For VCU Students

This page contains installation and registration instructions relevant for VCU students only.

CITI Training

To conduct fieldwork, you must complete CITI training, which briefs you on the ethical and logistical issues involved with research. Go to this website: www.citiprogram.org. Then follow these instructions:

Click on the Register button at top.
Click on Select Your Organization Affiliation on the left.
In the text box, type “Virginia Commonwealth University.” Choose either of the options that appear (they do the same thing): Virginia Commonwealth University or Virginia Commonwealth University (SSO).
Check the checkbox at the bottom; another checkbox will appear, and check that one as well. Then two buttons will appear. Click on Log In with Virginia Commonwealth University—the left-hand button. (The other option, Create a CITI Program account, is also fine, but then you will need to fill out additional personal information.)
Under Question 1, check the Social and Behavioral course option. Skip all the other questions and click on Submit at the bottom.
Under Courses Ready to Begin, you will see a heading for Social and Behavioral. Click on the Start Now button to begin the course.

SPSS

You can either install SPSS on your computer or use it via VCU's App2Go cloud server. We highly recommend that you install it on your computer because students have experienced performance issues and problems locating files when they use the App2Go server.

To install SPSS on your computer, follow the instructions below.

Go to https://ts.vcu.edu/askit/research-math-science/spss/.
Click on the Download/Renew-Register tab in the horizontal list of tabs below. DO NOT CLICK ON THE VCU App2Go BUTTON, which installs the cloud version of the software.

Click on the link that says either SPSS 31 - Windows or SPSS 31 - Mac, depending on your system. (Typically, you will want to choose the latest version of the software, which is currently version 31.) If you haven’t already, you may need to log in using your VCU eID at this point. IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes VCU's software page will give you an "Internal error" page when you click on the SPSS link. Click on Back in your browser and then click on the same SPSS link a second time. It should work. We have alerted VCU IT to this issue.

Check all the checkboxes at the bottom of the page. For the Installation Location, select Computer(s) owned by me. Click on Continue.

Click on the download link that will appear on the very bottom of the page. The file should begin downloading.

Wait until the installation file has finished downloading. It is a large file and may take some time. Once the file has downloaded, locate the SPSS installer file wherever you downloaded it and open (double-click) the file. The installation wizard should open. (If the wizard doesn't work because of the computer permissions you have set, on a PC you can right-click the installer file and select Run as administrator.)
Proceed through the screens until you reach the License Agreement screen. Accept the terms of the license agreement. On the screen asking you to select a destination folder for the program, you can also customize the disk/drive/folder where you want to install SPSS (the default option is fine).
On the last screen, select Install, and a progress display will appear. When completed, an "installation was successful" screen will display. Do the following:
- On a Mac: Click the Close button. The IBM SPSS Statistics folder should have opened on your Desktop (if it did not, then open it now from within your Applications folder). In that folder, double-click SPSS Statistics to launch it.
- On a PC: As shown below, check the box to Start IBM SPSS Statistics now if it is not already selected. Then click Finish. (Alternatively, you can just search for "SPSS" on your computer and run it.)

The Activate IBM SPSS Statistics screen will display, as shown below (it may be hidden behind other screens). Click the Launch License Wizard button on the right of that screen.

The SPSS License Authorization Wizard will launch for licensing SPSS. Click on Next at the bottom. Choose Authorized user license (I purchased a single copy of the product). Click on Next at the bottom.
Your VCU email account should have received an email from softwarelic@vcu.edu like the one below with an authorization code. (Check your spam filter if you don’t see it.) Copy this code to your clipboard (CTRL-C).

Enter the authorization code you received via email into the text box that says Enter Code (if you copied it to your clipboard, you can paste it with CTRL-V). After entering the code, click on Add. Then click on Next at the bottom. Your SPSS installation should now be licensed. Click on Next again and click on Finish at the bottom to close the license wizard. SPSS will ask you to restart the program, which you should do.
Once you have completed the licensing, you can now use the program. If the program isn’t running the way it should, it may be because you did not license the software correctly; go back to the earlier steps and try again.

Renewing Your SPSS License

To renew the license for SPSS on your computer, follow the instructions below (note that the instructions are exactly the same as for installing SPSS, as described above, but you obviously do not need to download the software). If you are renewing the SPSS license on a department-owned laptop, make sure to read the instructions specific to departmental laptops first.

Go to http://www.ts.vcu.edu/software-center/data-analysis/spss/.
Click on Download SPSS.
Under step #2 ("registration and download," NOT step #4, "install"), click on the link that says either SPSS XX - Windows or SPSS XX - Mac, depending on your system. Replace the "XX" with whatever is the version number installed on your computer. If you haven’t already, you may need to log into your VCU account at this point.

Check all the checkboxes at the bottom of the page. For the Installation Location, select Computer(s) owned by me if you are installing SPSS on your personal computer, or Computer(s) owned by VCU if you are installing SPSS on a VCU computer (i.e., a departmental laptop or desktop). Click on Continue.
Your VCU email account should receive an email from softwarelic@vcu.edu with an authorization code. (Check your spam filter if you don’t see it.)
When you run SPSS, you will get a notice that "no license exists." Click on Launch License Wizard. Another program will run. Click on Next at the bottom. Choose Authorized user license (I purchased a single copy of the product). Click on Next at the bottom.
Enter the authorization code you received via email into the text box that says Enter Code. After entering it, click on Add. Then click on Next at the bottom. Your license should be renewed. Click on Next again and click on Finish at the bottom to close the license wizard. SPSS will ask you to restart the program, which you should do.
Once you have completed the licensing, you can now use the program. If the program isn’t running the way it should, it may be because you did not license the software correctly; go back to the earlier steps and try again.

NVivo

NVivo (via VCU App2Go server)

NVivo is provided through VCU’s App2Go system, which means the software is hosted on VCU’s servers (i.e., in the cloud, not on your personal computer). Your computer will need to be connected to the VCU network in order to use the software. Below are basic instructions for accessing NVivo through the App2Go system. For extensive instructions on how to use the App2Go system, visit this page.

Accessing NVivo

Go to the App2Go site at https://app2go.vcu.edu and log in with your eID and password. (If you forget the URL, just Google “VCU NVivo” and go the first link; click on NVivo >> Login on App2Go and it will take you to the App2Go site.) Important note: If you are logging in from off-campus, you will need to set up two-factor authentication to use VCU's services. Instructions are here.
If the link to the App2Go server (i.e., the Citrix Receiver) has already been set up on your computer, you will see a window with an Accept button; skip to step 4 below. Depending on the web browser you are using, the system may show you a screen with a button labeled Detect Receiver. Click on that link. If a browser window opens up asking you to confirm that you wish to proceed, do so. Next, check I agree with the Citrix license agreement and click the button (either Download or Install, depending on the browser). In the Google Chrome browser, double-click on the file that was just downloaded and, when prompted, click on Run to install it; in Internet Explorer, click on Run (at the very bottom of the screen) and then click on Allow.
If the Citrix Receiver needs to be installed, click Start (otherwise, skip to the next step). Check I accept the license agreement. Click Install. After the Citrix Receiver is installed, click on Add Account. In the text box that asks for “your work email or server address,” type app2go.vcu.edu. Check Do not show this window automatically at logon. Click on Add. It will ask you for a username and password. Use your VCU eID and password to log in. It may ask you to log in twice; log in a second time if necessary.
In the new browser window that opens up, it will ask you to accept some terms of service. Click on Accept.
Click on the Apps button at the top of the screen. Scroll down and you will see NVivo listed. Click on it. The application will launch. If the system gives you a security warning that “an online application is attempting to access files on your computer,” check Do not ask me again for this site and then click on Permit all access.

NVivo Commands

Read the NVivo Getting Started Guide to learn how to do basic data analysis using the software. Because you are using NVivo through the App2Go server, there is one additional thing you need to know: how to access NVivo-related files on your computer rather than in the cloud.

Accessing files in NVivo

By default, NVivo (which is run off VCU's App2Go server) will save files on the server rather than the computer you happen to be using. The App2Go system saves your NVivo project file in your personal directory on the server; no one else has access to this folder, which is connected to your VCU eID. Saving files on the server should be fine for most students, assuming you are able to work somewhere with an Internet connection. However, to use NVivo, you will typically need to import documents (like text files) that are located on your computer, or export NVivo-generated files that you can then edit in a text editor. You may also want to save your NVivo project files on your own computer (because you want to create a backup file or you are working offline). To any of these things, follow the instructions below (for more extensive instructions, visit this page).

Importing a document saved on your computer

It is easiest to upload the file to the App2Go server first and then open it from there. When you are running NVivo on the App2Go system, you should see a tab at the top of the browser window; it looks like a hamburger icon against a black circle, like in the screen image above. Click on that icon.
Then click on the upload icon (the cloud with an arrow pointing upload).
You will be able to choose a file from your computer. Select the file you want to upload and click on the Open button.
When it prompts you to select the folder to "Upload To," double-click on the folder with your name (which is your personal directory on the server) and then choose the Documents subfolder. Click on OK.
The file will be uploaded. Now you can import it into NVivo. In the menu at the top of the page, select Data and then click on the Documents button.
A file directory will appear. By default, the folder that appears will be the Documents subfolder of your personal directory on the App2Go server. The file you just uploaded should be located there. Select it and click on Open. Then click on OK.
Enter any document properties you wish, or just click on OK. The document will be imported to your NVivo project.

Exporting the references for a Node

In NVivo, make sure the Nodes pane is open (click on the Nodes icon in the lower-left-hand corner of the screen).
Right-click (option-click on a Mac) the Node that you wish to export. From the menu that appears, select Export > Export Node.
Select Reference View (.doc .docx .rtf .txt .pdf). Then click on OK at the bottom.
The file has been saved to your personal directory on the App2Go server. Now you need to download it. When you are running NVivo on the App2Go system, you should see a tab at the top of the browser window; it looks like a hamburger icon against a black circle, like in the screen image above. Click on that icon.
Then click on the download icon (the cloud with an arrow pointing downward).
You will find yourself in the Documents subfolder of your personal directory on the server. Select the file you want to download and click on the Open button.
The file will be downloaded, and you will be asked where to save it on your computer.

Saving a copy of your NVivo project file

When you are running NVivo on the App2Go system, you should see a tab at the top of the browser window; it looks like a hamburger icon against a black circle, like in the screen image above. Click on that icon.
Then click on the download icon (the cloud with an arrow pointing downward).
You will find yourself in the Documents subfolder of your personal directory on the server. Select the file you want to download and click on the Open button.
The file will be downloaded, and you will be asked where to save it on your computer.

Opening an NVivo project file saved on your computer

It is easiest to upload the file to the App2Go server first and then open it from there. When you are running NVivo on the App2Go system, you should see a tab at the top of the browser window; it looks like a hamburger icon against a black circle, like in the screen image above. Click on that icon.
Then click on the upload icon (the cloud with an arrow pointing upload).
You will be able to choose a file from your computer. Select the file you want to upload and click on the Open button. When it prompts you to select the folder to "Upload To," double-click on the folder with your name (which is your personal directory on the server) and then choose the Documents subfolder. Click on OK.
The file will be uploaded. Now you can open it in NVivo. In the menu at the top of the page, select File and then choose the Open option.
Click on the Browse button. A file directory will appear. By default, the folder that appears will be the Documents subfolder of your personal directory on the App2Go server. The file you just uploaded should be located there.

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