Thematic analysis in qualitative research - example of Braun and Clarke’s six stage process

Summary

In this video, Dr. Elizabeth Yardley walks through Brown and Clark's six-stage thematic analysis process, a widely used qualitative research method. She covers each stage in detail: familiarizing with the data, generating initial codes, creating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming them, and finally writing up the analysis. Using a fictional example on remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Yardley explains how to interpret data, identify meaningful patterns, and construct themes that offer deeper insights into the research topic. The video serves as both a practical guide and an introduction to thematic analysis.

Takeaways

• 😀 Thematic analysis, as explained by Brown and Clark, is a process for identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data like interviews or surveys.
• 😀 The first stage of Brown and Clark's thematic analysis involves familiarizing yourself with the data by reading it without taking notes or making highlights.
• 😀 Summarizing the data in brief sentences helps researchers engage with the data before they start coding, without assigning meaning prematurely.
• 😀 Coding involves identifying relevant pieces of data and assigning labels to them, which helps in organizing and categorizing the information.
• 😀 The second stage of coding breaks data down into smaller, meaningful segments, with each label or code representing an aspect of the data.
• 😀 Generating initial themes (Stage 3) involves moving from specific codes to broader, overarching concepts that represent deeper meanings of the data.
• 😀 Themes are not things that emerge on their own; they are actively created by the researcher and must be framed within the researcher's assumptions and perspectives.
• 😀 A theme is a central organizing concept, similar to the sun in the solar system, with codes functioning as the planets orbiting it.
• 😀 The key distinction between coding and theme generation: coding focuses on the micro (individual pieces of data), while theme generation zooms out to identify broader patterns.
• 😀 Reviewing themes (Stage 4) involves refining, splitting, or merging themes for clarity, ensuring that the themes accurately represent the data set as a whole.
• 😀 Defining and naming themes (Stage 5) is a crucial step in which themes are described briefly and clearly, ensuring that they make sense both to the researcher and the external audience.
• 😀 The final stage, writing up (Stage 6), requires presenting a detailed description of each theme, providing illustrative quotes from the data, and discussing the broader implications of the findings.

Q & A

What is Brown and Clark's six-stage thematic analysis process?

Brown and Clark's six-stage thematic analysis process is a framework for identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data. The stages are: 1) Familiarizing yourself with the data, 2) Generating initial codes, 3) Generating initial themes, 4) Reviewing themes, 5) Defining and naming themes, and 6) Writing up.

How do you familiarize yourself with qualitative data in the first stage of thematic analysis?

In the first stage, you immerse yourself in the data without taking notes or highlighting. The goal is to understand the content as a whole before breaking it down. Afterward, you summarize the content to engage with it actively, without yet coding.

What is the purpose of summarizing data in thematic analysis?

Summarizing helps you interact with the data by writing brief summaries of each page or section, which provides a high-level overview without diving into specific details. This step helps build familiarity with the content before the coding process.

What is the difference between generating codes and generating themes in thematic analysis?

Generating codes involves breaking down data into smaller, labeled segments that represent meaningful aspects of the content. In contrast, generating themes involves identifying overarching patterns or concepts that synthesize these coded segments into broader insights.

What role do themes play in thematic analysis?

Themes serve as central organizing concepts around which smaller ideas or sub-themes revolve. They represent the deeper essence of the data, offering a comprehensive understanding of the topic, rather than merely summarizing it.

Why is it important to define and name the themes clearly?

Defining and naming the themes clearly ensures that each theme is easily understood, both by the researcher and external audiences. It helps to articulate what each theme represents and provides clarity for further analysis and communication.

How do you review and refine the themes in thematic analysis?

In the review stage, you refine the themes by considering their relevance, merging or splitting themes where necessary, and ensuring they accurately reflect the data. You also ensure that the themes make sense in relation to each other and the overall data set.

What is the significance of the reflexive approach in Brown and Clark's thematic analysis?

The reflexive approach emphasizes the researcher's awareness of their biases and preconceptions when interpreting data. Researchers are encouraged to reflect on how their perspectives influence the identification of themes and their understanding of the data.

How does the coding process in thematic analysis help in generating themes?

The coding process breaks the data into manageable, meaningful pieces by assigning labels. These codes provide a foundation for generating themes, as they highlight significant aspects of the data that will be synthesized into broader themes later on.

What is the final step in thematic analysis, and what does it involve?

The final step is writing up the thematic analysis, where you provide detailed descriptions of each theme, include illustrative quotes from the data, and discuss the broader implications of your findings, making sure the analysis aligns with any specific requirements from your institution or discipline.