Thematic analysis

Question 1

Braun and Clarke’s (2006) definition of thematic analysis

Answer 1

a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns within data

Question 2

what type of research is thematic analysis used in

Answer 2

qualitative

Question 3

what does thematic analysis focus on examining

Answer 3

themes within data

Question 4

what are the benefits of using thematic analysis

Answer 4

it analyses qualitative data without losing the meaningfulness.

Question 5

coding

Answer 5

the primary process for developing themes within the raw data by recognising important and interesting response data and encoding it prior to interpretation

Question 6

Inductive coding

Answer 6

bottom up approach

start with no codes and develop codes as you analyse the dataset.

Question 7

Deductive coding

Answer 7

top down approach

start with a set of predetermined codes and then find excerpts that fit those codes.

Question 8

what types of data can thematic analysis analyse and give examples

Answer 8

different types of data

large or small data sets

secondary sources, e.g. media
interviews

Question 9

how is thematic analysis presented

Answer 9

theres no fixed way that thematic analysis is presented

Question 10

Braun & Clarke’s 6 steps used to conduct thematic analysis

Answer 10

1. Familiarising yourself with data
2. generating initial codes
3. searching for themes
4. review themes
5. define and name themes
6. write-up

Question 11

step 1. familiarising

Answer 11

must read and reread data

‘data corpus’ - read everything before coding and searching for meanings and patterns

Question 12

step 2. generating initial codes

Answer 12

production of initial codes

can be done manually or with a software program

Question 13

step 3. searching for themes

Answer 13

sorting the different codes into potential themes

focused on the broader level of themes

allocating codes into broader headings

Question 14

step 4. reviewing themes

Answer 14

check themes re coherent and distinct from one another

gathering all the data together that is relevant to a specific theme

Question 15

step 5. defining and naming themes

Answer 15

researcher must write a detailed analysis of each theme

create an overall narrative with all data

Question 16

step 6. write-up

Answer 16

write a report of the findings

Question 17

why does qualitative data have high validity

Answer 17

provide an in depth and rich description

Question 18

why is qualitative data low of reliability

Answer 18

data is subjective

Question 19

what can a researcher be accused of when gathering qualitative data

Answer 19

as they become immersed in the situation, they may be accused of bringing subjective interpretation into account

Question 20

ways of ensuring validity

Answer 20

collaborative research

triangulation

grounded theory

Question 21

what should the researcher do when they are closely involved in gathering the data

Answer 21

should note where subjectivity is likely to have affected results

Question 22

collaborative research

Answer 22

a partnership between two or more parties who work together to achieve common goals

Question 23

grounded theory

Answer 23

inductive approach where new theories are derived from the data

Question 24

how does qualitative data allow for discovery and theory generation

Answer 24

the qualitative approach focuses on hypotheses generated from previous research

researchers can take a fresh look at data and discover new themes and theories

Question 25

why is qualitative data often used second to quantitative

Answer 25

quantitative data offers objective findings and qualitative data is of interest for what was unusual and creates a more scientific study