Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research

197 Chapter 9 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research Anindita Majumdar University of Calcutta, India ABSTRACT The popularity of qualitative methods in social science research is a well-noted and most welcomed fact. Thematic analysis, the often-used methods of qualitative research, provides concise description and interpretation in terms of themes and patterns from a data set. The application of thematic analysis requires trained expertise and should not be used in a prescriptive, linear, and inflexible manner while analyzing data. It should rather be implemented in relation to research question and data availability. To ensure its proper usage, Braun and Clarke have propounded the simplest yet effective six-step method to conduct thematic analysis. In spite of its systematic step-driven process, thematic analysis provides core skills to conduct different other forms of qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis, through its theoretical freedom, flexibility, rich and detailed yet complex analytical account has emerged as the widely used and most effective qualitative research tool in social and organizational context. INTRODUCTION In the realm of qualitative research, one of the seldom acknowledged, but most popularly implemented method, is thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998; Roulston, 2001; Braun & Clarke, 2006). However, being both dynamic and complex in its analytical process, thematic analysis could be taken as the foundation method in qualitative analysis (Holloway & Todres, 2003). The research analysts have further argued DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-5366-3.ch009 Copyright © 2019, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research that thematic analysis should be the initial analytic technique for every qualitative researcher to learn, as it forms the plinth for training of basic skills on qualitative analysis method that could be utilised to conduct other forms of qualitative research. As pointed out by Braun and Clarke (2006) in their research paper on thematic analysis, the qualitative research can be categorised into two groups. The first group consists of the analytical approaches that are related to some theoretical framework, for example grounded theory approach, discourse analysis, narrative analysis, etc. Whereas the second category is free from constraint of theoretical framework, and is much more independent and experiential in its approach to analysis. Thematic analysis belongs to this second group of analytic approach. Thus, being independent of theoretical framework, thematic analysis is a divergent, compatible and much more flexible research tool as compared to the other qualitative techniques. Thematic analysis, therefore, help create a rich, detailed, as well a complex account of data set. Owing to its flexibility, thematic analysis, however, can never be criticised being devoid of scientific temperament. The method of thematic analysis consist of very specific and clear guidelines for its conduction, and these procedural guidelines no doubt give the method a scientific vigour. Braun and Clarke (2006), while propounding the six-step process of analysis in thematic technique, have not only focused on the procedural concepts like “what”, “why”, “when” and “how” of the method concerned but have also specified that the analyst should have clarity and immense technical expertise to carry out the analysis through thematic method. This touch of procedural simplicity mingled with complex technical background gives thematic analysis a detailed yet rich flavour in comparison to other qualitative analysis methods, and henceforth makes it the most popular and widely used method for qualitative data analysis. Thematic analysis, because of its simple yet rich data analysis process, can be conducted within both kinds of research paradigms- Realist/ Essentialist paradigm and Constructionist paradigm. However, the focus to carry on analysis would be different for different paradigms. The analysis pattern for the first paradigm of Realist/ Essentialist approach should be more subjective in nature as this approach focuses straightforwardly on individual interest, motivation, life meaning and experiences while analysing a data set (Potter & Wetherell, 1987; Widdicombe & Wooffitt, 1995). In contrast, the Constructionist paradigm believes that meaning and experiences are social phenomenon and not completely an individual perspective (Burr, 1995). Therefore, while analysing data within constructionist framework thematic analysis leans more toward the socio-cultural phenomenon and structural context, rather than the subjective factors, from the account provided by the individual data. However, it is noteworthy that thematic analysis often involves a number of decisions that are not always explicitly mentioned by the researchers. For example, the study by Taylor and Ussher (2001) on discourse analysis provides a good example 198 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research of explicit thematic analysis research process, whereas, the study by Braun and Wilkinson (2003) on women psychology does not mention much about the explicit decisions involved while conducting the study. One of the example of a ‘bad thematic analysis’ is where the analyst simply put the questions asked, in the interview to the participants, as themes. In this example, no obvious methodological procedure is implemented, or to say no thematic analysis is actually done. To minimise occurrence of this kind of error as specified in the example, it is worth noting and evident that to conduct thematic analysis and to carry on with qualitative research, mention of the decisions taken and answering the probable questions on methods adopted for data collection and analysis is essential for maintaining scientific vigour of the study. In this context, this chapter on thematic analysis purports to discuss the following points in detail, with the intention to impart better understanding and implementation of knowledge of the method, for the benefit of the young qualitative data analysts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Concept of thematic analysis, and its two major types, viz. Inductive and Deductive. Concept of ‘themes’ and its two major types, viz., Sematic and Latent. Guideline for the six-step process of conducting thematic analysis as advocated by Braun and Clarke (2006), through early study example (Nicholas and McDowall, 2012). Probable challenges of thematic analysis and how to make thematic analysis good. The probable pitfalls to avoid when conducting thematic analysis for a particular data set, through discussing the pros and cons of the method. The applications, implications and recommendations for thematic analysis within qualitative research forte. INTRODUCTION TO THEMATIC TECHNIQUE Defining Nature of Thematic Analysis One of the most popularly used data analysis technique in qualitative research, thematic analysis analyse, identify and finally report the most probable and major themes from the data set. As Boyatzis (1998) specified, thematic analysis further interprets important aspects of research topics and hence, describes research data in an organised and rich format. Unfortunately, because of its poor acknowledgment and ‘branding’, thematic analysis is not a much ‘named’ method as compared to the other qualitative methods such as narrative analysis, grounded theory method, discourse analysis, etc. It has 199 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research been observed from the previous literature existing in this area that many used research analysis techniques are essentially thematic in nature but they have been given name of some other analytic technique like discourse analysis, or even content analysis (Meehan, Vermeer, & Windsor, 2000). Even some researches, inspite of using thematic technique have not included it as an identifiable method in the final report; rather those researches have claimed the method as “subjected to qualitative analysis for commonly recurring themes” (Braun and Wilkinson, 2003). However, this underestimation of such a rich data analysis technique is not only a considerable research methodological failure but it also impede the future researchers to carry out research analysis on this line. The under-recognition of the thematic method, simultaneously, makes the proper evaluation of the research technique difficult (Attride and Stirling, 2001). Types of Thematic Analysis In thematic method, the themes and patterns within the data can be analysed in one of the two types or ways of thematic analysis. One is the Inductive or Bottom-up way (e.g. technique used by Frith and Gleeson, 2004), and the other is Deductive or Top-down way (e.g. research techniques used by Boyatzis, 1998; Hayes, 1997). 1. 2. An inductive approach is where the themes identified from data are strongly linked to the collected data set (Patton, 1990). In this sense, an inductive method can be claimed to be data driven. Inductive technique is, therefore, the type of thematic method where the coding process of research data, after its collection via interview or focused group discussion does not try to fit any pre-existing frame or conception of the researcher. Whereas, on the other hand, deductive technique is that type of thematic method where analysis tends to be analyst driven. As deductive technique tends to be more driven by the researcher’s theoretical framework and research interest, hence this technique provides a less rich organisation and description of the overall data, yet it can provide a more detailed analysis of some specific aspect of the data. To make this implemented discrimination of the two mentioned types, viz., inductive and deductive type of thematic analysis, Braun and Clarke (2006/ 2008) in their research paper of thematic method have given a good range of examples from previously conducted researches in this area which are quoted below: If a researcher was interested in talk about heterosex, and had collected interview data, with an inductive approach they would read and re-read the data for any 200 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research themes related to heterosex, and code diversely, without paying attention to the themes that previous research on the topic might have identified. For example, the researcher would not look to Hollway’s (1989) influential research identifying discourses of hetero sex, and code just for male sexual drive, have/hold or permissive discourse themes. In contrast, with a theoretical approach, the researcher may well be interested in the way permissiveness plays out across the data, and focus on that particular feature in coding the data. What this would then result in is a number of themes around permissiveness, which may include, speak to, or expand on something approximating Hollway’s original theme (Braun & Clarke, 2008, p.12-13). Decisions Involved in Thematic Analysis There are a number of decisions or choices that are involved while plunging into thematic analysis. These decisions or choices are often not made explicit, or to say are not discussed about in the method portion while producing the report on analysis. Nevertheless, these decisions need much consideration and to be discussed explicitly to help new researchers understand the analytic process more closely. The decisions include a number of reflexive questions that are essential part of the research topic. The decisions like time constraint, cost involved to conduct entire research process, applicability and implications of final report to be produced, etc. are all part of these decisions. The researcher just cannot plunge into the thematic process, he/ she has to be well aware of its implementation before analysis begins, and sometimes even before the data collection start. This decision-making is important for the researcher to make the research process more pragmatic and free from any unscientific dogmas prevailing regarding qualitative method. Though, as stated above, qualitative researchers mostly are unwilling to make these involved decisions explicit while writing their analysis report, yet there exist a few study reports that have discussed about the decisions made on thematic process during its conduction. One of such example, that can be read as a ready reference by the young qualitative/thematic analysis researchers, is the study by Taylor and Ussher (2001) on Sado-Masochism (S & M). Realist/ Essentialist vs. Constructionist Paradigms As discussed briefly in the introductory part of the chapter, thematic analysis can be conducted within both the paradigms, viz. Realist or Essentialist and Constructionist. However, the focus and outcome of these two paradigms of analysis is completely different from one another. The determination of the paradigm approach in analysis depends upon the conceptualisation of the research and more specifically on what the research data is actually trying to find out. 201 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research When the study is largely focused on subjective factors of participants, for example motivation, personal experiences, emotions, etc., the realist/ essentialist paradigm is the most effective approach for analysing data. But looking from the constructionist angle the meaning and nature of themes are not always necessarily a subjective phenomenon. The constructionist paradigm view themes experiences and tries to theorize them from social and cultural contexts as well. In this context, it is important to know that the thematic analysis which are constructionist in nature tends to be more ‘Latent’ in content and sometimes tends to mingle up with thematic discourse analysis also. However, it is worthy of noting that not all constructionist paradigm of thematic analysis is latent in nature. Types of Themes In thematic analysis, the decision of theme identification majorly revolves around two levels or to say the main two types of ‘themes’. The first level is the Semantic or explicit level of themes, and the other is the Latent or interpretive level (Boyatziz, 1998). The analysis of themes generally focus on one level at a time. 1. 2. In semantic approach, the data is analysed at an explicit or surface level where the analyst is not looking beyond the statements delivered by the participants of the study. In this sense, the semantic approach of analysis mainly function to organise, summarise and interpret the data pattern with its implications in relation to previous literature resources available (Patton, 1990; Frith & Gleeson, 2004). In contrast, latent approach analyse data at much deeper level of the content. Latent approach tends to identify and examine the underlying meaning, idea, content concept, ideologies, etc. of the data set. Therefore, in latent thematic analysis the interpretive work is much more deep and rigorous in nature that not only involves description but is also justified with theoretical framework. As discussed earlier, the latent level of themes could be more closely identified within the constructionist paradigm (e.g. Burr, 1995) and at times tend to overlap with thematic discourse analysis (e.g. Singer and Hunter, 1999; Taylor and Ussher, 2001), though not every aspect of this paradigm is latent in nature. Transcription of Data to Generate Themes When the researcher is working with data collected through verbal interview (that has been recorded), recorded programmes or any kind of speech given, then it is essential to get that data transcribed before entering the analysis process. In this 202 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research sense, transcription is nothing but writing down the extracts of collected data as it is, or to say verbatim. The process of transcription may seem time consuming and at times even boring to the research analyst, but it is indeed an excellent way to get oneself well acquainted with the data. As suggested by Reissman (1993), transcribing data in order to generate themes is the very first step of analysis in the thematic process. It helps the researcher identify codes while writing down the extract that further accelerates the process of generation of themes. In this regard, researcher have also said that transcribing should be taken as “a key phase of data analysis within interpretive qualitative methodology” (Bird, 2005). However, while transcribing data it is important to keep in mind that it need to be taken down as verbatim which include not only the verbal data but also the nonverbal details like speech pauses, coughing, facial expression, voice tone, laughing or smiling, etc. Further, the punctuation also need to be taken into consideration while transcribing data for thematic analysis purpose, as advised by Edwards (1993). It is noteworthy that the time invested in transcription is never wasted; rather it helps the researcher observe the data set closely and develop a better understanding of it. The close attention data needed for being transcribed, further, enforces rereading or re-listening of data and enhances the interpretive skills of the analyst (Lapadat & Lindsay, 1999). Pros and Cons of Thematic Method As it has been stated from very beginning of this chapter, thematic analysis is a relatively straightforward process of qualitative research, especially in comparison with discourse analysis and content analysis. Thematic analysis can be, thus, used even by the researchers who are new in the realm of qualitative research analysis as it does not demand for prior knowledge on its theory and techniques. In spite of being an easy going process, thematic analysis do have some limits that needs to be taken care of by an analyst before entering the analysis process. It is to be kept in mind that the application of thematic analysis requires trained expertise and should not be used in prescriptive, linear and inflexible manner while analyzing qualitative data. It should rather be implemented in relation to research question and data availability. Limitations in Using Thematic Analysis The pitfalls of thematic analysis are as follows: 1. Thematic analysis is an exhaustive and time-consuming process. 203 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Analysis demands breaking down of data extracts to form themes that might result into loss of context. Thematic reliability is a big concern as wide range of interpretations are involved. Flexibility of thematic analysis, which is otherwise considered as the strength of this method, sometime makes it difficult for the analyst to understand that which aspect of the data is required to focus on. Data discovery and verification may be clashed as new themes keep emerging even at the final phase of data refinement and interpretation. Sense of data continuity is at times disrupted due to rediscovery of new themes during refinement phase. In spite of its systematic step-driven process, thematic analysis is the most flexible and primarily used data analysis methods in qualitative research. It provides with core skills for conducting different other forms of qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis, through its theoretical freedom, flexibility, rich and detailed yet complex analytical account has emerged as the widely used and most effective qualitative research tool in social and organizational context. Advantages in Applying Thematic Analysis The greatest strengths of using thematic analysis in research are, hence, enumerated below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 204 Thematic analysis is an easy to learn method for researchers who are interested in doing qualitative research. It is one of the most flexible method to adopt in qualitative research, and even can be accessible to researchers with very little or no experience in this field. Most applicable for deep-rooted analysis, as thematic interpretation can go beyond experiential surface of data extracts. Allows data interpretation to go beyond phenomenal level and reach broader perspective of significant social context. Analytical process gives scope to work in collaboration and encourages participatory research approach where multiple researcher can work with participant as coherent part of the research. Allows several categories to emerge from data extract as codes to form collated and coherent theme. Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research Challenges in Thematic Analysis Thematic analysis have often been criticised by the researchers of quantitative realm as a type of analysis where ‘anything goes’. For example, the very first sentence of Laubschagne’s (2003) abstract says, “For many scientists used to doing quantitative studies the whole concept of qualitative research is unclear, almost foreign, or ‘airy fairy’ - not ‘real’ research”. In spite of all the criticisms, it is noteworthy that qualitative research, viz., thematic analysis comprised of rigorous techniques of data collection and analysis. The British Psychological Society has given some fundamental guidelines for assessing quality of qualitative research analysis, solely for the purpose to curtail the limitations and criticisms as raised time and again by the learned researchers. Cautions to Be Observed for Thematic Analysis Braun and Clarke (2006) with the view in mind to make thematic analytical approach more scientific and free from criticisms have given few caution criteria’s in every step of its conduction. These cautions, crucial to be observed to make thematic analysis a good analytic technique, are as follows: 1. The data to be transcribed with level appropriate detailing and the transcription thus made to be checked thoroughly. 2. All data items to be given equal attention at initial coding process. 3. The coding process to be thoroughly inclusive and comprehensive, rather than being an anecdotal approach. 4. Relevant extracts for each theme to be sufficiently collated. 5. Themes, thus generated from initial coding, to be checked and rechecked against each data set. 6. Themes generated need to be inclusive, coherent and consistently relevant with the research topic. 7. During analysis, data need to be interpreted in such a way that it implies to the research, rather than being just an anecdotal paraphrasing. 8. The data collected should match the analysis and the extracts should be able to defend the interpretation thus given. 9. Analysis should be well organised and coherent with the data and research topic. 10. There need to be a balance between the extracts and the analysis. 11. Proper time should be invested to complete all the phases of analysis adequately. 12. While writing report all the assumptions about the thematic approach need to be specified. 205 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 13. The described method of analysis and the interpretive report should be in parity with one another. 14. The reported concepts need to be consistent with the analytical epistemology. 15. Last but not the least, the researcher need to be active throughout the data collection and analytical process so that he/ she is in a position to face any evaluation regarding the research. Applying Thematic Analysis: Guiding Steps The conducting stages of thematic analysis are to some extent common with some of the steps followed in qualitative research, so the phases of thematic analysis that will be described here are not all novel in nature. However, as specified by Braun and Clarke (2006), the analysis process begins as soon as the analyst starts to observe dataset minutely (even while collecting data) and search for meaning and pattern in it. Thus, the analyst look for meaning from ideas given by each participant, and interprets the data content in form of specific patterns or themes where “themes are abstract (and often fuzzy) constructs the investigators identify, before, during and after analysis” (Ryan & Bernard, 2000). Unlike statistics driven quantitative researches, where data analysis is generally done at the end, writing and jotting thematic points and search for interpretive meaning in content for further analysis purpose starts from very beginning of the study. Henceforth, in thematic analysis writing begins from its first phase only, where a continuous writing and re-writing of potential codes along with search for final coding and interpretive analysis simultaneously takes place. However, it is crucial to note, before starting with the six major guiding steps of thematic analysis as given by Braun and Clarke (2006), that these steps are not inflexible rules, which cannot be modified pertaining to the nature of research question and its relation to available data. These prescribed steps are rather the guidelines to help qualitative researchers provide the basics of thematic analysis to begin with. Moreover, analysis is not linear process where the analyst moves from one-step to the other, it is rather a rigorous and recursive process where the research analyst may need to move back and forth as per the data demands, and development of the process takes considerable time (Ely et al., 1997). Phases in Thematic Analysis 1. 206 Phase 1 (Getting Familiarised With Data): The first stage to start with the process of analysis is to get oneself comfortably familiarise with the data available in hand. Now either these data have been collected by the researcher him/ herself or by some professional data collector appointed by the researcher. Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 2. Once the data is in researcher’s hand the analysis process demands researcher’s/ analyst’s complete active immersion into the analysis process. This active immersion involves reading and re-reading of the data content to search for the meaning, patterns, coding themes, etc. It is important to read the entire data set at least once before begin with search for possible codes and theme patterns. This initial reading aims to help analyst get a clear idea about the theme content, to say is it latent or semantic, or to say is it data driven or theory driven, so on and so forth. As the reading proceeds to re-reading the codes start being generated, the analyst gets more and more familiarise with the data content and the analysis process becomes simplified. Due to these phases of reading and re-reading to become familiarise with every aspect of the data, the qualitative research demands more time in comparison to statistics driven quantitative analysis, and thus it is advised to keep the sample size at minimum level while conducting a qualitative research study. At this initial phase only it is required to start taking notes and get the points noted down. This process not only helps in getting acquainted with data, but also help getting the analyst ready for the formal coding phase. Phase 2 (Generating Initial Codes): Once the process of data familiarisation along with noting down of initial ideas is done stage 2 of thematic analysis begins that aims producing initial codes from data. The initial coding helps identifying the data feature that serve as “the most basic segment, or element, of the raw data or information that can be assessed in a meaningful way regarding the phenomenon” (Boyatzis, 1998). To quote from the original writing of the Braun and Clarke (2006), “The process of coding is the part of analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994), as you are organising your data into meaningful groups (Tuckett, 2005). However, your coded data differs from the units of analysis (your themes) which are (often) broader. Your themes which you start to develop in the next phase, are where the interpretative analysis of the data occurs, and in relation to which arguments about the phenomenon being examined are made (Boyatzis, 1998).” However, the coding process can be data driven or theory driven according to the nature of research. Working systematically and thoroughly through the entire data set is the key requisite in this phase. The phase demands: a) equal attention of the analyst to each data item, b) identification of interesting features from data item that can be taken as preliminary code, and c) recognising the repeated patterns or themes from the entire data set that can form a particular code group. Coding can be done either manually or through software programming as well (Kelle, 2004; Seale, 2000). In manual process, the coding is done by writing notes on the content of analysis to indicate possible theme patterns and identify data segments. The coding of initial stage can be later matched with the data extract that demonstrate 207 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 3. 4. 208 the noted code. However, if using software programme the coding can be done by tagging and naming the sections of the data extract within each data item, and then finally can be collated together by using separate computer files or file cards. During initial coding phase, it is advised to adhere with specified guidelines that (1) the analyst should code as many possible themes/ patterns as possible within the given time limit,(2) coding should be done inclusive of every data extract to prevent the context being lost at the later stage of the analysis (Bryman, 2001), (3) the analyst should code individual data extracts as many possible themes as they seem relevant to, and (4) there should be kept provision for decoding and recoding at later stage as per the analytical need. Phase 3 (Searching for Themes): As the data extracts are coded and collated initially, and the analyst is ready with a long list of these initial coding, phase 3 begins with the quest to search for the final themes. This phase directs itself to identify and organise all the potentially relevant themes from the prior collated individual codes. At this stage, the analyst begins to sort and analyse the codes and combine them according to the similarities found to form the central themes. It is noteworthy that during analysing at this stage some initial codes may collate to form the main theme, whereas the others may group as sub-themes, and yet some may require to be discarded. However, there may still exist some codes in the data extract that do not seem to fit in the specified themes, for those codes a miscellaneous category can be created as it is not advisable to abandon any code category at this stage. These miscellaneous themes might hold interesting significance in analysis at the later stage of review. Therefore, this phase of analysis ends with a collection of central themes, sub-themes, and miscellaneous themes that certainly bears significant relation with each other. From here, the analyst starts getting clear sense of the individual category of themes and, thus, gets ready for the review phase. Phase 4 (Reviewing Themes): This phase technically consist of two sub stages. In the first sub stage, the generated themes required to be compared and checked in relation to the coded extracts, and in the second sub stage the themes to be reconsidered in relation to the overall data set. This phase of analysis basically operates for refinement of the coded themes generated in the previous phase. During this phase the previously generated themes, sub themes and miscellaneous themes can merge, evolve, sub-merge, break down or collapse through the refinement process. Patton’s (1990) dual criteria of internal homogeneity and external heterogeneity for judging categories are noteworthy in this regard. The major objective of this phase in analysis is to make the themes meaningful, indefinable and coherent entities. Thematic map can be generated at and from this phase with carefully monitored analytical process. If the thematic map, which is taken as the accurate representation of Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 5. the data set, satisfies the research and the researcher’s requirement then it is time to move on to the next phase of the analysis. But in case, if the thematic map fails to fit the data set to meet research demands then further reviewing and refining of the coded themes is essential. However, during further review there is every possibility that the analyst may identify some new themes that might seem interesting and he/ she can stat coding and incorporate them as well. Therefore, here at this phase, some cautions needed to be implied to save time, money and the research interest. As with every review the data coding and theme generation can go on to infinity, it is important to note that the research analyst must prevent self from being over enthusiastic towards endless re-coding process. The researcher should keep in mind the research problem in hand and should always stick to the workable hypothesis as per the decided time limit of the research design. It is to be marked that there is no specific guideline to understand when to stop coding themes and start with final analysis, henceforth, the analyst have to be extra cautious and work as per the research demand. However, at the end of this phase the research analyst becomes much confident and thorough with the entire process of coding and interpreting themes. Phase 5 (Defining, Refining, and Naming Themes): Once a satisfactory thematic map have been devised, the research analyst enters the next phase of ‘defining, naming and further refining of themes’. By the terms used here as ‘defining and refining themes’ it has been meant that at this stage of analysis the analyst needs to identify the ‘essence’ or develops understanding of the meaning of each theme as well what the overall themes are about. This stage also sort to determine what data aspect is each theme specifying about. In this phase, it is vital to note that the analyst’s job is not only to summarise the content of the data extracts as themes, but also to point out what are most interesting about them and more certainly, why they are important to be collated as themes. It is worth mentioning here, that this phase demands a detailed analysis for each individual theme from entire data set. This is to ensure that the themes are in accord with the overall concept of the data, and more importantly, they are in relation to the research questions. Thus, the analyst need to conduct detailed analysis of individual themes, and consider each theme in relation to the other. The analyst, as part of the refining process, also required to search for and identify the sub-themes, if any present, within the finalised central themes. Sub-themes are nothing but other essential themes present within a central theme, they help breaking down a large complex central theme into much simpler concept. However, at the end of this phase, it is essential that the analyst is able to clearly define what his / her research themes are, and note down those, which are not. From this end stage after final refinement of 209 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research 6. themes, the research analyst should start brainstorming for giving the themes functional titles or names that are crucial for final analysis part. The theme names should be short, simple and identifiable such that they are able to give a clear understanding of what the theme is all about. Phase 6 (Producing Final Report): Stage 6 begins when the research analyst have satisfactorily worked-out data themes in hand, and then the analyst is all ready to write down the final report. Producing a good thematic report requires expertise as the report, be it written to get published in the journal or made for a course in research assignment, should essentially be able to talk about the complicated research data in most simplified way and also it should give the reader a satisfactory idea about the reliability and validity of the analysis. The purpose of writing report in a comprehensive and simplified technique is to help any reader to understand this substantially time consuming and complex process of qualitative (thematic) analysis in most valid, interesting, coherent, scientific and non-repetitive concise way. The report, thus, produced should contain sufficient evidence of themes in form of demonstrated data extracts as vivid examples of thematic analytical validity. The extracts chosen as examples should be indefinable as an example of the data theme to do full justice with the research question. However, the report writing needs to be evaluative in nature, rather than just being descriptive. The analyst while producing the final report should keep this in mind that only narrating the data extracts to suit the themes, thus analysed, is not sufficient. The report writing should and must include evaluation in every step to justify the selected themes and how these themes are evident in relation to the research topic and question. ILLUSTRATION There exist very few studies on thematic analysis, concerning the arena of work life. One of such, that has been selected for present discussion as a relevant example is the study by Nicholas and McDowall (2012) on work and family life balance, titled as “When work keeps us apart: A thematic analysis of the experience of business travellers”. This study, though conducted with less number of participants, have particularly focused on the experience of professional and personal life balance of the business travellers, under unscheduled conditions, for organisational and economic growth. In present day scenario, it is evidently becoming more and more important to strike a balance between work and family life, and this study by Nicholas and McDowall here have touched the right chord by trying to examine the experiences 210 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research of “time together and time apart” (Nicholas and McDowall, 2012) of the business travellers (employed and self-employed). Nicholas and McDowall (2012) in their study recruited eleven (11) participants with spouses and children (8 males and 3 females), through non-probability technique (snowball and word-to-mouth), engaged in business travel as part of their work life for an average of twenty (20) years, and staying away from family for at least five days in a month. In the study under discussion, the researchers’ employed a semi-structured interview approach with exploratory questions for the data collection purpose. The interview questions, as reported by Nicholas and McDowall (2012) in their study, included specific prompts to facilitate further elaborative discussion on the topic in order to encourage participants bring about a direct and collaborative engagement during collection of data. However, Nicholas and McDowall (2012) reported to use the guidelines given by Smith and Eatough (2007), for conducting qualitative interviews, in formulating the prior interview schedule for the participants’ to collect data. The interview, thus, conducted in this discussed study majorly focused on the participants’ quality of lifestyle in connection to their time spent together and apart with their family. This was done by asking the participants’ to share their life experiences concerning their business travel tenures and how those travels were suited or unsuited, at times, to their work and family perspectives. In this respect, the questions asked to the participants explored the specific aspects of their lives including the instances they enjoyed and/ or found difficult to deal with while they were travelling. Further, the interview also focused on encouraging the participants to share and describe experiences regarding striking balance between work and family when they were returning from business pursuits, or while they were working from home or hometown. Finally, the participants were inquired regarding their ability to cope with work demand and stress, and the family commitments; along with giving some effective suggestions for others to deal with, in this instance, when facing similar situation. However, the final questions (as reported by the researcher in their published work) of the study tried to explore on participants specific experiences of travelling and the instances of the time away from home. The data were collected elaborately by investing almost sixty (60) to ninety (90) minutes per individual, and according to their convenience in respect of time and place, to make the participants’ feel comfortable during interview procedure. The researchers’ further reported that they took full precautions while conducting the interviews, which were all recorded and transcribed as verbatim. The probable preliminary information’s about the participants’ identification such as the name of participants, organisational names, countries visited, etc., were kept confidential 211 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research and the participants’ were also assigned pseudo names by the researchers to ensure anonymity and confidentiality in the study and the published work. Nicholas and McDowall (2012) in their study have chosen thematic method for analysing the collected data, for its flexible nature (King, 2004) and the critical framework pattern (Willig, 1999). The researchers’ have particularly followed the six-step method given by Braun and Clarke (2006) for producing final report on their research article. This study had strictly followed all the norms of thematic technique by continuously reconstructing and reviewing themes with collaboration of the second researcher (noted from the published work) to ensure inclusion of only the strongly emerging themes in the final study report; and thus, disregarding all the themes that consisted of weak evidence and/ or less significance. Hence, with the application of thematic technique and through observation of every possible precautions needed Nicholas and McDowall (2012) produced their study report that finalise the emergence of four major themes, namely: “Accepting their lifestyle choice and role” (which talked about participants’ choice of their profession out of free will, self-discretion, and to some extent financial determinants), “Process of negotiation” (signified participants’ requirement for negotiating with their family, friends and organisational/ professional demands to fit into/ between their social roles), “Needing to adapt and adjust” (the most crucial part, in which the participants’ talked about their as well their family’s need to learn to adapt, adjust and compromise for meeting with professional requirements) and lastly, “Business travellers valued quality of time” (here the business travellers or to say the participants’ described about the value of quality time spent with their family, over the quantity of time; participants’ shared their experiences of making up for their absence through providing with quality time to their family as being the key secret of balancing personal and professional spheres of their lives). However, while discussing the study implications the research investigators have claimed that this study through its thematic analytic approach not only have explained the major themes, thus, emerged. Nevertheless, this exemplified study also have facilitated points to further demarcate the types of travelling job natures, viz., one in which there exist a prolonged period of absence and the other like the irregular and unscheduled absence due to business travel (as mentioned in this present one). Nicholas and McDowall (2012) further proclaimed that the travelling jobs with scheduled and prolonged period of absence were considerably perceived as less stressful in sense of balancing work and family life as they consisted of scheduled reunions at regular intervals in comparison to the brief but unscheduled business travels (Gerstel & Gross, 1982). Hence, the study affirms that business travels demand much more balancing of professional and personal life through adopting methods like negotiation, adjustment (both from individual’s and their family’s side), compromise and preferring quality time over quantity. This is due to the fact that in this kind of 212 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research unscheduled travelling ventures there remain no clear dividing line between ‘work time’ and individual ‘leisure time’ or family time (Holley et al., 2008). Thus, this study by Nicholas and McDowall (2012) on balancing work and family life, undoubtedly, had put forward the effective utilisation of the thematic method in understanding the job demands and life experiences of a particular kind of profession and professional experts. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THEMATIC ANALYSIS It is very difficult to pen down what sort of interpretation thematic analysis implies to, as every qualitative study under thematic analysis has its own uniqueness and the particulars differ from study to study. The research analyst can always search and look for the so far published examples, specifically the thematic version he/ she planning to use for own research purpose, to gain access to hands-on reference work. However, sometimes getting proper and good reference work becomes difficult for the researcher as thematic analysis, though popularly practiced, but is not an oftennamed analytical technique. Few studies that can serve as ready to use reference by the future thematic analyst are, thus, mentioned herewith: Ellis and Kitzinger, 2002, study on gender equality of age for having sex; Kitzinger and Willmott, 2002, a study on women’s experience of polycystic ovarian syndrome; Toerien and Wilkinson, 2004, study on women’s experience of body hair removal; and Frith and Gleeson, 2004, study on (inductive thematic analytic method used) perceived body image of men in relation to clothing (check the reference part in this article for detail specifications of these studies). The mentioned studies are good examples to learn from and all of them are majorly conducted in social context. While applying thematic analysis, it is important to mark that the analytical implications need to be grounded in, and at the same time need to go beyond the data surface. This understanding should be applied even in case of a sematic level analysis. In this regard as directed in Braun and Clarke’s (2006) article on conducting thematic analysis the analyst, at the end phase of research, need to explain few relevant questions in relation to thematic analytical implications that include: “what does this theme mean?, what are the implications of this theme?, what conditions are likely to have given rise to it?, why do people talk about this thing in this particular way? and what is the overall story the different themes reveal about the topic?” These questions on thematic implications can be easily explained once the analyst has confident idea regarding the thematic map (as discussed in the previous section on guiding steps of thematic analysis). 213 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Before implementing thematic analysis into any data set for research purpose, it is worthwhile to understand why one would go for thematic analysis in qualitative research. Apart from being a flexible and researcher friendly method that can help as a start up to qualitative research, thematic analysis is well comprised with scientific steps and organised base of analytic element that makes the process a highly recommended method in qualitative research domain (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Crawford et al., 2008). However, this method is most appropriate even when the researchers are interested deriving themes and, evaluate deeper level thoughts and meaning from data set that has been collected from more than one participant. Thematic analysis, henceforth, provides the research analysts with the opportunity to go beyond the words that has been stated by the participants during data collection, and search for the more deep and unambiguous meaning in terms of themes. Simultaneously, by applying thematic analysis, the researcher can gain better understanding of the participant’s attitude, vision, feeling and thought reflections as this method not only focuses on the verbal documents, but also gives equal emphasis on the non-verbal expressions demonstrated by each participant during data collection time. The themes, thus, developed act as the clue to further connect with the original data and help form the basis for final interpretation. Regarding this nature of thematic analysis, Namey et al. (2008) have rightly pointed out that thematic analysis “May include comparing the relative frequencies of themes or topics within a data set, looking for code co-occurence or graphically displaying code relationships.” However, to conduct thematic analysis a large amount of data is required. As suggested by Joffe and Yardley (2004), thematic analysis should “describe the bulk amount of the data”. This is important because though a single statement is enormously significant in thematic process, but only a few statement cannot depict or narrate the diverse relationship of data concern in terms of meaningful cause and effect phenomena. Further, the data need to be large in amount for analysis to do full justice with the research topic, especially when more participants are involved in the data collection process. In this regard, Blacker (2009) have specified that a rich, detailed and large amount of data helps getting “the predominant and important themes” from the process of analysis. In the thematic analysis process, the data is ideally analysed without being influenced by the already existing themes and this further ensures an analysis of participant’s views from the data set in most unbiased manner. To be more specific, this unbiased attitude towards the analytic process helps formulating themes, which essentially contribute towards understanding and better evaluation of ideas, and issues that serve as the major research concern. 214 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research In this sense, as already mentioned in the chapter discussion, every single statement of the research participant is considered as valid for analytic purpose to identify the concerned concepts. These concepts are, thus, important to understand the views and underlying meanings as conveyed by the participants in a hypothetical way until they are confirmed through final analytical process of evaluation and interpretation. Thematic analysis, as pointed out several times in this chapter discussion, is one of the most flexible and widely used method in research for qualitative data analysis. The method provides a good hold in the realm of qualitative research even to the young/ new researchers. It is one of the most effective and appropriate method to implement when the study samples are pre-determined and pre-defined in research. Thematic analysis is equipped with the flexibility to start data analysis from the very beginning of the study, even during the time of data collection. Further, this method provides flexibility to approach research analysis in both the ways, viz., inductive and deductive (Frith and Gleeson, 2004; Hayes, 2000; Halldorson, 2009). Therefore, thematic analysis is a comprehensive tool for the researchers to analyse data set in terms of identifying the evolving themes from the content provided by the participants or gathered through other sources like news articles, speech delivered, etc. during the time of data collection (Hayes, 1997). As the application of thematic analysis has wide scope, its interpretive potential becomes infinite with availability of rich data content. It is possible to link and compare data content in terms of participant’s concepts and opinions recorded in different situations and at different times. Thus, thematic method provides an elaborated and diverse range of interpretation during in-depth analysis process. CRITICAL QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is the difference between code and theme? Which particular type is more applicable, latent theme or semantic theme? Is there any pre-requisite for data exists to be applicable for thematic analysis? What type of research questions are suitable for thematic analysis? How to understand that the thematic analysis done is a good one? SUGGESTED ANSWERS Answer 1: Theme is the common and recurring pattern of idea across the dataset, it tends to identify and describe various facets of a single idea from dataset. Whereas, code is more specific than theme. Code tend to describe a particular 215 Thematic Analysis in Qualitative Research idea at a time, and several codes combine together to form a theme in the process of thematic analysis. Answer 2: Thematic analysis offers diversified evaluation and is extremely flexible in approach. Hence, there is no better or worse theme type, but according to the purpose they serve researcher can choose which one to implement in his/ her study. If the researcher is looking for a more realistic and descriptive evaluation of participant’s experience then he/ she may choose semantic type of analysis. On the contrary, if the researcher is prone towards a constructionist type of understanding regarding any social phenomena then latent type of analysis would be more appropriate. Answer 3: There exists no pre-requisite for data to be applicable for thematic analysis. Thematic analysis, because of its flexible nature, can be used for analysing most types of qualitative research data collected by various means like interview, focused group discussion, qualitative surveys, stories, diaries and news articles, so on and so forth. Answer 4: Thematic analysis is applicable for addressing most types of qualitative research questions that includes personal experiences, individual opinions, social and community based practices and belief system, individual thought process and decision-making, etc. Answer 5: The guided step-by-step process given by Braun and Clarke to follow while conducting thematic analysis is the most effective way to ensure that one has practiced a good thematic analysis. Along with that the basic cautions given for thematic process to be kept in mind during analysis time further ensures that no error has been committed. 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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Coding: Coding, in qualitative research, is the initial phase of analysis which facilitate the process of theme generation by breaking down and categorising data statements into different levels. Constructionist Approach: Constructionist paradigm is that kind of research approach which is prone toward understanding the social and cultural perspectives for any specified phenomenon. Deductive Thematic Analysis: Deductive thematic analysis is the type which is more analyst driven, and therefore, it tends to fit into the analyst’s o researcher’s pre-existing research interest. Inductive Thematic Analysis: It is a type of thematic analysis that is strongly linked with the data, and hence does not try to fit into the pre-existing concept of the research or the researcher. Inductive thematic analysis is, thus, much more data driven in nature. Latent Theme: Latent theme looks into the deeper level of causal relations from a given set of data. Thus, it deals with the underlying meaning, concepts, and ideas of the specified data statements. Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is the kind of research which is exploratory in nature and seeks to understand the underlying conditions of any incident, event or phenomenon by applying techniques like interview, opinion survey, etc. Realist Approach: It is the type of research approach in the qualitative field that is more keen in exploring the subjective factors like emotion, motivation, personal experiences, etc. Semantic Theme: Semantic theme is the surface level or the explicit level theme, which is mainly concern with organising and summarising theme from the data statements in relation to the available research literatures. Transcription: Transcription is the process of putting and arranging verbatim records or interviews into written form to suit the purpose of qualitative research. 220