Zotero 3.0.11 import into NVIVO 10

tcsmith
Hello All.

I'm having a bit of trouble importing my Zotero DB into NVIVO. I've exported as a RIS format with files, but when I import into NVIVO 10, the attached files are not imported, all references are imported as externals.
  • adamsmith
    Zotero's RIS export should be fine - I suggest asking NVIVO.
  • tcsmith
    edited January 19, 2013
    Does anyone have experience with exporting to NVIVIO? If so, have you experienced any problems with the latest versions of NVIVO and Zotero in "talking" to each other

    Advice from anyone with experience in this area would be much appreciated.

    Thanks
  • adamsmith
    NVIVO is $700 software - don't they have tech support that could help you sort that out? If there is anything you need differently in your RIS we could probably help you get there, but you'd have to find out what that is from them.
    (Obviously if someone here has experience with that, all the better, but there are only so many people who read this forum regularly).
  • tcsmith
    I did send them (NVIVO Support) a message. In the meantime, I tried another reference manager and it's export is readable. Not sure what the issue is with the Zotero export (or NVIVO's problem with importing Zotero's RIS format) but if I get a response from NIVIO, I'll post.
  • aurimas
    if you can post a RIS entry from Zotero and a RIS entry from another manager that imports properly, we might be able to figure something out.
  • Tim Smith
    Here's what I received as a response from QSR (maker of NVIVO)(see below)... gibberish really.

    What is perplexing is that NVIVO has the option to import Zotero data... it's even in the menu... I just point and click. But it doesn't seem to import the data correctly. Not only does it not pick up the attachments, but it doesn't even read any of the biblio data correctly (i.e. titles, the authors, etc). What results is an equal number of generically named, yet incorrect, references to external data. (i.e. Paper 1, Paper 2, etc.)

    The combination of Zotero and NVIVO would be quite powerful... but it would seem that NVIVO needs more work. (Just forewarning to anyone else that tries this)

    Here’s the response from NVIVO...

    "
    Hi Tim,

    Thank you for your inquiry.

    Please note that Zotero file attachments cannot be exported from Zotero via the RIS file. This means Zotero file attachments cannot be imported into NVivo.

    Alternatively, if your source files are NVivo compatible you may wish import your files directly into NVivo.I hope this helps. If you have any further questions please contact us.

    I wish you all the best with your research and please feel free to contact QSR Support again should you require assistance with another matter.
    Kind Regards,
    "
  • aurimas
    As I said above. if you were able to import any RIS file with attachments, post a sample entry here and we can figure out the difference.
  • Prof-Smith
    edited January 21, 2013
    The "success" that I mentioned previously was using EndNote... which is xml, not ris.
  • adamsmith
    we're planning Endnote XML export, but that will likely take a while. You could let the QSR people know that they're mistaken about file export in Zotero RIS and point them to this thread if they'd like to talk about how to make this work.
  • aurimas
    we'll probably add EndNote XML format in the not too distant future.
  • Tim Smith
    See issue #11

    http://www.qsrinternational.com/support_faqs_detail.aspx?view=1201


    ... here is a snippet...

    The latest version of Zotero 3.0.10 has introduced changes to the RIS format. These changes may result in incorrect field mappings in NVivo causing sources to be named incorrectly.
    TIP:
    Open the RIS file in Notepad before importing it into NVivo
    Use Find and Replace (or manual editing) to replace the following tags:

    “TI -“ with “T1 -“
    “AU -“ with “A1 -“
    “AB -“ with “N2 -“
    “TY - BLOG” with “TY - ELEC”
  • Tim Smith
    Also, NVIVO is claiming that their next service pack will resolve this problem and read the new format correctly.
  • aurimas
    Those changes were made to correspond to RIS specification at http://www.refman.com/support/risformat_intro.asp

    We might consider exporting these (and a couple other) fields with old values in addition to the new ones. This will likely happen only after Zotero 3.0.12 release.
  • Tim Smith
    One other key issue is that - for some reason - NVIVO will not import attached files from Zotero. This is independent from the RIS format issue mentioned above. This would seem to be a design decision by NVIVO... as they do import it using EndNotes XML format.

    The response I received from NVIVO around this issue was a little confusing though. They import EndNote XML attached files (pdf's), but they say that the RIS format "does not contain attachments...". What I found strange about this is that neither format would seem to CONTAIN ATTACHMENTS, as both formats simply include file locations.

    So, all I can do is shrug my shoulders over that one, and hope there is support in Zotero for EndNote XML soon.
  • aurimas
    I'll try to get to EndNote XML within the next week. Currently working on BibTeX. But yeah, they are mistaken about RIS and file attachments. Even EndNote exports file attachments with RIS.
  • adamsmith
    (IIRC Endnote XML has a separate field for the filepath to the PDF directory - what in Endnote's RIS is internal-pdf: - so getting to the PDFs in Endnote's version of RIS vs. XML requires less of a hack for the latter).
  • aurimas
    I guess we're not exactly following the same pattern as EndNote by using relative paths without any protocol. (i.e. L1 - attachments/something/something.pdf) I really wanted to make it look more like an official path, but file:// protocol does not allow relative paths and exporting as an absolute path destroys all portability.
  • Tim Smith
    FYI...

    I have confirmed that NVIVO now properly imports Zetero RIS, including attachments.

    But, since I updated NVIVO (with their just released service pack) and Zotero at the same time... I can't confirm the source of the fix.
  • adamsmith
    that was NVIVO in this case, we didn't change anything on our end. Thanks for letting us know.
  • mina tahsiri
    I have a problem of importing into NVivo 10. I export my current zotero Library as a RIS file but when I want to import it into NVivo it says that the file (.*ris) you selected does not conform to the RIS standards. Would any one have any suggestions on what I can do? thank you
  • adamsmith
    probably ask NVivo. Zotero's RIS is pretty standard.
  • pelj
    I am currently sitting in an NVivo training session and have totally failed to transfer any files from Zotero to NVivo 10 - and the leader is alxso unable to help. When I try to convert to .ris nothing comes on screen.

    Help.
  • adamsmith
    we need more details on any of this. Zotero exports standard RIS (as well as standard Endnote XML and bibtex). NVivo should be able to import that. If not, you should contact them.
    That said:
    When I try to convert to .ris nothing comes on screen.
    I don't understand at what point you're not seeing something. But really, as soon as you've successfully exported RIS from Zotero, this is pretty much out of our hands.
    I'm also not quite clear if the issue is data import or File import.
  • pelj
    Thanks for responding. I have also contacted NVivo. It appears that there are some compatability issues between Zotero and NVivo which might have come about due to a tardy NVivo response to a Zotero update.
  • sdspieg
    edited August 12, 2014
    Any followup on this? Does this work now? Or does anybody know of any other QDA solutions that can also import attachments?
  • GloryLove
    Hi All,

    I have been on this for long. But, still Nvivo10 has not been able to imported .ris file and all the PDFs into Nvivo10. See email from Nvivo support below:

    Thank you for your patience.
    The expected behaviour of importing .ris files from Zotero is that references will get imported into NVivo as ‘externals’ as is listed on our help site: http://help-nv10.qsrinternational.com/desktop/procedures/exchange_data_between_nvivo_and_reference_management_tools.htm#MiniTOCBookMark5
    We have seen some success in the past from people using the desktop client who have been able to import the .ris and their sources have automatically been imported into the internals folder. However, this behaviour does appear to change from user to user and is unsupported.
    Some things you can try are:
    Make sure you are exporting the library with ‘Export Files’ selected.
    Make sure the references are present when you import the .ris into NVivo.
    Ensure that you can open the references in Zotero. (see attachment screenshot)
    I hope this information is helpful.
    Regards,
  • adamsmith
    We can't really do much on our part. If we knew how NVivo imported files from RIS, we'd be happy to advise people on how to get them out of Zotero in that format.
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