Qualitative methods are widely used in learning and teaching research and scholarship – (Divan, Ludwig, Matthews, Motley & Tomlienovic-Berube, 2017).
While the epistemologies and theoretical assumptions can be unfamiliar and sometimes challenging to those from, for example, science and engineering backgrounds (Rowland & Myatt, 2014), there is wide appreciation of the value of these methods (e.g. Rosenthal, 2016). There are many, often excellent, texts and resources on qualitative approaches, however these tend to focus on assumptions, design and data collection rather than the analysis process per se.
More and more it is recognised that clear guidance is needed on the practical aspects of how to do qualitative analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2013). As Nowell, Norris, White and Moules (2017) explain, the lack of focus on rigorous and relevant thematic analysis has implications in terms of the credibility of the research process.
Thematic Analysis.
Thematic analysis is the process of identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data.
Braun & Clarke (2006) suggest that it is the first qualitative method that should be learned as ‘..it provides core skills that will be useful for conducting many other kinds of analysis’.
A further advantage, particularly from the perspective of learning and teaching, is that it is a method rather than a methodology (Braun & Clarke 2006; Clarke & Braun, 2013). This means that, unlike many qualitative methodologies, it is not tied to a particular epistemological or theoretical perspective. This makes it a very flexible method, a considerable advantage given the diversity of work in learning and teaching.
There are many different ways to approach thematic analysis (e.g. Alhojailan, 2012; Boyatzis,1998; Javadi & Zarea, 2016). However, this variety means there is also some confusion about the nature of thematic analysis, including how it is distinct from a qualitative content analysis (Vaismoradi, Turunen & Bonda, 2013). In this example, we follow Braun & Clarke’s (2006) 6-step framework. This is arguably the most influential approach, in the social sciences at least, probably because it offers such a clear and usable framework for doing thematic analysis.