MET 17 (part a) - Thematic analysis

Question 1

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 1

• An inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data
• Themes will often emerge once the data has been coded

Question 2

What is coding in content analysis?

Answer 2

The stage of a content analysis in which the communication to be studies is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories (which may be words, sentences, phrases etc)

Question 3

What are the stages of thematic analysis?

Answer 3

1. Familiarisation => Get to know our data. It’s important to get a thorough overview of all the data we collected before we start analysing individual items
2. Coding => we need to code the data. Coding means highlighting sections of our text – usually phrases or sentences – and coming up with shorthand labels or ‘codes’ to describe their content
3. Generating themes => Next, we look over the codes we’ve created, identify patterns among them, and start coming up with themes. Themes are generally broader than codes. Most of the time, you’ll combine several codes into a single theme
4. Reviewing themes => Now we have to make sure that our themes are useful and accurate representations of the data. Here, we return to the dataset and compare our themes against it. Are we missing anything? Are these themes really present in the data? What can we change to make our themes work better?
5. Defining and naming themes => Now that you have a final list of themes, it’s time to name and define each of them. Defining themes involves formulating exactly what we mean by each theme and figuring out how it helps us understand the data
6. Writing up => Finally, we’ll write up our analysis of the data. Like all academic texts, writing up a thematic analysis requires an introduction to establish our research question, aims, and approach

Question 4

What are the strengths of thematic analysis?

Answer 4

• Increases understanding
• Provides guidelines for future research
• Produces a lot of detailed data
• It is flexible

Question 5

How does thematic analysis increase understanding?

Answer 5

• The process highlights patterns and behaviours that may affect or outcome of a situation with evidence
• This in-depth information can increase understanding of why certain occurrences happen

Question 6

How does thematic analysis provide guidelines for future research?

Answer 6

• The researchers may identify unexpected themes, providing guidelines for future research
• TA provides valuable guidelines for future research by identifying key patterns and insights within data, which can then be used to refine research questions, develop new theories, and improve research design
• It allows researchers to understand the underlying meanings and complexities of a topic, leading to more focused and impactful future studies.

Question 7

How does thematic analysis produce a lot of detailed data?

Answer 7

• Using thematic analysis also provides a lot of detail that quantitative research can miss
• TA produces detailed data by systematically identifying, analysing, and interpreting patterns of meaning (themes) within qualitative data
• This process involves coding the data, generating initial themes, reviewing those themes, and refining them into a coherent narrative that answers the research question
• This allows researchers to move beyond descriptive summaries to develop a rich, nuanced understanding of the data

Question 8

How is thematic analysis flexible?

Answer 8

• This approach is flexible so that the analysis can be accommodated to the data as themes or codes do not have to be pre-defined
• Its flexibility stems from its ability to adapt to various types of qualitative data and its focus on identifying, analysing, and interpreting patterns of meaning within the data

Question 9

What are the limitations of thematic analysis?

Answer 9

• Findings have low validity
• Time-consuming
• Difficult to interpret data
• Argued to be unscientific

Question 10

How do the findings of thematic analysis have low validity?

Answer 10

• The researcher analyses the data, so themes identified, and results may be due to experimenter bias, reducing the validity of the findings
• Thematic analysis findings can be perceived as having low validity due to the inherent subjectivity in identifying and interpreting themes, the potential for researcher bias, and the lack of a standardized approach
• While thematic analysis is a flexible method, this flexibility can lead to inconsistencies and a lack of coherence in the analysis if not carefully managed

Question 11

How is thematic analysis time-consuming?

Answer 11

• Thematic analysis can be time-consuming in its process particularly when done manually
• The process involves multiple steps, including familiarizing yourself with the data, coding, and developing themes, which can require significant time and effort, especially with larger datasets or complex research questions

Question 12

How can data produced by thematic analysis be difficult to interpret?

Answer 12

• Establishing if the data support or negate a hypothesis is difficult
• Thematic analysis can be difficult to interpret due to its inherent subjectivity and the potential for inconsistent interpretations
• Different researchers may identify different themes or interpret the same theme differently, leading to variations in the analysis and potentially impacting the reliability and validity of the findings

Question 13

How might thematic analysis be considered as unscientific?

Answer 13

• Many psychologists regard this analysis technique as unscientific due to its subjective nature
• TA can be perceived as unscientific due to its subjective nature and lack of standardized procedures
• Critics argue that themes generated can be biased by the researcher’s own interpretations and that the absence of a standardized process makes it difficult to compare findings across studies