thematic analysis Flashcards
what is thematic analysis
-way to analyse qualitative data
-preformed through process of coding in 6 stages to create meaningful patterns
-read through material and pick out themes
what are the phases of thematic analysis
-familiarization with data by reading
-generating initial codes
-searching for themes among codes
-review themes
-defining and naming themes
-producing final report
Strengths
-allows in depth results=valid
-can gather large samples of data =gen
-multiple researchers can look for codes so results can have inter rater reliability
-encourages researchers to derive themes rather than choosing pre selected ones which improves validity of findings
-reduces large amounts of data into manageable summaries so validity isnt lost
weaknesses
-may be interpretation bias subjectivity in results =less valid
-criticised as not being scientific as results cant be tested to see if they are down to chance
-requires researcher skills to identify relevant themes this is a weaknesses as its time consuming and expensive to train someone