qualitative methods 2 Flashcards
thematic analysis
method used to identify and analyze patterns across a text based data set that underpins many other approaches in qualitative research
how does thematic analysis have a flexible approach
can be used with a wide range of data sources and epistemological standpoint
essentialist or realist approach
Focus on experiences, meanings and the reality of participants’ lives. People’s words provide direct access to their inner world.
Critical realist approach
Focus on how individuals make meaning of their experiences based on their socio-cultural situation. People’s words provide access to their version of reality.
theme
patterned response in your data set that has meaning in relation to the research question
there are _____ rules to help you classify themes
no
ways in which you can classify themes
percentages, length of response, etc
Prevalence may or may not be important, it depends on
your research question, such as most ways something is described, what people think of something, and why people interact with something
Types of thematic analysis
Inductive TA and Deductive TA
Inductive TA
data-driven with extracted themes grounded in the data.
Deductive TA
uses existing theory to guide analysis and the extraction of themes. It moves beyond the semantic meanings offered in the data set.
First phase of thematic analysis
Familiarising yourself with your data
Second phase of thematic analysis
Generating initial codes
Third phase of thematic analysis
Searching for themes
Fourth phase of thematic analysis
Reviewing themes
Fifth phase of thematic analysis
Defining and naming themes
Sixth phase of thematic analysis
Producing the report
first stage of familiarization
Get to know your data
second stage of familiarization
Repeated reading of your whole data set
third stage of familiarization
Active reading
fourth stage of familiarization
End phase by making notes on overall observations on the data set
Coding
Process of identifying aspects of the data that relate to the research question
how should coding be done?
inclusive, thorough & systematic, work through each data set item before proceeding to the next
codes provide what
the building blocks of analysis
approach to coding depends on
the type of thematic analysis
coding can be done at the ___ or the ___ level of meaning
semantic or latent
semantic codes
Provides a succinct summary of the explicit content of the data that’s based in the semantic meaning of the data, and typically stays close to the content of the data and to participants’ meanings.
latent codes
Go beyond the explicit content of the data & provide an interpretation about the data content.
Invoke the researcher’s conceptual & theoretical frameworks to identify implicit meanings within the data.
Data example: Judy: I think modern technology, like allows you to be lazy as well cos you don’t have to do things for yourself. You can get machines and stuff to do things for you.
Code example: Modern technology facilitates obesity
Convenience of modern lifestyles is hard to resist
Humans are naturally lazy
generating initial codes
End this phase with data coded & codes collated.
first step of searching for themes
organizing the long list of different codes into potential themes
cluster codes
sharing some unifying feature, so they reflect & describe a coherent and meaningful pattern in the data.
second step of searching for themes
Starting to explore relationship between themes & how themes will work together to tell an overall story about the data
end phase of searching for themes with
thematic map/table outlining candidate themes and collate all data extracts relevant to each theme
What to ask while reviewing the themes
do your tentative themes form a coherent pattern?
The codes within a theme should
fit together meaningfully and be relevant to your research question.
each theme should be
distinct from another one
you should re read the whole data set because
codes may get discarded, new data coded and theme boundaries may get reworked
