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Usually themes emerge from the connection between two or more codes. But is it possible to have a theme that is based on a single code? Is there a reference supporting that?
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What do you mean by a single code? One code one time in the entire analysis or one code repeatedly used?
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For thematic analysis or interpretation of the data.
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Using methodologies such as thematic analysis or content analysis helps structure this process effectively. Ultimately, I interpret these themes in relation to the research objectives, clearly communicating actionable insights and presenting findings in a concise, coherent narrative supported by evidence to ensure stakeholders fully understand and leverage the results.
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Qualitative data analysis involves examining non-numerical data to identify patterns and themes. Various tools support different analysis methods: 1. Content Analysis Content analysis is a research technique to interpret textual data by identifying patterns, themes, or concepts. It involves coding and categorising qualitative data to quantify certain elements within the content. Best Tool for Content Analysis: ✅ hashtag#Looppanel is an AI-powered tool that transcribes interviews, extracts themes and automates coding for large datasets. 2. Thematic Analysis Thematic analysis is used to identify, analyse, and report patterns (themes) within qualitative data. Best Tools for Thematic Analysis: ✅ hashtag#Looppanel – offers AI-driven features to identify recurring themes and patterns in transcripts, making it a strong choice for thematic analysis. ✅ hashtag#Nvivo – A widely used software for coding, categorising, and visualising qualitative data, helping researchers track themes across different sources such as text, audio, and video. 3. Narrative Analysis Narrative analysis focuses on studying how people construct and communicate stories about their experiences. Best Tools for Narrative Analysis: ✅ hashtag#Atlas.ti: Known for its flexibility in handling large qualitative datasets, hashtag#Atlas.ti enables researchers to code narratives, visualise relationships, and conduct in-depth text analysis. ✅ hashtag#Delve: Designed specifically for narrative research, Delve allows for intuitive coding and organisation of interview transcripts to uncover key storytelling elements. 4. Grounded Theory Analysis Grounded theory involves developing theories based on systematically gathered qualitative data. Researchers use iterative coding to derive emerging themes. Best Tools for Grounded Theory Analysis: ✅ hashtag#Delve- provides structured coding tools that align well with grounded theory’s iterative approach, making it easier to refine concepts as the research progresses. ✅ hashtag#MAXQDA is a powerful tool for qualitative researchers conducting grounded theory analysis, offering extensive coding, categorisation, and visualisation features. 5. Discourse Analysis Discourse analysis examines how language is used in texts, conversations, and media to understand underlying social and cultural meanings. Best Tools for Discourse Analysis: ✅ hashtag#MAXQDA: offers advanced text analysis, linguistic features, and coding capabilities, making it suitable for discourse research. ✅ hashtag#Quirkos: A user-friendly tool that allows researchers to categorise, link, and explore discourse elements in a visually interactive way. Choosing the right tool depends on the research methodology, the complexity of the data, and the desired level of automation. Would you like recommendations on how to use these tools for your specific research? Read more at #capterra.com, #delvetool.com, #quirkos.com, and #atlasti.com.
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Whenever you use an AI to generate an answer, you should cite it, just as you would in any other research context.
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Do you think research gate is a good place to publish for the first time
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@David - themes emerge from data analysed and coding explained in my answer is a pathway to get to the themes . Yes? . So i was merely suggesting if the other 4 themes could not lend as sub themes before being discarded
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Hello everyone, I hope you're having a great day. I'm currently a bit confused about whether I should use IPA or thematic analysis. I have already decided on thematic analysis, but I have stated that my research is based on a phenomological epistemology. Since thematic analysis is quite flexible, I would appreciate any suggestions on how I can align it with a phenomenological approach.
For background im conducting an interview based research with the aim to explore how individuals' interactions with social media shape experiences around body image among South Asians
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I am not sure what you mean by a "phenomenological epistemology." Both IPA and most inductive versions of TA rely on a constructivist (ie.e., interpretive) epistemology. Yes, can be quite flexible, but for your exploratory purposes, you should be using an inductive version such as Reflexive Thematic Analysis.
One of the main differences between IPA and RTA is in the interview process. IPA typically involves more intensive interviews with a smaller sample to get at "lived experiences." I suggest you read the Smith el. al book, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research, (2nd edition) to decide if IPA is right for you.
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Thank you
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While thematic analysis is typically associated with larger datasets, it can be applied to smaller datasets, including those with only 2 participants.
Here are some arguments and literature supporting the use of thematic analysis with small datasets:
Arguments Supporting Thematic Analysis with Small Datasets
1. Flexibility: Thematic analysis is a flexible method that can be adapted to various dataset sizes (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
2. In-depth analysis: With smaller datasets, you can conduct a more in-depth analysis, exploring nuances and complexities in the data (Guest, 2012).
3. Pilot studies: Small datasets can be used for pilot studies, allowing you to refine your research questions, methods, and analysis (Polit & Beck, 2010).
Literature Supporting Thematic Analysis with Small Datasets
1. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006): "Using thematic analysis in psychology." Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. (Discusses the flexibility of thematic analysis and its application to small datasets.)
2. Guest, G. (2012): "Describing mixed methods research: An analysis of published articles." Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), 119-138. (Mentions the use of thematic analysis with small datasets in mixed-methods research.)
3. Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2010): "Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice." Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (Discusses the use of small datasets in pilot studies and the application of thematic analysis in these contexts.)
4. Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013): "Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting qualitative synthesis." Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(11-12), 1533-1542. (Discusses the use of thematic analysis in qualitative synthesis, including with small datasets.)
Keep in mind that while thematic analysis can be applied to small datasets, the results might not be generalizable to a larger population. Be sure to acknowledge this limitation in your research and discuss the implications of your findings within the context of your study.
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Hello everyone, I am a novice researcher and am currently planning my thesis. I have a question regarding my methodology. I am unsure which methodology my research question best fits into — for example, whether it aligns more with Grounded Theory, Phenomenology, or another approach. Is it acceptable to simply state that my study is qualitative, or do I need to specify a particular methodology? Additionally, I am uncertain about whether I should include a theoretical framework in my thesis. My background section in my thesis will include secondary research citations that discuss potential barriers to exercise prescription, such as beliefs, knowledge, and social norms, which align with the Theory of Planned Behavior. Should I explicitly reference this theory as my framework, or would it suffice to mention these factors in the background without formally linking it to a theory? I would greatly appreciate any feedback or advice on this! Thank you!
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Jim Smith I am not sure where you are getting your labels such as narrative analysis, but I imagine those sources are simply covering well-labelled approaches to qualitative research, rather than a broader approach to collecting and analyzing qualitative data. For example, Creswell and Poth, "Five Traditions" covers only labelled approaches, while Rossman and Marshall, "Designing Qualitative Research" uses a broader perspective..
I suggest that instead of trying to fit yourself within any one so-called "methodology," you concentrate on matching your research questions to your procedures for collecting and analyzing your data.
And yes, Braun and Clarke on thematic analysis is limited to just the analysis part of the process. And I agree with David C. Coker that if you are interested in TA, you should read up on its various types, starting with their 2022 book rather than their 2006 article.
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Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) in qualitative data. It’s widely used because it helps researchers make sense of large amounts of data by grouping similar ideas or topics. For example, if you interview school stakeholders about health promotion in schools, thematic analysis can help uncover common concerns like lack of awareness, infrastructure challenges, or the need for teacher training.
Citation: Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
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Braun and Clarke in their 2022 book state that they consider their 2006 article to be out of date. Their personal recommendation is to follow their more recent development of Reflexive Thematic Analysis.
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Just sharing my experience of doing thematic analysis for my in-depth interviews conducted:
When conducting in-depth interviews for a qualitative study on school stakeholders, i tried to compose the responses in spoken language -verbatims and then to transcripts. Well ,with a little of my experience of qualitative research, can suggest a few approaches handle large datasets in qualitative studies, please note that it requires the following for effective management:
- Guys methodically classifying unprocessed data (e.g., coding transcripts in qualitative data analysis programs such as Atlas.ti or NVivo)- I have personally used Atlas ti and personally loved it. (becos of the web version)
- later considered dividing data into digestible categories using early coding frameworks.
The next challenging phase needs more focus- please note how it was handled..... The categories were iteratively refined to prevent redundancy and data saturation.
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Ok. But, how many focus groups? How many interviews? Length of each? Get a total--an exact number and length if possible How many researchers on the project?
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Claude AI has been used as a research tool and writing assistant to improve college students' writing skills and research activities. I am interested in studies related to the ethical use of AI in qualitative research (Reflexive Thematic Analysis) and if any journal has recently been published.
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Currently there are big 4 general-purpose chatbots: Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsolft’s Copilot, and Google’s Gemini. To choose which one to use depends on your needs, the capacities the tools offer. Claude, esp. 3.5 Sonnet model for me is the most trusted tool simply based my experience and intuition - as long as you spend enough time with a tool you can obtain this sense. ChatGPT offers a wider range of capabilities though
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Hope this helps you guys to write the discussion part of your qualitative papers:
  • Thematic Analysis: Firstly this is essential , I organised the discussion by key themes from interviews (e.g., communication, resources) with direct quotes to capture stakeholder perspectives.(Braun & Clarke, 2006).
  • Linking to Literature: This is crucial and tricky. I related my study findings to existing studies, highlighting agreements and differences to show new insights.Yes there were some areas that presented scarce research, then I expanded the literature to include similar settings. This helped me strengthen the context and value of my study (Silverman, 2011).
  • Addressing Bias and Limitations: We cannot think that our studies never have limitations,Please include a reflection on researcher bias and study limits, explaining how these were managed with techniques like journaling. Please note my friends, this builds transparency and credibility, despite challenges in achieving balanced self-reflection (Creswell & Poth, 2018).
Happy to share knowledge,
Anitha
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The discussion section should interpret your findings, connect them to existing literature, reflect on methodological challenges, state the implications, and highlight the contributions of your research. By following these guidelines, you can effectively communicate the importance and impact of your qualitative study.
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Dear researchers,
Please help me with this issue.
I used Delvetool.com to analyse my qualitative data after I found my edited transcripts were lost in Nvivo and no cause could be found for it. I also felt that Nvivo is quite complicated to use, while Delve is much more straightforward. However, the ethics committee at my university had never heard of Delve before and raised a concern to me about the data storage in Delve. Delve uses 3rd party processors, which means that the data uploaded in Delve is stored in a number of external servers. Delve developers argued that they have listed all 3rd party processors on their website and they are all well-known and trusted (https://delvetool.com/subprocessors).
I have searched and found a few publicated papers that used Delve for thematic analysis. It is really hard for me to go back and use Nvivo now. Could you please advise me if there would be serious ethics concerns to uploading data into Delve and using it for thematic analysis?
Thanks a lot!
Sincerely,
Siying
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Dear Ms. Siying li
I am currently exploring various tools and methodologies for qualitative data analysis, and I am particularly interested in studies that utilize Delve for this purpose. If possible, could you please share access to any titles or articles in which Delve has been used to analyze qualitative data?
Your guidance would be immensely helpful for my understanding of how Delve can be applied in qualitative research contexts. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Best regards,
Akbar Wiguna
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Method 1. Analysis of semi structured interviews using Reflexive thematic analysis. (Supervisors advice)
Method 2. Analysis of the same interviews through a critical realist lens. (My preference). Doing both is my compromise.
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I had excellent supervision for my PhD, but did 'go along' with the advice given to me by my supervisors; they are the academics with greater experience than me and my PhD was very much a learning experience. Dr David C. Coker mentioned reconciliation and advises the use of one study.
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Respected sir ,
i am a phd scholar in rehabilitation sciences - Speech language pathology. i want your guidance regarding the inter rater relibality calculation using cohans kappa in qualitative interview. after the thematic analysis has been done . what steps are to be followed for calculating the inter rater relibality.
Thanks and regards
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I think the important distinction here is between "thematic analysis" and "qualitative content analysis." As David C. Coker points out, Braun and Clarke do not recommend inter-rater reliability calculations on the grounds that the kind of coding you do for thematic analysis is inherently subjective. For qualitative content analysis, however, it is quite common to do inter-rater reliability reliability checks to ensure that coding system is being consistently applied to the data.
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I am conducting pilot tests with the three groups that I am going to conduct a focus group with later (adolescents, parents and coaches).
In addition to refining the questions and identifying possible errors and improvements prior to the focus groups, can I use the extracted results for later inclusion in the TA?
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Dear Alfredo,
A pilot study and a main study have different reason for being, different purpose. I would not mix or integrate the pilot study findings with the main study findings that way you suggest. From the methodological viewpoint, there is a wide reason to perform a pilot study. The pilot study helps you to make technical, methodological and financial decisions to "strengthen" your main study, both in substance and form. However, even if there are some fundamental improvements for your design, this does not mean that this aspect can be included in the main study.
In my opinion, the analysis would be flawed if I included findings from the pilot study in the main study.
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How should I structure the sections of my dissertion when using reflexive thematic analysis with five main themes? Specifically, is it appropriate to use subheadings to describe aspects of each theme rather than identifying them as distinct sub-themes?
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Confusion for many researchers exist in the difference between a theme and subtheme. The relationships between the two, definition, and importance are often confused with themes-codes or themes-categories. I think the following suggestion is good advice.
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I have a theoretical framework for preparing a interview guide to assess the unmet care needs of a sub population of chronically ill patients and their caregivers(dyadic interviews).
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Braun and Clarke provide a general guideline in 2006 and updated recently with reflexive thematic analysis. Their guidelines can be used by you if it fits your purpose/aims and answers your questions. Two key points: Thematic analysis is not parametric analysis; decisions and methods must be selected, and there is flexibility. Secondly, a theoretical and/or conceptual framework should be rooted in the research and literature of your problem.
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My research will explore parents' perceptions regarding a specific disease and the research objectives will be derived from a particular theory (Health Belief Model) in a particular cultural context using qualitative methodology. Although I will be using the deductive approach with a priori coding based on the theory, I do not want to ignore additional themes as they might prove to be useful (inductively).
My question is Can I use Thematic analysis, as proposed by Braun & Clarke (2006), or the latest version- reflexive thematic analysis- which one is suitable for deductive and inductive analysis?
Any recommendations for another analytic approach?
I want to be clear about the analytic approach before beginning.
Thanking everyone in advance.
Best regards,
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I certainly agree with the claim that one can never be free from prior assumptions. I have made this point in an article about Grounded Theory and it would also apply to Reflexive
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Does anyone know of any published articles that provide guidance on using TA with multiple team members?
I am aware of one (see below), however, there are some disagreements in terms of some of the guidance.
Article: Practical thematic analysis: a guide for multidisciplinary health services research teams engaging in qualitative analysis
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I am doing a thematic analysis from interviewees done with my main group of interviewees. I also have done two interviews with another group of interviewees which provided interesting insights into two of the six themes that I have identified. Is it okay to integrate the insights from these two interviews in the discussion of the themes they related to?
As I have only done two interviews with this other groups, it is not enough to do a separate thematic analysis for. And as they cover a different set of questions, I can not integrate them into my main thematic analysis.
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A lot depends on just how different this "different" group is. By asking them a a different set off questions, you have already created a discontinuity in your analyses. So if these participants also have a different relationship to research question, I think that would be too much difference to include them.
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For my research, I have identified three areas in the literature where there is still contension. I am doing interviews to address these areas and provide insights based on the interviews. I now want to analyze the interviews based on the three predefined categories, but I am confused how to do this. I want to look at the data from the three categories, but within those three categories, I want to find patterns and themes without any predetermined ideas. What is the best way to do this?
And in terms of writing the research: is it acceptable to structure it according to the three predefined categories and then describe the themes that emerged within these categories?
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As Shraddha Namjoshi points out, there are several different versions of thematic analysis, including Framework Analysis. Another approach is hybrid thematic analysis, where you begin with a set of deductively generated codes and then add further codes inductively during the data analysis -- Fereday and Muir-Cochrane (2006) Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development,
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I am going into my inductive thematic analysis with three research questions. In the results section, is it okay to structure it according to these three research questions, presenting the themes that relate to one of the research questions under each subheading?
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It is more common to structure the Results section around the themes themselves, and then use the Discussion section to connect the themes with the research questions.
For an interesting alternative to both of these approaches, see the discussion on the presentation of results in Braun and Clarke's 2022 book on thematic analysis.
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Using thematic analysis on our research on Identity Negotiation of Female Gaming Streamers in our local area, we have developed INT elements (communication process, biculturalism, and self-presentation) that may be useful for a deductive approach, while also using the 10 core assumptions of Stella Ting-Toomey for our interview guide, is this a good idea to proceed with out study? or should we switch to an Inductive approach and let the date go with the flow?
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I agree with David. Thematic Analysis (especially as per Braun and Clarke) is meant for inductive (or to an extent mixed) coding approaches. Content Analysis, or other 'codebook' versions of TA are rather aligned with deductive modes of coding.
Ultimately, your research questions and goals should determine your approach
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I'm conducting a thematic analysis for my interview methodology (part of my thesis). The interview focuses on validating the metrics used to compare web application security testing tools, which I've identified from my literature review. I'm currently confused about codes and themes. I'm finding it confusing. As I mentioned, I've conducted a literature review and identified 37 metrics. Should I take those 37 metrics as codes, or is there something else I should use as a code? If there's something else, could you provide one or two examples? Please help me. If my 37 metrics are codes then I'm thinking of using 4 themes:
Commonly Used Metrics Additional Metrics Metrics that are Considered Unimportant Evolving Landscape of Web Application Security
Can someone please clarify this?
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If your interviewees discuss the specific metrics you've identified from the literature, then yes, you could use these metrics as codes. Each time an interviewee mentions one of the metrics, you would apply the corresponding code to that segment of the transcript.
However, interviews often yield insights beyond what you may have anticipated from the literature review. You might encounter new concepts, perspectives, or terminology that weren't captured by the original 37 metrics. In this case, you would create new codes to represent these additional insights.
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i am currently conducting a critical appraisal of a research article and the data analysis is explained as:
interviews transcribed verbatim and participants were given the option to review and revise. transcripts were coded with nvivo software using constant comparison approach. each researcher conducted a round of coding before developing more focused codes in relation to research question.
my question relates to whether this is categorically thematic analysis, or grounded theory? as such, no theory is espoused at the end of the study as such.
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Most compressive sources on grounded theory are books, of which I would recommend Charmaz, Constructing Grounded Theory, which has a thorough discussion of the progression from initial open coding to axial coding and then to theoretical coding. As this suggests, coding is quite a specific (and demanding) process in grounded theory.
In terms of what what to call the analysis method in this article, as I said before, I would call it "inspired by grounded theory," just because they did mention a constant comparative approach. (Note that both returning the transcripts to the participants and coding as a group are generic processes in qualitative research, and thus do not affect the definition of which method was used.)
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I've been searching for a specific analysis that falls under INT in the B.A. Communication path. I was wondering if this analysis could be applicable if done on Female Gaming Streamers in a localized area? Thank you!!
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Yes, thematic analysis is a general approach to qualitative data analysis, which could well be appropriate for your topic. Be aware, however, that the most recent version of Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) can be quite demanding.
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Hello, I am currently conducting my undergraduate dissertation on exploring how Primary school teachers interpret 'disruptive' behaviour.
My main objectives are:
1) What do teachers define as disruptive behaviour?
2) What do they attribute disruptive behaviour to?
I have already conducted my research in a school setting, using Interpretive Phenomenology as my methodology and semi-structured interviews as my method. I interviewed 11 teachers and my questioned aligned with the chosen methodology - focusing on their experiences.
I have transcribed all of my data and am now ready to proceed with analysing it.
However, I'm a bit stuck! As a complete beginner I am only confidently familiar with thematic analysis. I've had a look at using IPA seems as it would completely align with my methodology, but there are a lot more steps to it. I am of course willing to complete said steps, but I am also conscious that my whole dissertation is only 8000 words, so I have that to take into account.
Also, I do need to find similarities and differences across the data set as a whole.
So, if anyone can give me any guidance, it would be appreciated!
Finally, am I 'allowed' to use a different method of analysis- such as thematic analysis when I have conducted IP as my methodology?
If so, and I do go with thematic analysis, would that mean that it was then not worthwhile me doing IP as my methodology?
So many questions! Please note, I am only an undergraduate student (level 6) so I am still very much learning. Thank you!
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Thank you for your reply and advice, David!
I've had a look at Inductive Thematic Analysis. I'm thinking this may work well, under an IP framework 🤔
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Dear All,
Can anyone recommend a suitable method for analysing qualitative data—any method that uses the hybrid approach to thematic analysis of both the deductive and inductive analysis?
regards,
Sarah
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Braun and Clarke agree that you can use either inductive or deductive analysis with their reflexive thematic analysis. For deductive coding and analysis, you need to have a code book with predefined code from the literature. Then, you will apply these codes when analyzing your data to c
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I want to commence a study on thematic analysis of cinema about depiction of certain characteristics in the characters of the cinema. What are the different frameworks that are useful in situating the research questions in a cinema context, coding and data analysis?
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Amit Dhakulkar that's a great topic! Films indeed offer a rich variety of diverse portrayals of parenting, reflecting cultural norms, social expectations, and evolving family dynamics. Best of luck with your analysis!
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I am soon to begin writing my thesis as the culmination of my master's studies in Clinical Nursing. I would like to explore nurses' experiences and, therefore, plan to conduct interviews. I aim to take a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach but use Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis as a method of finding themes in then transcribed text. However, I find it a bit challenging to determine whether this is feasible, as phenomenology and hermeneutics have their own methods for analyzing transcribed text. For instance, is it possible to employ Heidegger's philosophy as a theoretical framework, but use Thematic Analysis as the method to identify the themes in the transcribed text?
I hope some one can help to clarify.
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If you use interpretive phenomenology, you can code and analyze your data purposefully by identifying the phenomenological (the experience itself), idiographic, and interpretive components as your themes and then discuss that keeping in mind the unique and common experi
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My design of study is interpretative phenomenology ( study on experiences of operating room staff in robotic assisted surgeries). Could I use thematic analysis or IPA? As my design is Interpretative phenomenology, is it mandatory that I should use IPA?
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There are several approaches to what is known as Interpretive Phenomenology besides J. Smith's IPA , and I recommend the methods-oriented summaries in Beck's book, Introduction to Phenomenally: Focus on Methodology.
What IPA and Thematic Analysis have in common is an emphasis on coding, which you will not find in most approaches to Interpretive Phenomenology.
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I'm interested in seeing how these qualitative methods have been applied to sociolinguistic work or if they have at all.
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Grounded theory will be greatly appreciated in Comparative studies. You can look out for: Strauss, A.L and Corbin J. M(1990), Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques, Bradby, H. (2002). Translating culture and Language.. Birks, M. and Mills, J. (2011). Grounded theory: Practice Guide.
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Qualitative research Frontiers.
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I have just published an article (attached) that examines the use of ChatGPT for qualitative data analysis. In my opinion it would be difficult to use this approach for what Braun and Clarke (2022) now call Reflexive Thematic Analysis, because they rely heavily on an initial process of open coding, whereas ChatGPT uses a query and response format that addresses the content of the data more generally.
If you could use AI strictly for coding, then I suspect it would be much less disruptive than using it to replace coding. For two attempts at this latter strategy, you can look at the contrasting implementations of ChatGPT in ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA.
ATLAS.ti attempts to automate the entire coding process by using a single command from ChatGPT to generate a complete set of codes. I have tried this, as have several of my colleagues, and all of us came away disappointed at best. The problem is that the program generates hundreds of codes which then need to be checked and categorized by hand.
MAXQDA takes a very different approach by using ChatGPT to summarize various aspects of the coded data, such as all the content associated with a given code. The obvious limitation here is that you have to have your data fully coded before you can apply ChatGPT.
Maybe someone will find a use for ChatGPT in the coding process, but so far I have not heard of it.
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I am completing an evaluation using pre collected data from a training group which has been around for a few years. The way the data was collected was by using a questionnaire which allows for short/ medium answers.
I am unsure if a thematic analysis is the best way forward and if so I am unsure if there is a certain way that I should do it.
Thank you in advance
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Braun and Clarke have always maintained that there are several ways to do Thematic Analysis, including options that develop content analytic codebooks inductively during the analysis process. That said, their versions of thematic analysis would all aim at the goal of producing themes rather than counting codes. So, if you were thinking of doing counting, then TA is not appropriate.
Moving in the other direction, Braun and Clarke's own preferred version of TA is what they call Reflexive Thematic Analysis which uses coding as a means to producing themes without generating systematic codebooks. By far the most useful introduction to their recommended approach is their 2022 textbook, Thematic Analysis, a Practical Guide.
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Hii !! Every one it would be great if you can suggest me links or can let me know about reflective methodology and thematic analysis in research ?
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I agree with David L Morgan to a certain extent. 'Reflective methodology' is rare or only used in a specific context. Rashika Shukla, it would be helpful if you could provide a reference for this notion.
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I've gathered 8 interviews of an intended 12-14 participants for my research. I'm going through them now anonymizing transcripts and wanted to clarify if there is any rationale on when you should begin analysing the transcripts? Should I wait until I have collected all of them and finished the data collection stage or would it be fine to begin reading through the transcripts now for the familiarisation stage and developing preliminary codes?
To clarify I'm utilising a reflexive thematic analysis approach with an inductive and deductive coding method.
Thanks
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Wait or not wait? That is up to you. If you are using a semi-structured interview, it makes little sense to wait, as initial interviews guide future interviews and can be used for follow ups. Many researchers treat semi-structured as structured, which is unfortunate.
Admittedly, if you follow reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), then familiarization should start immediately. Why? You are encouraged by Braun and Clarke to transcribe and notice inflections and observations.
I think familiarization with notetaking, annotations, and questions early on, before completing data collection, is preferable. You'd hate to finish the study and find a theme which was marginally developed because you did not focus on the theme because you did not recognize it until after the study was complete. Braun and Clarke emphasize "flexible and accessible."
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For my master thesis, I'm starting a research about siblings of adults with intellectual disabilities that live in a residential facility. My research is about how the siblings experience having a caregiving role for their brother/sister with a disability and sharing the caregiving with professional caregivers. It's not easy to share caregiving with professionals who have different views and not the personal relationship like the siblings have with their brother/sister with a disability. I want to do semistructured interviews with siblings and also focus groups with professional caregivers.
I'm not sure what analysis I would do because it is about experiences that make me look at IPA, but a thematic analysis would work too and is more available for beginners.
Can someone give advice? (English is not my main language)
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It sounds like IPA would be a good match to your research project, and there is a new 2nd edition of the Smith et al. textbook on IPA. In general, they encourage beginners to pursue IPA on an in-depth examination of a small number of cases.
Braun and Clarke also have a new textbook which gives much more detail on their version of Reflexive Thematic Analysis. I personally was surprised at how much work would be involved in this type of TA.
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I was looking for research papers that have employed descriptive statistics to analyse quantitative data which are mostly categorical/dichotomous variables and thematic analysis to analyse qualitative data in a sequential explanatory mixed methods research.
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I've always read that thematic analysis is often used on interviews and transcripts. But can I use it for analyzing multiple related studies to prove that the research problem of my study is relevant?
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This is the first time that I'm using thematic analysis to interpret a data in my research. I'm interpreting an open-ended question from my survey. I'm currently working on the themes that has emerged from the codes I have made. However I'm wondering, where do we base the relevance of themes? Are there any kinds of measurement that can be used to measure this? I did try to see the frequency of each themes and from that calculated the percentage, but is it okay to use that for thematic analysis?
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Determining the relevance of themes in thematic analysis can be subjective, and it depends on the research question and objectives. One way to measure the relevance of themes is to consider how frequently they appear in the data and whether they are connected to the research question. Another approach is to prioritize the themes that are most significant to the participants or have the strongest impact on the research objectives. However, it is crucial to maintain transparency in the decision-making process and document the rationale for prioritizing particular themes. Additionally, seeking feedback from other researchers or experts in the field can also be helpful in validating the interpretation of the data.
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Has anyone got suggestions for types of qualitative analysis that combine inductive and deductive approaches? For a project I'm working on, we identified a relevant pre-existing framework about accessibility maturity with 5 key areas. We've completed semi-structured interviews about strengths and barriers in these 5 areas, and are now analysing the data. I'd like to focus on findings from each of these five areas as the main sections in our report, but also code inductively within each of them to discuss the emergent patterns we've found. Any suggestions for an analysis approach that might suit? I've looked at thematic analysis, content analysis, and framework analysis but none of these seem to fit as we're beginning with a pre-existing framework then coding inductively within it. Thanks for your suggestions!
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Gillian Mccarthy ultimately all qualitative research analysis includes inductive and deductive components. What you described would be twofold: (1)begin with a deductive analysis focused on the 5 areas from your framework. Within this process, you would want to keep your mind open to include ideas that do not align with the framework--that is, if an idea keeps coming up in the transcripts but does not fit in one of the 5 areas, then I recommend putting these data in a separate 'category' or code depending on how you are capturing your analyses processes. (2) your second step is to identify the patterns within each of the 5 areas. In this step, you are combining data that are similar in meaning. The goal is to combine the data until you get to between 2 and 5 groups. You would also do this step for any group of data that emerges outside of the framework.
See the documents attached. I hope this helps.
Veronica
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Hello, dear friends,
If we use thematic analysis to analyze the qualitative data (e.g., interview transcription, observation note),
(1) Do we have to report the "intercoder reliability"?
(2) Is the "coding scheme" necessary to guide our coding process?
(3) How to ensure "adequate rigor" in conducting thematic analysis?
For the above questions, is there any literature to support?
Thank you very much!
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There are different approaches to thematic analysis. These approaches range from those oriented towards coding reliability to those oriented towards reflexivity. There are also codebook approaches that sit somewhere in between. Each approach has its own way of dealing with the issues in your questions. Unfortunately, many researchers think that thematic analysis is just one thing and should be done in one way.
I recommend the following chapter, if you have access to it, which compares and contrasts the different approaches:
Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., Terry, G. (2019). Thematic Analysis. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore.
Chapter 8 in Braun and Clarke's (2021) recent monograph provides similar information:
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. Sage.
There is also a whole course on YouTube where Braun and Clarke discuss these issues. The link below starts at the initial discussion of the different approaches: https://youtu.be/DtfPqcwaIoc?t=647
Hope that helps, Zihan Zhang !
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What is the difference between content analysis and thematic analysis in qualitative research?
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Content analysis and thematic analysis are two widely used methods of qualitative data analysis in research . While they can be used for similar data sets, there are distinct differences between the two methods.
Content analysis is a systematic approach to analyzing the content of text-based data. This method involves organizing and categorizing data into specific codes or categories based on predetermined criteria. Content analysis can be either quantitative or qualitative, but it is commonly used for quantitative research. The aim is to identify and quantify patterns, themes, or trends in a large amount of data.
On the other hand, thematic analysis is a method of analyzing qualitative data. This method involves identifying and analyzing patterns or themes that emerge from the data itself. Unlike content analysis, thematic analysis does not rely on predetermined categories and codes. It is a more flexible and inductive approach to data analysis, allowing themes to emerge directly from the data. Thematic analysis is a more interpretive and nuanced approach to data analysis, with a greater emphasis on the context in which the data was produced.
Overall, the main difference between content analysis and thematic analysis is that content analysis is more focused on quantifying patterns and trends in data , while thematic analysis is more focused on understanding the meaning and context of the data.
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I was interested in exploring the perceived benefits of gardening in an urban setting, so I conducted interviews with gardeners. Subsequently, I employed thematic analysis to identify the main themes related to these perceived benefits. It was only after the emergence of these themes that I delved into various theories to aid in the interpretation and understanding of the results in the Discussion chapter.
My question is, should I discuss these theories in the Introduction chapter of the paper?
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If these theoretical issues did not influence either your data collection or your analysis, then you do not need to mention them in your earlier chapters. This early chapters should, however, make it clear that you are doing things this way. In particular, you can say that you are beginning with an exploratory approach, and that you will compare to eating theories after you complete your exploration.
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How can posters be analyzed in qualitative research? What is the best approach to analyzing posters, and is thematic analysis a suitable method for this type of analysis? Can you recommend any interesting literature on analyzing images and posters in qualitative research?
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Many great answers. Photo elicitation is one method, which Samuel Adeyemo mentions above. Be systematic, but also define the use of posters. Are posters the primary source? Much more common is posters/visuals are artifacts to get interviewees talking, create a stop in time to compare to later events.
The other main idea: Pictures/visuals are taken/made for a specific viewpoint and presentation. The people who wanted to present a slice of their perspective--as well as what was left out--are just as important.
Harrison, B. (2002). Photographic visions and narrative inquiry. Narrative inquiry, 12(1), 87-111.
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I'm new to thesis work and I am thoroughly confused. I understand what thematic analysis is. My professor put down " Results and Thematic analysis" in the table of contents. But it seems wrong. Is thematic analysis placed in methodology section? Isn't results AFTER thematic analysis? (inside methodology section). I can't find anything online that describes how or where to put thematic analysis in table of contents. Thanks
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The Methods section should include a sub-section on Analysis, which is where you would state how you used thematic analysis. The Results section should be organized around the themes that were the outcome of your analysis.
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Hi all,
I am a student working towards gaining my nursing Master's degree. I am conducting qualitative research to explore the nursing Students’Experiences of Electronic Medical Records During Placements. My question is: Is it correct to use constructivist theory approach,interpretative phenomenology and thematic analysis for my methodology/approch/data analysis?
Thank you.
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Congratulations on pursing your gradulate degree. The constructivists theory certainly could fit. it says that people construct knowledge from what is happening to them, added to their own lived experience. I guess I would ask what is the aim of your research? What are you setting out to accomplish? What is the Nursing Problem that you are studying, and how does it impact Nursing Knowledge? your theory, methodology, and analysis are dependent upon what you are trying to find out to some degree.
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Hi, I'm working on a research proposal for a pilot study and struggling to land on the optimal sample size. The quant measures (physiological measures and surveys) are recorded while the participants are interacting in an online group discussion - 8 participants per group (conversation analysed with thematic analysis for context). The groups have the same composition (4x participants type A, 4x participants type B). For the qual part, it would be difficult to have more than 8 participants per group - and it is essential to the research question that qual and quant run concurrently.
I'm thinking of running two groups of 8 for the pilot phase - to get an idea correlation between physio and survey measures + wider context from the TA. I'm not finding literature to back this up (or suggest a different number of groups for the pilot phase). Thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
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First, you need to determine the purpose of your study and the research questions you want to answer. This will help you decide on the appropriate sample size for both the quantitative and qualitative components of your study. Second, you need to consider the type of mixed methods design you will be using. For example, a convergent parallel design involves collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data separately and then comparing the results to see if they converge or diverge. The sample size for each component of the study will depend on the specific design you choose.Third, you need to consider the resources available to you, such as time, budget, and access to participants. These factors can impact the feasibility of recruiting and retaining participants, which can affect the sample size. Finally, it is recommended to conduct a pilot study to test the feasibility of your research design and to refine your sample size estimation.
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When we code research of any kind (qualitative or quantitative) using thematic analysis, should we code every section of the research or just 'abstract' and 'findings' or just 'findings'?
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My research was a mixed methods research in which i applied thematic analysis in the qualitative part of the research. From your research objectives, guided by the literature review, themes which are relevant to your study are identified. In the methodology, you state and explain why, how and when you will apply the thematic analysis and state what it hopes to achieve. After the collection of the data, you code the data into themes while infering to other studies. In the discussion part you draw conclusions based on previous studies and you state your position in the literature in relation to a particular theme.
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Thanks in advanced for your permanent cooperation
I have the following facts:
I have semi-structured interviews as main source of data, I have already sepcific points to be researched (pre-existing code frame or similar) I need to analysis the empirical data to answer the research questions. My research based partially on discussing a theory and developing new aspects from it.
The correct qualitative method here is Thematic Analysis, ok which version?
Deductive? I think yes, could I use Inductive in one of the steps? Could I name it Abductiv and follow "Thompson"?
I aim to answer the questions using logical qualitative steps, what are you going to do if you have the same situation?
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I am not convinced that Thompson's approach is truly adductive because of the way that it imports external theory to account for observations. To my way to thinking, abduction is a two-part process that begins with making an inference from the data. This initial inference then leads to further speculations about the data that can be tested deductively.
The key is an If... then structure of the form: "If my attempt to make sense of what I observed is indeed the case, then I should also observe..." None of this involves bringing external theory into the abduction process.
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I collected the data using interviews and validated it using focus groups. I need to do a thematic analysis to analyse the data and answer the research questions. Should I proceed inductively or ductively? What is the name of the appropriate method, because interviewing cannot be repeated until saturation is reached
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Hi,
Both inductive and deductive approaches can be used in thematic analysis, and the choice between them depends on the research question, the available data, and the research objectives.
Inductive analysis involves developing themes and categories from the data without any pre-existing theoretical framework. This method is useful when the research question is exploratory and little is known about the topic.
On the other hand, deductive analysis involves testing pre-existing theoretical concepts or hypotheses by applying them to the data. This method is useful when the research question is focused and specific.
Based on your description, it seems that you collected data through interviews and validated it through focus groups. You did not mention if you had any pre-existing theoretical framework or hypotheses that you intended to test. Therefore, an inductive approach to thematic analysis may be more appropriate for your study.
Regarding the name of the appropriate method, thematic analysis can be conducted using various methods, including framework analysis, content analysis, and grounded theory. However, without more information about your research question and data, it is difficult to recommend a specific method.
You may refer my papers on how to use grounded theory approach
Regards
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It is suggested that I use the intercoder verification in a research where I am the only coder, and whose objective is to verify the effect of the modification of the atmosphere of discussion on the topics discussed in a discussion group.
I believe it is useful to use test-retest to assess the reliability of my analyses (intracoder check), but I am not convinced of the relevance of using other coders to assess the codes assigned during my thematic analysis. If the objective of a research is to analyze the variations induced by the modification of a variable during almost similar discussion groups, using the same analyst, the same discussion plan and the same codebook, do you think it is necessary to check the agreement between coders?
ps.I work in a "codebook" or "template analysis" technique (as described in Braun and Clarke's (2022).
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There really isn't much point in doing a test-test of your own coding because you will only demonstrate that you agree with yourself. As for inter-rater reliability, the value of that approach depends greatly on your analytic goals. In particular, if you will be counting codes as part of your comparison, then it is important to demonstrate that what you are counting is indeed reliable. Alternatively, if your are generating interpretive themes, then this is a subjective process where reliability of your coding is less relevant.
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Through thematic analysis of online workshops, if one participant has made a comment/point that researchers deem it important, and is not part of a theme, but relates to the research question, can this be reported in the results section?
Thank you!
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I think this is a classic issue in qualitative analysis. If your research question involves problem solving or recommendations, then there is no doubt that a single contribution can be of value, even if no one else had the same idea. Outside of those goals, it is more difficult to justify giving so much priority to a single statement.
Have you thought about how you would go about including this statement in your Results section?
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I have already achieved an thematic analysis, but now I need to adopt grounded theory as main framework of this theory to develop new theory.
Any hint, tips, or recommendation how to change my analysis to adhere grounded theory?
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Dear Dr Eskhita - this website dedicated GT stuff might beneficial: https://www.groundedtheory.com/
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Pragmatism is the overarching theoretical lens I have used to conduct my mixed methods PhD research. I have used reflexive thematic analysis for the analysis of my qual data and felt critical realism would have been a good fit for how I want to analyse the data, however I have read much about the tendency for these two theories to be at odds. Is it possible for me to use both in my project?
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Dear Keira,
In the day-to-day practice of social science, Pragmatists and Critical Realist do much the same things. However, at their core, the two philosophies are incompatible. Pragmatism rejects the idea that propositions must reflect an underlying reality or truth. A proposition is true if it works in practice. Critical Realists argue that this position ignores ontology and runs the risk of making the epistemic fallacy. Beliefs and propositions that work in practice may well be based on wrong assumptions on the nature of social reality. “It works is practice” is not good enough for Critical Realism. Having said that, if “it works in practice”, certainly if it does so many times, it suggests that the proposition captures at least something of the underlying reality. It contributes to an epistemic body of evidence of what underlying reality is like ontologically.
Hope this helps,
Roel.
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I would like to ask when is it necessary to produce tables of frequency in thematic analysis process in qualitative research?
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To the extent that you are doing qualitative work, counting the codes gives the wrong message. You want to find intriguing and important themes, which may be revealed by one or two folks only, people who thought about the matter, or who are particularly open or insightful about their responses. More commonly mentioned themes might be uninteresting, or even useless in explaining your data. It is quality that counts, not quantity. Something isn't necessarily more important because everyone repeats it.
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I do not want to analyze the text inside the book I just want to explore the existence of the main components.
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Can you look for themes? Sure. Thematic analysis can be used. Obviously your data can be "thin," but a well structured sample can improve validity and reliability. Often we think there's only Braun and Clarke, but Muir and Fereday provide a competing perspective. Boyatzis also used thematic analysis with documents. Here my recommendation: Be pragmatic. Thematic analysis is adaptable to most any situation. (Note Muir/Friday used thematic analysis with documents as well as Boyatzis.)
Fereday, J., & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International journal of qualitative methods, 5(1), 80-92.
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Can you do one Thematic Analysis interpreting the data from 6 participants when one of the participants had different interview questions and five participants had the same interview questions?
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I would start by analyzing the set of five, and then evaluating the extent to which the 6th either supported or contradicted those results. In general, I would not define a new theme based on a single interview.
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When I applied thematic analysis to analyze the qualitative data, I labeled plenty of initial codes, such as "meat", "beef", "fish", and "chicken". However, these codes are at different levels, so I'm not sure how to organize these initial codes. Should I retain all these initial codes and summarize a theme named "meat"? If so, there is a code and theme that have the same name: "meat". And how should I calculate the frequency of these codes?
The attachment is two examples and which one is correct?
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Xin, giving frequencies is commonly done in qualitative research. Johnny Saldaña even gave an example in an article where he was not sure about numbers in qualitative research.
Yet, many authors/researchers, see frequencies as missing the point. For example, what do frequencies mean in your context? One does not know; there is another major problem, often glossed over: Just because two people said something, did they both mean the same thing? [I have seen many times where I'm left scratching my head when frequencies are thrown out in qualitative research.]
My answer is you can do what you want to rigorously present your findings which tie into your research question. Many people do, but beware many methodologies/methods do not operate in such a manner, and just giving numbers even in quantitative research without context makes little sense.
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Im writing begining to work on a piece of research that will ask about people's experince with psycedelic drugs and the steps taken to ensure positive exeprince/ minimise harm.
I want to conduct interviews asking questions about participants psycedelic experinces with an aim to find commonalities in thier experinces that could be used to inform safety protocols in the clinical use of psycedelics (psycedelic assisted therapy etc)
Because my research question focuses on peoples experince of a phenomena, i was assuming i needed to use IPA, but because i want to identify patterns across all (roughly five or so) participants whould it make more sense to use thematic analysis.
I've had a look at braun and clarke and to me that seems to indicate thematic analysis would be better suited
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Almost all qualitative research emphasizes some aspect of personal "experience." The difference is that phenomenological research, including IPA, takes a philosophical approach to experience as its central topic.
Given that your goal of developing a safety protocol is more practical, I would definitely recommend thematic analysis rather than IPA. You should also look at Braun and Clarke's recent book (2022), rather than just relying on their older articles. In doing so, you my find that some form of content analysis is more appropriate than what B & C now call "reflexive thematic analysis."
One more thing to think about its whether your overall project is similar to a mixed method design called "exploratory sequential analysis," which is represented as qual --> QUAN. In this design, the creation of a quantitative tool is the ultimate goal, and the initial qualitative research serves as an input to that goal.
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I am planning to use youtube comments with my students to train them in thematic analysis. If our pilot study goes well, we might use it to present a poster at the university's conference. However youtube comments have user id attached (some with real names) which made me think about confidentiality.
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There is no confidentiality issue, since the Youtube commenters have put their comments in the public domain. Confidentiality in social media could only become an issue if the content was made available only to a select group of which you happen to be a member (e.g. "friends") or else have somehow managed to bypass a poster's privacy settings.
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Hi all,
I am a student working towards gaining my integrated Master's degree (I have not conducted research prior to now). I am a novice to research so bear with me if my terminology isn't 100% accurate. I am conducting qualitative research to explore the experiences and perceptions of diagnostic radiography students in the communication of radiation risk. My question is: Is it correct to use interpretative phenomenology and thematic analysis for my methodology/approach/data analysis? I am conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with 12 participants, so I hope this will be enough to reach data saturation. A follow-up question I have is whether it would be appropriate for me to use researcher reflexivity in this process as I am a diagnostic radiography student with my own preconceived opinions and experience on the phenomenon under study. Any help or direction for further readings would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Kirsty - it really does depend on your actual adopted phenomenological philosophical school. Phenomenology is not general with general frameworks. For it to be effective - it needs to be specific to the task at hand. IPA is its own school - and has its own analytical style. Different schools lean towards other analytical frameworks i.e. Giorgi and Colaizzi - and there are instances where certain philosophers have their own frameworks i.e., van Manen.
You can't pre-predict saturation - but reasonable to suggest that 12 in-depth participant narratives might reach saturation.
Reflexivity, again, depends on the adopted school.
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Explaining with an example of previously done thematic analysis will be helpful
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Ethnographic research are mostly qualitative data based from the open environment like village or geographical area where the non-sampled respondents are available.
If you have only qualitative data interpretation must be included in the Chapter: Results and Discussion.
If you have both Quantitative and Qualitative data for your research that you have to triangulate in order to ascertain the validity and reliability of the research.
The qualitative data will help to triangulate with the Quantitative data to measure the credibility of the research.
If you have only Qualitative data that you have to interpret based on your study objectives and to fulfill the hypothesis as well.
There will not be any confusion but those who are conducting the research in the Qualitative data will be an expert in the narrative part of the research.
Most of the western countries are highly rely on the Qualitative research study than Quantitative research study because of the machine manipulation according to the desired results.
You have to be strong enough while you are conducting the research on Qualitative aspects.
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Is it necessary in thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) in qualitative research to produce frequency tables of the codes?
Thanks
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It depends on what kind of thematic analysis you are doing. Braun and Clarke now distinguish three different varieties of thematic analysis, where one form is based on counting codes. But that is not their favored approach, which they call Reflexive Thematic Analysis, and which is much more inductive and interpretive.
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When I teach analysis of interviews or observations, I guide the students to formulate categories separated from each other. Reality is always more vague and overlapping, so the construction is sometimes artificial. My question is whether in qualitative research one should strive for the categories to be disconnected from each other?
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Hi,
The answer is no! Categories are formed to abstract the findings! Moreover the final statement in qualitative research is backed by the main category. Othe categories illuminates other aspects while they are connected to the main category. Don't forget that some concepts could be classified under 2 or more categories!
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I'll create a paper with the following RQs. What kind of mixed method is this?
RQ1. How do students perceive cheating? (survey; descriptive statistics; quanti)
RQ2. Why do students cheat? (Open-ended question; thematic analysis; quali)
I'm a newbie. Pls help. Thank you!
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The answer to a structured or close ended question is usually controlled by the Researcher as the respondents have to mark the answer from a pre-set points or items. It doesn't allow respondents to elaborate their own views, hence it leads to results found through a fraction.
While in open ended and semi-structured questions the respondents have liberty to utilize their ability of intelligence which allows them to put their views and express openly and freely.
With this in view I agree and recommend the suggestion provided by Prof David L Morgan for carrying out inquiry of two different research inquiries.
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I will conduct stimulated recall interviews with graduate students after eye-tracking. The interviews will be prompted by each participant’s eye-gaze replay in Tobii Studio. The data I will collect from these interviews, can I analyze them using thematic analysis?
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What analysis method you want to use depends on goals of the analysis as said above. Just looking at literature, stimulated recall interviews have been analyzed at least with EPP-method (which is used to produce themes and connections between the themes). I have seen methods looking like thematic analysis used with stimulated recall data without explicitly naming the method as thematic analysis. So if you want to find prior examples justifying the use of thematic analysis from previous research, I think you could find examples.
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Hello everyone.
I have questions regarding comparing frequencies between groups. I will be happy if someone can help.
So I will describe first briefly my research design:
- I am analysing online shaming that has per se 10 types (10 types of shaming).
- I am analyzing 6 cases (multiple case studies) of shaming events.
- I am using thematic analysis.
- In the data (comments from social media) I am analyzing how many types of shaming occur in each data.
- In each case, I have obtained by thematic analyses how many times each type of shaming occurs (per se type 1 occurs 50x times in case 1, type 2 occurs 124 times in case 1 - type 1 occurs 12 times in case 2, type 2 occurs 32 times in case 2 etc).
- The 6 cases will be grouped into three groups by the theory, so I will have three groups (in one group there will be 2 cases, in the second group there will be another 2 cases and in the third group there will also be the other 2 cases).
- I want to compare the frequencies of types of shaming between these three groups.
So how do we compare frequencies/proportions between groups?
I must notion that the number of all codings was different in individual cases. For example in example 1 the number of encodings was - say 1,200, in example 2 the number of encodings was - say 800. A number of codings = number of all codings related to the types of shaming. So I can't just count these frequencies, but I have to weigh them. Does anyone have an idea how to compare the frequencies between different cases where the numerus are different?
Thank you so much for your help.
SHORT QUESTION: How to compare frequencies between groups where in each group there are different cases and each case has a different number of total codings (thematic analysis)?
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I don't know this method and I cannot tell you if this would be legit in your case. This seems a topic in linguistic research (I am not a linguist). It seems the method of choice when your frequencies are from different "corpora" (whatever this means) and when you want to campare these corpora (not directly the word frequency distributions). But as I said: this is beyond my expertise.
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How many coders are needed for Thematic Analysis: Pilot Qualitative Study?
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Braun and Clarke quite explicitly do not support comparing multiple coders for their own preferred version of Reflexive Thematic Analysis. However, they do allow for alternative approaches, such as a Codebook Thematic Analysis.
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My research aims to explore how the letter to stockholders is used as a strategic method of communication by organisations, and I wanted to conduct a thematic analysis of the letters to identify themes. I planned to search for themes within the letter and then link these to existing theory. I initially thought this would be inductive as the themes would be derived from the data, but if I link this to existing theory afterwards, does this change the approach? Would this oppose an interpretivist philosophical view?
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I think your problem is one of data interpretation. In each research we compare the results with the literature to see if we have produced new knowledge.
By comparison, there are several possibilities - to complete or modify the existing theory, to contradict the existing theory or to produce a completely new one. If your results match the literature it means that an old theory also applies in the context you studied.
This means that you have verified (even if that is not what you set out to do) an old theory in a new context. Theories are provisional, must always be verified and their applicability expands with verification in new contexts. So it can be a win even when you discover something that coincides with literature.
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I am conducting a honours project that is investigating ''How effective are the current domestic and family violence (DFV) crisis organisations in responding to the needs of PWD experiencing DFV (at home)?"
My research design incorporates a thematic analysis which allowed me to develop 'indicators of effectiveness' from relevant existing research. In the second part of research, I am planning to conduct a directed content analysis using my predetermined indicators as codes for analysing each organisations (website). I was wondering if there is a particular process that i should follow? I have looked into Hshieh and shannon (2005) which looked relevant and Assarroundi et al. (2018) which looked very complex as I dont intend to develop further 'preliminary codes' and 'generic categories''. As the aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of organisations, I was planning on directly coding the (website) data based on the indicators created and then measuring the frequency of the code/indicator presented in each website. This will allow for comparisons of frequency of codes to assess which organisation is deemed as 'more' effectiveness' . Would this work?
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I recommend looking into more quantitatively oriented versions of content analysis, such as those by Krippendorff and Neuendorf.
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I am currently undertaking a literature review as part of my undergraduate dissertation in which I am synthesising the results from 5 qualitative studies. I was thinking of using either thematic synthesis or narrative synthesis.
What is the difference between thematic synthesis (Thomas and Harden 2008) and thematic analysis? I presumed at first that thematic analysis was only for primary data collection methods, however within narrative synthesis (Popay et al 2006) they state to use thematic analysis if synthesising qualitative data in step 2: 'developing a preliminary synthesis of findings of included studies'.
So, really the question is can I use thematic analysis for a literature review, within the process of narrative synthesis? They don't specify which guidance to use regarding thematic analysis (whether that is Braun and Clarke or another author), so I am a bit stuck. I have found a simplified approach to thematic analysis by Aveyard (2014) in 'Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide' which I would use within narrative synthesis if this is appropriate.
What are everyone's thoughts on this? Advice would be greatly appreciated. Which is more suitable for an undergraduate dissertation: narrative or thematic synthesis?
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Kindly visit the thematic analysis in the RG link.
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Hello,
I am doing a qualitative research with semi structured interviews, N=10 and the method of analysis is thematic analysis. However, I see that my themes do not answer or correspond to the research questions. The approach that I followed in analysis is inductive.
Thank you.
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Just my two cents, research hypotheses may not be necessary for a qualitative study. If the literature review is relevant to the interview questions, the content analysis or thematic analysis should give the answer to the research question. Hope you are doing well and stay safe.
All the best,
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Our team become interested in telemedicine/telehealth because of its great potential during and postpandemic. However, we would like to seek your suggestions on the specific area of research. Also, most of the team members are inclined to doing qualitative evidence synthesis.
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Dear Celso Pagatpatan, Jr.,
the use of Human Health Digital Twins (HHDTs) to support telemedicine/telehealth is a current and broad area of research.
At address
the Figures 10152, 10153, 10154 and 10159 illustrate the idea of using HHDTs.
The added literature sources should give you a broad overview of the use of HHDTs.
Best regards and much success
Anatol Badach
Jorge Luis Rojas-Arce, Eduardo Cassiel Ortega-Maldonado: „The Advent of the Digital Twin: A Prospective in Healthcare in the Next Decade“; In book: Advances in Production Management Systems. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable and Resilient Production Systems; Aug 2021, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-85910-7_26
J. Masison, J. Beezley, Y. Mei, HAL Ribeiro, A. C. Knapp, et al.: A modular computational framework for medical digital twins; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, May 2021, 18;118(20); DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024287118
Haya Elayan, Moayad Aloqaily, Mohsen Guizani: Digital Twin for Intelligent Context-Aware IoT Healthcare Systems, IEEE Internet of Things Journal ( Early Access ), Jan 2021, DOI: 10.1109/JIOT.2021.3051158
Eugen Octav Popa, Mireille van Hilten, Elsje Oosterkamp, M.J. Bogaardt: „The Use of Digital Twins in Healthcare; Socio-ethical benefits and socio-ethical risks“; Wageningen University, Technical Report, Jan 2021
Tolga Erol, Arif Furkan Mendi, Dilara Doğan: The Digital Twin Revolution in Healthcare; 4th International Symposium on Multidisciplinary Studies and Innovative Technologies (ISMSIT), Oct 2020, DOI: 10.1109/ISMSIT50672.2020.9255249
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Hi,
I am looking to analyse my survey responses (N=16) responses.
They are not heavily detailed and are in response to a total of (N=3) open ended question. The questions were asked to a set of professionals. It is a small scale study.
I originally thought of thematic analysis.
However, I don't think TA would be an appropriate method as I am worried the dataset may be too small. Are there any other types of methods/coding analysis I could use?
Thank you in advance
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Dear Emma McLorie ,Thematic analysis or content analysis.
Kind Regards,
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I would like to use a Thematic analysis for a qualitative data
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Thabiso Molefe , your inquiry is a good question to follow. Kindly visit the RG links related to NVivo analysis.
Kind Regards,
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Hi,
I am looking to analyse my survey responses (N=16) responses.
They are not heavily detailed and are in response to a total of (N=3) open ended question. The questions were asked to a set of professionals. It is a small scale study.
However, I wondered if TA would be an appropriate method? I am worried the dataset may be too small. Are there any other types of methods/coding analysis I could use?
Thank you in advance
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If you only have limited data, then using different methods won't make a whole lot of difference. I'd try TA by using open-coding and/or process coding and then see what I get, and if not satisfactory, then maybe try content analysis like Kailash Jandu (above) suggested.
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Hello everyone. I have question about obtaining data from Internet.
In my research I will analyze comments from websites and social media platforms. And I am searching for applications/apps/technologies other tools to download comments from Internet to my computer.
Do you know any tools/apps to download comments for free?
There is around 10.000 comments and if I would copy/paste one by one it would take me a lot of time. I want to obtain data quickly.
Do you have any suggestions for me?
Thank you so much for help.
Regards, Nejc
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You could use a scraper as the faster method, but be mindful that there are many privacy laws on the internet about how content can be copied, downloaded, and analyzed. In general, just because it's online doesn't mean it's acceptable for download, analysis, or use. Check the country of each commenter and site, as well as the privacy policy of the site hosting the comments.
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Hello everyone,
I am working on my qualifying exam. I want to employ qualitative Delphi study to elicit educators opinion on
what engineering concepts should be included in K-12 education. For the qualitative analyses, instead of using thematic analysis, is it appropriate to use grounded theory because my overarching aim is to develop a conceptual framework which shed light on the aspects of engineering. My research question: What nature aspects of engineering are considered to be important for K-12 science education by science and engineering educators? Thanks.
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Hello, please take a look at this research. These statistical coefficients are used for determining the conformity or reliability of experts' evaluations, and the Kendall coefficient with a value greater than or equal to 0.7 was considered as the stopping index for the procedure of the Delphi method.
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We have been working on a report that would present the current state of clinical ethics consultation/support services in Turkey. As a part of the study, we interviewed ethicists, ethics committee members, and administrators informally to understand their views regarding the subject matter. The interviews are not fully structured although we have a list of questions at hand. By the end of the project, we expect to have talked to 10-12 people. In the interviews we have made so far, we have seen that some people agreed to meet face to face and gave detailed answers to the questions we asked, while some others sent their answers in written form and kept it quite short.
We believe that every information shared with us is valuable, as the practices regarding clinical ethics consultation/support are very limited in Turkey. However, we are confused about how the raw data from those key informants should be presented in an organized manner. How/by what method should we analyze the data in total? Or should we?
Thank you in advance.
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Is your main question whether you can pole together the shorter written answers you ave got with the transcribed intervviews into one data set and analyse them as a whole? My answer to this is yes you can do that.
Or is your question which method for analysis that could be used for your kind of data? My answer to that would be that a thematic analysis for example by Braun & Clarke (2006) or content analysis for example Krippendorff (2019) or Lindgren Lundman & Graneheim (2020)
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I am doing qualitative research for my DBA thesis, it is based on multiple cases from same industry and I am willing to do thematic analysis for it. Further to that I have three models in my conceptual framework which I am using in the study. one of my friends has suggested me to either take one model and use multiple cases or to use multiple models and one case to conduct thematic analysis. however, my previous supervisor did not mentioned to me anything like that and I have change of supervisor now and she is confused the way I am conducting my research. I would like some help if someone can explain to me that if I can do thematic analysis for multiple cases by using three models complementing each other in conceptual framework.
thanks
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Triangulation can be conducted by using different methodologies. A suggestion is using thematic analysis where the first set is inductive; you conduct data exploration, though it can be informed by a conceptual model. The second model could test the first and look for divergence. If you have a third case study, you might collect the data differently and use a different method, such as quantitative. By doing this, you are using mixed methods.
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I have 27 interviews for a psychology research paper with 4 people involved in the project and willing to code using Thematic Analysis. Is it better to use a software programme to do that or to just do it manually ? I would be grateful for anyone else's experience with these programmes. In particular the budget is small so expense may make a difference. Finally does it take long to work out how to use them? Those involved are clinicians and may not have done research in some time.
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With 27 interviews, you are definitely in the range where using software will help you, especially when it comes time to search through your codes.
In terms of which software to use, all of the major programs can do thematic analysis equally well, including ATLAS.ti, Dedoose, MAXQDA, and NVivo. To make a choice, I recommend looking at their tutorial videos and choosing the one that gives you the best introduction for what you want to do.
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I am conducting a single-case study research as part of my dissertation for a Master's degree. The topic is in the area of public procurement and innovation. The aim is to explore to what extent standards referenced in public procurement allow innovation in State-Owned Enterprises (in a one country).
The research is designed as a single case-study. As identified by Robert K. Yin in his book Case Study Research, one of the rationales of a single case study is the representative or typical case. As a result, I have arranged for an interview with one procurement professional from the selected organization. However, my supervisor informed me that a single interview will not be sufficient to get unbiased and comprehensive data for analysis and discussion. Additionally, I was advised to conduct surveys if it is difficult to arrange interviews.
I do not understand why is it necessary to involve more than one participant in the research and conduct more than one interview. Also, how surveys are going to help get sufficient data, given that I am conducting a qualitative research. As for data analysis, I am going to use thematic analysis in which I will link what to be said in the interview with my findings from the literature.
I would appreciate it, if you could advice me on what should I do
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This might depend on the scope of the study
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As per my limited understanding, there are few techniques of analyzing the qualitative data that include
a) thematic analysis
b) content analysis
c) discourse analysis
d) narrative analysis
I am confused about the appropriate use of these techniques in different kind of studies. For example, if we have conducted interviews then we can simply deploy framework or thematic analysis but if we have selected different studies to reach out a new conclusion, what technique should be used?
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1. It is not clear what do you mean by different studies.
2. What do you want to achieve/ what are you looking at? What kind of data are you examining? You need to clarify your objectives- the research questions, aims, and methodology.
3. I suggest that after you are clear about the 2 steps above, then do read and understand all the kind of analysis that you have stated. Choose the most appropriate kind of analysis accordingly. Best wishes.
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I am designing a study to gain insight into the experience of returning employees with a history of mental health issues. i want to understand how they feel about returning to work. is it ok to use interviews with IPA on returning employees and then thematic analysis on employees and family members of employees ? so IPA would only be on a subsection of the total sample. How will i justify this approach?
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Hello, I am a researcher in Psychology, who is gradually getting more and more interested in mixed methods research. My area of interest is trauma and gender based violence, with a focus on South Asia. Recently, I have been trying to understand if we can map GBV in South Asia on to a continuous trauma structure, and assess mental health and well-being from that perspective. For this my initial plan was to use a sequential exploratory mixed methods design, with a qualitative study informing a larger, quantitative study with well validated questionnaires. I had initially conceptualized the qualitative study as a post-positivist (aka Boyatzis 1998) analysis.
The interview schedule was very open and we have collected quite a bit of data. I recently found out, one of my students have already analyzed some of the data using reflexive thematic analysis (aka Braun and Clarke 2006-2021). Now I am in a bit of a fix, because I do not want to lose the interview data we have collected, yet I do not see how the social constructionist position used in reflexive TA fits into the quantitative parts of the study , which will involve variables etc.
Now, here are my specific questions
1. Can I have the collected data (transcripts), re-analyzed from a post-positivist position, using reliability coding TA, by another researcher? (We haven't published the reflexive TA analysis)
2. Can a qualitative study with a social constructionist position ever be used in a mixed methods study- if so, how? If there are good references here, I would be grateful if someone can lead me to those.
thanks in advance.
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The question of "additivity" in mixed methods has generated a number of options, based on what should be the result of integrating different methods.
Fetters & Freshwater (2015) proposed that 1 + 1 = 3, essentially arguing for a "synergy" approach.
Onwuegbuzie & Hitchcock (2018) proposed that 1 + 1 = 1 by arguing for full integration at every stage of using the two methods.
For a qual --> QUAN design, where the sole goal is to increase the effectiveness of the quantitative design, I would argue that 1 + 1 = 1.5
The picture is less clear if the design is QUAL --> QUAN, where the goal is to produce a stand alone set of qualitative results as well as a more effective quantitative design. So, perhaps 1 + 1 = 2.5?
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I've been asked to give feedback on a study that used a survey with the option for comments in each question. Some participants decided to share additional observations and thoughts for some questions. I've found that these additional comments carry rich qualitative data so I'm suggesting they analyze them and integrate them into the results (since they're currently not).
However, I'm not sure how to justify this methodologically (or even if it's appropriate). Even though these comments add insightful information about the participant's perceptions, they only account for a portion of them.
Options I'm currently considering:
(1) Use a common theme analysis for the qualitative data and relabel the study from quantitative to mixed-methods.
(2) Still define it as quantitative, but mention that some qualitative data was gathered as optional comments and analysed as well (would this be methodologically correct?).
(3) Do not use the qualitative data for the results, since it doesn't come from all participants.
Any thoughts?
Thank you very much in advance!
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Of course, they should be added and used (qualitatively) -- it's data, and respondents felt a need to add them, so we should report them. Since the researcher did not ask for comments, it doesn't make sense to call it a mixed method study. It's a quant study with supplemental comments. You add a section to the report describing qualitatively, what was said, including areas of convergence and divergence if the sample is large enough, and with some representative verbatims in any case. You should also include the % of respondents who added comments, for context.
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I am conducting a qualitative study and my questionnaire has both open ended and closed ended questions. With open ended questions I know have to do the coding and themes and I know how to do that. But what about closed ended questions, e.g. Marital status? Age? Gender? How do I analyze such data using thematic analysis?
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You can't analyze these types of questions using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis by its definition is to dig deeper and find a pattern of meaning below the surface. You may need to analyse the findings of the closed-ended questions separately perhaps using descriptive statistics not thematic analysis.
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qualitative research thematic analysis of phenomenological approach of research.
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I agree with David L Morgan and Mohialdeen Alotumi that thematic analysis does not entail counting the number of codes. Instead, it focuses on generating meaningful themes to capture the essence of your data.
Having said that, thematic analysis is a relevant method of data analysis for phenomenological research. Interpretive and descriptive phenomenology has its own methods of data analysis depending on the methodologist and philosophical tradition (Husserlian or Heideggerian). For example, Husserlian tradition you can use the methods proposed by Merleau-Ponty, van Kaam, Colaizzi, Giorgi, Polkinghorne, Moustakas, & Garza. For Heideggerian, you can use Ricoeur or Gadamer. Researchers use Brun and Clark thematic analysis for almost everything. Please review their papers in which they have clarified numerous times the differences in thematic analysis and other data analyses methods in qualitative research. Please read this recent paper. Please see the following quote. A majority of qualitative researchers will agree that thematic analysis is not a suitable method for data analysis in phenomenology. TA (Thematic Analysis) & IPA (Interpretive Phenomenological analysis)
There are two important differences between reflexive TA and IPA. The first is that IPA incorporates a dual analytic focus: both a thematic orientation—the identification of themes across cases (participants)—and an idiographic approach—interest in and focus on the particular and unique details of each case. Second, related in part to this idiographic focus, IPA procedures are rather different from TA procedures: IPA involves a detailed focus on the analysis of each case, before developing themes across cases” (p.5)
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(1), 37-47.
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I have collected my qual data in my sequential explanatory study and am considering the best approach for analysis. I see there are hybrid thematic analysis approaches, but they differ greatly in their approach in the literature. Any advice?
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Adopting explanatory sequential mixed methods design, a study starts with a structured process (i.e., a quantitative stage), followed up with a semi-structured or unstructured process (i.e., a qualitative stage). For analyzing the data from the latter, you could use directed content analysis (DCA) which uses the key concepts or variables identified in the quantitative stage as initial coding categories of the qualitative data. If flexibility is sought, deductive thematic analysis, in which specific questions underpin the coding process, could be used. You might refer to the following for further insights.
Armborst, A. (2017). Thematic proximity in content analysis. SAGE Open, 7(2), 2158244017707797. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017707797
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Fereday, J., & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500107
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res, 15(9), 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Good luck,
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Hi,
I wanted to do a thematic analysis and I want to know whether there are softwares that highlight dominant patterns/sentiments in qualitative research work. I am looking for academic (non student) low expense or open source options.
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Several of the more expensive academic software programs offer "sentiment analysis," which essentially reports on statements using a range from more positive to more negative.
As for open-source programs, two good options are QDA Miner Lite and Taguette.
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I am trying to do the analysis for my qualitative research with an inductive approach using thematic analysis. I used semi-structured questionnaire where I included multiple choice phrase phrases and open-ended questions, I have few elaborations yet not the same theme
Can you please advise? I need to extend the analysis yet I am confused. Thank you
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A semi-structured questionnaire is a method for collecting qualitative and quantitative data systematically. Its use should be driven by the study purpose and design—albeit yours is not clearly pointed out. For its analysis, you might start by cleaning the collected data, especially for the open-ended questions, with the study objectives or questions in mind. Afterward, you could apply thematic analysis, using theory-driven coding, i.e., approaching the data with specific questions that underlie the coding process. You could refer to the following references for insights.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(1), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. SAGE. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/successful-qualitative-research/book233059
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods,16(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Good luck,
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I am writing a qualitative research paper on EFL graduate students' academic writing challenges in a university in Turkey where English is the medium of instruction. The research instrument is a semi-structured interview, and thematic analysis (TA) will be implemented. Based on what should I choose the sample size? What is the best/ideal sample size to reach the principle of saturation?
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Congratulation to the excellent question of the sample size of qualitative research. Please refer to the sooner question about the same topic to get more information: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_many_interviews_are_needed_in_a_qualitative_research_Is_there_any_rule_or_popular_practice
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Hello all,
I write my explorative dissertation using an abductive approach. Now, I would like to analyse my semi-structured interviews with the help of reflexive thematic analysis, according to Braun and Clarke.
I do not get the role of the conceptual framework yet. Having an abductive approach, I start with inductive coding based on the conceptual framework. After, I continue with creating codes based on the data. After several steps of re-coding and re-creating themes, the thematic map results.
What do I do with the conceptual framework now? Do I need to overwork it based on my findings / thematic map, or do I compare the initial conceptual framework with my findings to show what is new? Thanks in advance for any help!
Regards,
Christopher
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@ Christopher Neller, no I never used codebook and, as you rightfully stated, you don't use codebook in reflexive thematic analysis.
To the best of my knowledge, your coding still falls under inductive approach. This is what Braun et al. (2019) said about the inductive/deductive approach to coding:
"There are two broad orientations to coding: an inductive orientation, where the
researcher starts the analytic process from the data, working “bottom-up” to identify meaning without importing ideas, and a deductive orientation, where the researcher approaches the data with various ideas, concepts, and theories, or even potential codes based on such, which are then explored and tagged within the dataset. In practice, any researcher will approach the data with preconceived ideas based on their existing knowledge and viewpoints. Coding inductively does not mean that we assume the researcher is a “blank state,” but, instead, that the starting point of the analysis is with the data, rather than existing concepts or theories".
I attached the paper here for your further reference.
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Hi, I want to analyse people social identities from forum posts.
For example in a forum post "As a mother, I should look after my children" statement will be a signal of mother identity. I am planning to find out identities until saturation. When I achieved the saturation, I want to claim that these social identities are most salient when people considered do post on forums. It is kind of text analysing. Which method should I use to analyse data? Qualitative content analyses or Thematic analyses or something else?
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Good morning
Content Analysis plus Atlas.ti and semantic networds
Best regards
Ph.D. Ingrid del Valle García Carreño
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Hi,
I am doing my dissertation on the effects of complaints on sonographers in obstetric ultrasound.
I am doing survey as a mixed methods design. So a convergent design (questionnaire/data validation variant). I was advised to use descriptive statistics only for the quantitative data analysis. I cannot find any justification for this. Is this acceptable? Creswell seems to suggest I should be using inferential statistics as well.
I know its standard for surveys to be used a quantitative data only but I have done a lot of work on the justification for using it in a mixed methods study.
Also is thematic analysis standard in this type of study for the qualitative data analysis?
Many thanks
Gina
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Without seeing your questionnaire and research question/hypothesis it is difficult to answer your question. However, if you are simply wanting to find out the impact of a complaint on sonographers and are not testing a hypothesis or aiming to generalise your findings (depending on the level of study) I think it is acceptable to use descriptive stats. Also, thematic analysis is often utilised for qualitative survey data but whether it is appropriate for your study depends on the research paradigm. Hope this helps and good luck with your dissertation.
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The Qur'anic Thematic Exegetical Analysis (al-Tafsir al-Mawdu'i) is a famous method within Qur'anic Sciences in Islamic Studies as much as the Thematic Analysis method is in researches of Social Sciences. Why it is being discriminated against when applied in Islamic Psychology, which is synonym with Islamization of Social Sciences? Are they apartheid who are rejecting subaltern post-colonial methods?
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RE: "In Islamic divine scripture – the Holy Qur’an - the emphasis is on the heart as being mentioned to be governing (the king for) both the rationality, emotions, intellect, intuition, telepathy [sic], etc."
Locating any kind of mental activity in the heart is just a carry-over from ancient Greek views that regarded the brain as merely an organ for cooling the blood. As it happens, there have numerous cases of individuals kept alive without a heart who continued to experience all kinds of mental activity. Here's a quotation from a news report on one such individual:
« "It was an emotional roller coaster," Larkin said at a news conference, describing what it was like to live with a totally artificial heart, implanted to keep him alive until a donor heart became available. » — from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-lived-555-days-without-a-heart-before-transplant/
Here's another such report:
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I am working on my PhD research proposal, which is an exploratory design. Due to the insufficient existing study on the related issue, I plan to develop hypotheses and concepts through grounded theory (from both academic & non-academic resources, including magazines and articles from notable media) to serve as the guideline for the focus group. While the transcript of the focus group will then be analysed through thematic analysis to confirm the hypotheses built from the grounded theory.
Does this appear to be appropriate?
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I agree with several of the others that Grounded Theory alone should be adequate for your work. In addition, using a single focus groups is problematic, because you have no idea whether the things you hear are merely unique to that one group.
You might, however, consider a focus group among your previous participants as a form of "member checking" (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
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In one of my research studies, I'm looking forward to understand 'what does the term self-compassion mean to my participants, what do they think are the benefits associated with it etc'.
I hope to arrive at a conclusion regarding this concept for most of the participants which could then help in designing effective interventions.
I'm assuming that in this case, Thematic Analysis might be more useful. Would it also allow me to have more participants than IPA? Thanks
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In general, IPA does pursue a deeper understanding of the phenomenon based on in-depth interviews with fewer participants, while TA uses more participants to get a bracer view of a topic.
You can find a comparison between IPA and TA by Braun and Clarke here: