Mohamed Khider University of Biskra Department of Foreign Languages

Course : Research Research methodology

Lecturer : Pr. Saliha CHELLI

Level : Master two

Lecture : 7

Thematic analysis
Lecture objectives

- Definition of thematic analysis

- When it is used

- Its procedures ( coding, analysis)

- how to present the results

- Its strengths and weaknesses

- Definition of content analysis

- Its procedure

- Strength and weaknesses

Introduction

Qualitative research is an inductive rather than a deductive research. The former is generally considered
as hypothesis generating while the latter focuses on testing hypotheses. Qualitative data collection is
inductive in using open, non-directional measures. Qualitative data analysis is inductive by letting key
categories and concepts emerge from the data Schreir, 2012).The interview, focus group and class
observation are collection methods that are most of the time used in educational research and require from
the researcher to be aware of the nature of the data and its thematic connectivity. Among the qualitative
types of analyses, thematic analysis is usually used to analyze data obtained from interviews, focus groups
and observations. Content analysis is another type used to analyse qualitative data

1. Qualitative data analysis process

Once data are collected, it is necessary to organize them into a manageable, easily understandable, and
analyzable format ( Mackey and Gass, 2016, p. 112). The analysis of qualitative data usually goes through
some or all of the following stages:

 Familiarisation with the data through review, reading, listening…

 Transcription of tape- recorded material: it is the full script of an interview or a conversation, or the
procedure of producing a written version of these methods.
 Organisation of data: after the transcription, it is necessary to organise the data into easily retrievable
sections.
 Mohamed Khider University of Biskra Department of Foreign Languages

 Coding (called indexing): for example, sections of text transcripts may be marked by the researcher
in various ways: underlining in a coloured pen, highlighting, giving a numerical reference, or
bracketed with a textual code in the margin.
 Identification of themes
 Development of provisional categories
 Exploration of relationships between categories, finding possible and plausible explanations for
findings
 Report writing

2. Qualitative data analysis

After collecting data either by observing, interviewing participants through different means including
visual recoding, jotted notes or field notes, the obtained data are considered as raw data which require
cleaning or getting rid of any unnecessary data. The next phase which consists of sorting, classifying and
labelling the data is called open coding, followed by axial coding during which the researcher tries to find
out if there are relationships between the codes. This helps to reduce the number of codes and leads to the
final phase called selective coding in which the core category emerges involving the central theme.

2.1 Coding
After being familiairzed with the data obtained , for example from an interview , the researcher
transforms the oral data into written data ( transcription) excluding unnecessary information. After
the transcription and cleaning of the data, the next important stage is coding referred to as “how
you define what the data you are analysing are about” (Gibbs, 2007). It is about labelling sections /
passages of texts to identify interesting features of the data. It involves taking text data or pictures
gathered during data collection, segmenting sentences (or paragraphs) or images into categories,
and labeling those categories with a term, often a term based in the actual language of the participant
( Cresswell, 2014).
Three types of coding are used in qualitative research: open coding, axial coding and selective
conding as seen in the figure. Open coding: the researcher brokes the text into discrete parts while
in axial conding, he draws connection between codes. “Selective coding continues the axial coding at
a higher level of abstraction through actions that lead to an elaboration or formulation of the story
of the case” (Flick, 2009, p. 310). Selective coding identifies a core category which is the central theme
of the research.
 Mohamed Khider University of Biskra Department of Foreign Languages

Figure 1: Types of coding

3. Thematic analysis

Thematic analysis is the process of identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data( Braun & Clarke
(2006, p. 76). Thematic analysis is a method for analyzing qualitative data that entails searching across a data
set to identify, analyze, and report repeated patterns (Braun and Clarke 2006). Its aims is to generate codes
and construct themes to be used for the interpretation of the data. It can be used to analyse qualitative
data collected from interviews, focus groups, surveys, obsrvations, different kinds of texts and visual
methods. The typical process used in thematics analysis is as follows :

 Familiarising oneself with the data (text; may be transcriptions) and identifying items of potential
interest.
 Generating initial codes that identify important features of the data relevant to answering the
research question(s); applying codes to the dataset (segmenting and “tagging”) consistently; collating
codes across segments of the dataset .
 Searching for themes; examining the codes and collated data to identify broader patterns of
meaning.
 Reviewing themes; applying the potential themes to the dataset to determine if they tell a convincing
story that answers the research question(s); themes may be refi ned, split, combined, or discarded.
 Defining and naming themes; developing a detailed analysis of each theme
 Producing a report; weaving together the analytic narrative and data segments, relating the analysis
to extant literature ( Braun & Clarck, 2006)

4. Tips on how to write the results section

After the identifying of the themes, the researcher should decide on how to present the results and
how to interprete them. There is more than one approach to presenting the results. One way is ordering
the main themes based on their importance and their relation to the research questions. If you choose this
way, think of the themes as the basic headings in an outline and then start each section with a brief
description of that theme. Follow that with relevant quotes, then discuss them.

Example: Suppose you collected data from teachers and students about the advantages and challenges of the
use of moodle platform in teaching/ learning English through semi-structured interviews. In this case, you will
have more than one section:

Section 1: Teachers opinions about the advantages of moodle including the main themes ordered and each
one described using selected extracts, then discussing/ interpreting them.
 Mohamed Khider University of Biskra Department of Foreign Languages

Section 2: Students opinions about the advantages of moodle including the main themes ordered and each
one descibed using selected extract, then discussing/ interpreting them.

Section 3: Teachers opinions about the challenges of moodle, including the main themes ordered and each
one descibed using selected extracts, then discussing/ interpreting them.

Section four: students’ opinions about the challenges of moodle including the mainthemes ordered and each
one descibed using selected extracts, then discussing/ interpreting them.

We can shift to a comparison between the two groups oipnions on both the advantages and challenges of
moodle.

5. How can we visualize the results findings?

There is no clear-cut answer. This depends on what we want to present, the aim and the kind of the study.

We can use tables with the themes, frequency and number of participants. However, not all the researchers
agree on the use of tables, arguing that qualitative data are quantified. Other kinds of visulaizations such as
diagrams or charts can also be used depending on the study if they make sense.

6. Strengths and weaknesses of thematic analysis

 accessible approach to researchers with little or no experience of qualitative research.

 Relatively easy and quick method to learn and do.
 It is flexible ( more than one way to interprete the meaning from the data set).
 Results are generally accessible to educated general public.
 Useful method for working with participatory research paradigm, with participants as
collaborators.
 Can usefully summarize key features of a large body of data, and/or offer a ‘thick description’ of
the data set.
 Can highlight similaritie and differences across the data set.
 Can generate unanticipated insights.
 Allows for social as well as psychological interpretations of data ( Braun & Clarck 2006).
 Flexibility can lead to inconsistency and lack of coherence when developing themes from the
research data ( Holloway & Toddres, 2003).
 Difficult to focus.
 No objection about the respondents’ language.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis is a method used to analyse qualitative data (non-numerical). It is a strategy which
transfrom qualitative data into quantitative / numerical data. QCA is a method for systematically describing
the meaning of qualitative material. It is done by classifying material as instances of the categories of a coding
frame (Chreier, 2012). It can be used to analyse interview transcripts, films, audio-recordings, magazine
articles, books , advertisements, speeches, TV programmes…

7.1 Steps in conducting content analysis

 Mohamed Khider University of Biskra Department of Foreign Languages

 Identify and collecct data ( important to capture the data needed for content analysis). Sampling is
also required; this refers to the content itself.
 Determine coding categories (division of the content into categories ; to focus on those patterns that
can anwer the research questions).
 Codes (numbers) to be assigned to eah category/ Coding identifies the frequency, the direction of
the content…
 Check validity and reliability/ the codes need to be tested to check if they measure what they are
intend to measure and if the results are consistent.
 Analyse and present the results in an understandable report format in additiond to graphs…

7.2 How can we test validity and reliability in content analysis?

 After coding and analysing your data, you need another person or even two who are experienced in
qualitative data analysis to also code and analyse (inter-rater reliability) so that you can compare.
 When there is conflict and consensus is not reached, you might need a third person's opinion to
resolve.
 You can also get an expert in qualitative data analysis to review your coding and analysis process and
the themes generated. This is called peer-debriefing. Your supervisor(s) may be the best person(s) to
help you out with this.

7.3 Strengths and weaknesses of content analysis

 Cheap
 High in reliability as it follows systematic procedures
 Quantifies the meaning by using frequencies
 If the coding is inaccurate, the findings are invalid

8. Qualitative analysis software

Different softaware can be used to process and analyse qualitatitative data, such Atlas. Ti, NVIVO,
QDA Miner, ContentAnalyis ( Lightside) and CAQDAS. The software can used in data storage and
management, data searching and retrieval, coding, developing and testing theory and writing
reports. However, they cannot replace the human as they lack the capacity to think, reflect and
analyse.

References

Braun V, Clarke V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 3(2):77–101.

Flick, O. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research. London: Sage.

Gibbs, G. (2007). Analyzing qualitative data. London: Sage

Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. London: Sage.