Thematic analysis

For my Honours project, I will be doing some qualitative analysis on focus group data. One common form of qualitative analysis is called thematic analysis. Thematic analysis involves looking at themes, which represent some kind of patterned response or meaning within the data set. There is some flexibility in how a theme is defined, and this may depend on the research question. Themes can be either semantic (explicit) or latent (interpretative). They may be determined via an inductive ("bottom-up") process, in which data is coded and sorted without fitting it into a pre-existing framework, or via a theoretical/deductive ("top-down") process, which is explicitly analyst-driven.

There are several steps in a thematic analysis:

Phase 1: Familiarisation with the data

In this step, a rigorous and thorough transcription (for interviews and other verbal data) is done. The transcripts are read at least once. During this time, the analyst takes notes and marks ideas for coding.

Phase 2: Generating initial codes

During this phase, the analyst organises the data into units of meaning, or codes. All of the data extracts are coded for as many themes as possible and collated. Coding can be done manually or via software.

Phase 3: Searching for themes

Once the codes have been generated, they can be sorted into themes. Tables and mind-maps may be used to aid in this process.

Phase 4: Reviewing themes

During this step, the analyst refines themes to create internal homogeneity (i.e. making sure everything within a theme is similar) and external heterogeneity (i.e. making sure different themes have different contents). Firstly, the data are reviewed at the level of coded extracts to see if they form a coherent pattern. Next, the data are reviewed at the level of the whole data.

Phase 5: Defining and naming themes

Once the themes have been reviewed and refined, the analyst has to identify the "essence" of each theme, or the aspect of the data that the theme captures. The analyst then has to figure out how each theme fits into the "story" and if there are any relevant sub-themes. It may help to try and describe the scope and content of each theme in 1-2 sentences.

Phase 6: Producing the report

Once the themes have been found and defined, it's now time to write! However, care needs to be taken to ensure that claims remain grounded in the data, but are still able to go beyond the "surface" of the data.

Pitfalls

There are many errors that can be made while doing thematic analysis, particularly by beginners in qualitative analysis (*cough*me*cough*). Some of these pitfalls are as follows:

• Sorting but not analysing the data
• Using questions (i.e. the questions that participants were asked) as "themes"
• Non-coherent themes
• Overlapping themes
• Insufficient examples in report
• Mismatch between data and claims
• Mismatch between theory and claims
• Mismatch between research questions and the type of analysis

References

Braun, V, Clarke, V 2008, 'Using thematic analysis in psychology', Qualitative Research in Psychology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 77-101