What do you lose on the fucntionality of it - I note that it's not a fully fledged model. Also, what proof of student ID do they take?

I suppose that the Nvivo 8 student licence is fully functional for 12 months. Then you have to upgrade it. As far as I know you will have to submit a copy of your student ID card and passport to prove that you are a student.

Have you checked out the other CAQDAS packages or is Nvivo the only one which suits for your research project? For example, Atlas.ti student licence costs only 99 euros (which is only half of the price of Nvivo), the licence does not expire and you will get also updates..

I'm nVivo trained and it's the best package around - I was just wondering what functions I would lose out on as it needs upgraded to the full model.

Do you have to send your passport away and how long would this take to get back?

I researched the issue a bit longer and found that most resellers of Nvivo require that you fax them a copy of your id card or other proof of student status. You should contect a reseller or the QSR international to find out how to satisfy their requirements.. Their instructions are a little bit unclear..