University:
Central Arizona College
Course:
PSY200 | Social Psychology
Academic year:

2023
Views:

146

Pages:

2
Author:

Lucas H.

**Thematic Analysis** **What is Thematic Analysis?** (Braun & Clarke, 2006) * Flexible research tool that can provide rich, detailed accounts * A method for generating, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) in the data * The researcher takes an active role in identifying patterns and creating thematic accounts * Themes are not discovered or do not emerge from data - they are generated * Thematic analysis can be conducted to explore a range of research questions from different perspectives **Philosophical Approaches** * **Realism/Essentialism:** What is the effect of social media on mental health? * **Critical Realism/Contextualism:** How do people think/experience the impact of social media on mental health? * **Relativism/Constructionism:** How do people talk about social media? (e.g., positive/negative?) **How Much Data?** (Braun & Clarke, 2013) * Interviews: 5-10 mins * Focus groups: 1-3 (6-10 participants in each group) * Evaluative surveys: 20-30 * Secondary sources (media texts): 1-100 **Six Stages of Thematic Analysis** 1. **Familiarization with the data** * Read the data set at least 2x * Read in a questioning way * Make notes to record observations and ideas * Once complete, make notes of your overall observations from the whole data set 2. **Coding** * The 1st stage in theme development * Systematically labeling small sections of the data in relation to addressing the research question * What is being talked about in this chunk of data? **Searching for Themes - 3** * Look for potential themes across codes that identify a coherent aspect of data that is relevant to the research question * Re-copy/paste similar codes/data extracts into a theme document * Each theme collated into separate documents * Analysis includes themes & subthemes - initial theme ideas are likely to be complex & streamlined in this phase **Searching for Theme Activity** (Frith & Gleeson, 2004) * Research question: How do women's subjective feelings about their bodies influence their clothing choices? * Ex of codes: * Cost of clothes is important * Clothes must be functional * I want to look good * Comfort is priority * I want to appear thin **Reviewing & Refining Themes - 4** (Braun & Clarke, 2013) * Re-read all of data extracts within each theme * Check that the theme "works" in relation to the data extracts * If not, check/revise themes * Return to data set and check the themes * Has the research question been addressed? * Do the themes reflect the content of the data? **Defining & Naming Themes** (Braun & Clarke, 2013) * Next step in result writing * Organize data within theme structure * Theme definitions: * Short descriptions * Essence of the theme - what is this theme about? * Scope or coverage of the theme - what kind of data does this theme cover? * Finalise theme names * Exact quotes from participants as theme titles