Qualitative Data and Thematic Analysis

Question 1

what is a thematic analysis ?

Answer 1

technique used when analysing qualitative data.

Question 2

how do you conduct a thematic analysis ?

Answer 2

you make themes or categories and then go back through the findings and note when the theme/category is found and then draw out a few examples.

Question 3

how can thematic analysis be used to draw conclusions ?

Answer 3

responses can be organised according to these themes and patterns can be identified, thus conclusions can be drawn.

Question 4

what is grounded theory ?

Answer 4

a bottom-up technique used when analysing qualitative data and when no hypothesis has been created prior to the study being conducted

Question 5

what type of research process is grounded theory ?

Answer 5

it is an ‘emergent’ research process in which theoretical explanations emerge during the course of the investigation

Question 6

what are the four intentions for thematic analysis ?

Answer 6

1) to impose some kind of order on the data
2) to ensure that the ‘order’ represents the ppts’ perspective
3) to summarise data so that vast quantities of it can be reduced to something more meaningful
4) to enable general conclusions to be drawn

Question 7

what is qualitative data ?

Answer 7

information presented in words or pictures

Question 8

what are two positives of qualitative data ?

Answer 8

1) represents the true complexities of human behaviour and opinion (a holistic approach)
2) provides rich detailed data (more likely to be accurate, making it more valid, if so)

Question 9

wha are two negatives of qualitative data ?

Answer 9

1) it is more difficult to detect patterns and make conclusions
2) the data is more likely to have subjective interpretations and thus it lack objectivity