Content analysis and thematic analysis

I haven't written in a while, mainly because writing about stuff that I still don't fully understand just seemed way too overwhelming. But since I don't have anything pressing to do right now, I can't make any more excuses for myself :P

What are content and thematic analyses?

Content analysis is a general term for a number of strategies used in analysing text. It is mainly used to code and categorise large amounts of textual information, and may pay attention to certain aspects such as trends, word patterns, word frequency, and relationships between words. In content analysis, the characteristics of the document are described, including aspects such as: "Who says what to whom, with what effect?" Content analyses generally describe the data in conceptual form.

Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns in text. The main goal in thematic analysis is to search for and identify common threads that extend across an entire interview. Thematic analyses generally use minimal description, while interpreting various aspects of the topic.

Both content and thematic analyses are largely based on the factist perspective, in which data are seen to be more or less accurate and reflective of reality.

Modalities

Content analysis and thematic analysis are associated with two modalities: inductive and deductive. An inductive modality is used when no previous studies exist, and requires the collection of rich data for development of a theory. In contrast, a deductive modality is used when testing a theory in a different situation, or comparing categories at different periods. In contrast to using an inductive modality, using a deductive modality provides results that are less "rich," but more detailed.

Data analysis

The first step of either content or thematic analyses is to transcribe the data. The transcripts should then be read several times. Both types of analysis require breaking the data down into codes. However, content and thematic analyses differ somewhat in what kind of content is considered, and how themes are developed.

In content analysis, researchers usually choose between latent ("hidden, below-the-surface") content and manifest (overt) content. Themes are reached based on the frequency of occurrence of codes in the data.

In thematic analysis, researchers usually consider both latent and manifest content (rather than choosing one or the other). The importance of themes depend on their relevance to the research question. In thematic analysis, data analysis continues right through writing up the data, which is considered to be the final opportunity of data analysis.

Evaluation of the analysis

Credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability are aspects that may be considered when evaluating the quality of a content or thematic analysis. It is also important to consider whether or not new insights have been provided by the analysis.

References

Vaismoradi, M, Turunen, H & Bondas, T 2013, 'Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study', Nursing and health sciences, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 398-405.