulb moment, which I'm now using to guide this years research. Without Christina, I would not be as far ahead as I am presently. In short, she's excellent!
Chris Langdon
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Documentary producer and think-tanker and co-author, 'Thinking the Unthinkable'
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November 2018
From our first phone call Dr Christina Silver understood our needs; to test our data thoroughly and reinforce our research findings. She made it clear from the get-go: NVivo work has to be preceded by a full and rigorous process of thinking through assumptions, planning the analysis and defining what certain terms used in interviews mean to us.
Christina is a good facilitator and effective challenger and fun with it. All our team enjoyed the time we spent with her. Christina is also practical; advising us on the appropriate version of NVivo for our needs, and hardware. We met our highly ambitious timeframe, so we completed our fast-book to deadline. Our analysis (just published) is being well-received. And now we are continuing our research in a more thoughtful and insightful way than before we met Christina.
I contacted Christina at the start of my 2nd year as a full time PhD student. I was at the stage where I was overwhelmed by the thought of the workload that lay ahead and above all I was constantly stressed by the fact that I had collected copious amounts of data and hadn’t been able to make a decision on how I was going to analyse it. By then I had considered a number of analytic tools and techniques to assess their suitability in assisting me during this significant stage of the research process. The manual methods of analysis was not a straightforward process and the regular NVivo tutorial courses that I was attending in my university was challenging, primarily due to the complexity of NVivo’s architectural structure and my own computer proficiency level. I was at my wits end trying to choose the right analytic strategy for my study. I contacted Christina through her website www.qdaservices.co.uk after exploring a number of options.
Right from the outset it was crucial that I find a tutor who would take the time to understand the aims of my study and to help me develop a focussed approach to organising and understanding the data I collected. Christina did just that! She helped me carefully and systematically plan the analysis of my study’s data by tailoring the analytic process specifically for my study. She was incredibly professional, efficient, ethical and reliable. Her research mentoring gave me the feeling of being empowered and that there was potential for me to become an expert in my study area!
In Sep 2015 I made my first presentation at Oxford University! One of the biggest highlights of the conference was the phenomenal response I received about the manner in which I planned, designed and analysed my data. Two years later I passed my viva voce examination! It was no surprise to me when the examiners complemented the structured approach I had taken to analyse my data and the unique analytic process that was specifically designed to facilitate the interpretation of my study’s data. Christina helped me plan and design this systematic analytic process that formed a framework through which a complex set of analytical tools for analysis and interpretation took place.
Christina, for your advice and continual guidance throughout the research development and analysis process, I thank you. Thank you for introducing me to and teaching me how to use MAXQDA, and for helping me understand first-hand the importance of Analytic Planning Worksheets!! I now use both side by side to plan, organise and interpret my company’s business data easily and to keep a track of the different processes I follow:-)
To researchers and graduate students, especially those who find themselves in ‘unfamiliar analytical territory’, just like I did, drop Christina a line, you will be happy that you did!
I attended a two-day introduction to NVivo run by Christina. It is not an overstatement to say that her training has been absolutely invaluable to me as a PhD student in the early stages of my research. I will be frank – data analysis is hardly most people’s favourite topic - I went into the training imagining that I would be bored for two days straight but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Christina emphatically does not just teach you the features of the software, but instead helps you to think about qualitative data and analysis in a systematic, step-by-step way which allows you to make the most of NVivo as a tool. She worked hard to make the training relevant to each of our projects, using them as springboards to highlight or exemplify more general analysis strategies or tactics.
Not only is Christina clearly very experienced and knowledgeable about the software, but she is able to break the content down in a way which is logical, easy to understand, and can be directly applied. That is not to say that the training was easy, the course was both challenging and motivational. I think most of us there felt at one point or another that our brains were scrambled, but with Christina’s encouragement to persist these were met with lightbulb moments as things clicked into place.
Having initially been intimidated by Nvivo, I left the two days full of ideas and with a greater appreciation of NVivo as a tool which I can selectively use to get the most out of my data. With Christina’s guidance, I now have a concrete idea of exactly what I need to do in NVivo to achieve what I want, and I know that by using her step-by-step approach I can work out how to do almost any task I need.
Christina has been running NVivo workshops for our community of academic staff and research students at the Open University for the last 15 months. She is an excellent trainer, extremely knowledgeable and beyond patient especially when dealing with the technical issues that arise at our end.
Christina tailors the workshops exactly to the needs of the participants thereby ensuring that each person gets the most out of the training and leaves with a full understanding of how to utilise the software for their individual purposes whilst increasing their appreciation of the wider context of qualitative data analysis.
The feedback I have received from participants has been glowing; everyone has enjoyed the sessions, found them extremely useful and have commented that the training was of an exceptional high quality. Thank you Christina and I look forward to working with you further in the future.
Kirsten Campbell
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Barrister and Solicitor
Principle Investigator, Gender of Justice Research Project, Goldsmiths University of London
April 2017
For anyone looking for advice on how best to design and implement a large-scale project using research software, Christina Silver is outstanding in the field. Her advice on our large and complex research project was methodologically sophisticated, and practical and strategic. Christina’s workshops and consultations were invaluable for developing and implementing our challenging large scale project, and I unreservedly recommend her.
We have used Christina and her colleagues to facilitate workshops on the use of NVivo with UWE researchers for over 10 years. We keep coming back because it is abundantly clear that she has extensive experience as a qualitative researcher and as a tutor in the use of software packages which our participants consistently report on as being incredibly useful. I have no qualms in recommending Christina to other researcher developers.
Jessica Woodsford
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Policy Advisor, Office for Fair Access
January 2017
We really appreciated your genuine enthusiasm and engagement in our project. You handled our very large and complicated data set quickly and efficiently, delivering an impressive and nuanced coding system in a short space of time. Your advice and prompt and unfazed responses made the process run smoothly.
The training has very much shaped the strategy I will use to conduct my analysis. It helped me focus in a much more systematic way. I feel more confident knowing how to approach the data, and also using the software to help facilitate the analytic process. The training was very enjoyable and what was great was that everything you covered was highly relevant to my needs. Having a small training group was very rewarding and I felt that I had great support throughout.
Robert Galavan
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Professor of Strategic Management, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
November 2016
Thank you for a fantastic session. It is one of the best software training sessions I have had the pleasure of attending. It was a lovely interplay of method with technique while keeping the focus and making progress with the software.
Marius Draghici
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PhD Student, Department of Politics, University of Bordeaux
September 2016
I really enjoyed the training. We were shown how to make the difference between a very good and an outstanding analysis. I really appreciated your clarity in teaching, diligence towards everyone’s needs in the use of the software, and the structure of the training. Overall, for me it was one of the most interesting and lucrative trainings I have attended.
Christina's sessions were excellent and very well received. Feedback demonstrates that the students and staff who attended the sessions really benefited from and appreciated them. Thank you, once again, for preparing and delivering, what was clearly, a very successful package of training.
So often I have attended training courses and wondered what I was doing there, feeling my life slip away into oblivion while I could be doing other more useful and interesting activities such as watching iron rust or paint flake. However, Christina's was superb. It was exactly what I had hoped for. Pitched at precisely the right level and presented in a very clear, engaging way. Being able to spend time having some real content and context given by someone who really understands the software and researcher's needs, along with a sensible amount of time to try things out and get help was great. I'm much more confident about getting to grips with my data now.
The 3 day NVivo course was based around Five-Level QDA and was an excellent balance between the technicalities of using analytical software and its real-world use as a research tool. Christina grounded the training in how to conduct high quality post-graduate research as a means to enhance good research practice, allow effective data analysis, and support research project management. This is far preferable to an approach focusing largely or wholly on the technical details of software, with little relation to conducing actual academic research. Although the 3 days was very intensive it comes highly recommended.
The advanced NVivo workshop was so useful. I now have the skills to enable me to use NVivo much more powerfully. Christina is a brilliant trainer and she adapted the course to suit the requirements of those that attended. Christina also gave everyone individual help with their projects. I could not recommend Christina's course highly enough, or emphasise more the value of this course for researchers working with qualitative data.
The task that Christina led was to enable the MOD to identify and analyse the logistics related lessons that had been reported over the whole campaign. The task had a secondary aim, which was to ensure that we could apply the same QDA Miner and WordStat analysis to similar situations in the future. I was the desk officer involved in the task.
Christina's approach was logical, flexible and meticulous and she made sure she understood our needs. She clearly has both a wide experience of data analysis and, behind that, a real personal drive to ensure that the task is completed to the best of her ability.
I was the recipient of the training to ensure that we could continue to use this data analysis capability. As a trainer, Christina is clear, logical and able to adjust the pace to the trainee. I would personally recommend Christina as a highly professional, meticulous and thorough expert in the field of Qualitative Data Analysis.
I have had the pleasure of working with Christina on three separate occasions over the past ten years. Staffordshire University has commissioned her each time to run bespoke introductory NVivo software demonstrations and workshops for both experienced academics and postgraduate research students alike. She is a breath of fresh air as a facilitator of such workshops, being knowledgable, engaging and flexible in equal measure. Her sessions are meticulously well planned and she provides a wealth of support material for participants to use during and after the workshops to extend their own learning and development. The workshops are interactive and really help new users of NVivo to understand what is possible and how using NVivo can enhance the management of research projects, as well as the analysis of qualitative data.
Christina is indeed an NVivo expert, but her knowledge and experience doesn't stop there. She absolutely knows her stuff when it comes to Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) more generally, and as an independent trainer, I appreciated her candour in communicating the benefits and limitations of different CAQDAS packages and platforms currently available.
If you or your organisation need some support with developing your use of a CAQDAS package then I recommend that you contact Christina and discuss your needs. She'll definitely be able to help!