COURSE TITLE: METHODS OF RESEARCH

WEEK 18 ASSESSMENT

Part 1. Written Quiz

Instructions: Based on your reflection paper, extract the word data using the data
reduction technique during thematic analysis. The emergent themes extracted may be
more than 1. Use the picture below as your guide.

Thematic analysis makes a report much better to understand because it is concise and
straight to the point.
Part 2. Reflection Paper
Instruction: Write an essay (1250-1500 words) reflecting on the completed topic of the
week.

Thematic analysis is a qualitative data analysis method that entails reading through a
data set (such as transcripts from in-depth interviews or focus groups) and looking for
patterns in meaning across the data to derive themes. Thematic analysis is an active
process of reflexivity in which the researcher's subjective experience is central to
deriving meaning from data.

The Benefits of Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis is a versatile method of qualitative analysis that allows researchers to

derive new insights and concepts from data. One of the many advantages of thematic
analysis is that it is easy to use for novice researchers who are just learning how to
analyze qualitative data.

Thematic Analysis's Drawbacks

Because thematic analysis is such a versatile method, there are numerous ways to
derive meaning from a data set. It can be difficult to interpret what data is and isn't
important to emphasize. Furthermore, because thematic analysis seeks patterns across
interviews, phenomena that occur in only one individual account may be overlooked.
Furthermore, one limitation of thematic analysis is that you do not use pre-existing
theoretical frameworks, which may limit the interpretive power of your analysis.

Thematic analysis is a powerful yet adaptable method for analyzing qualitative data that
can be applied in a variety of paradigmatic or epistemological contexts. When
attempting to understand experiences, thoughts, or behaviors across a data set,
thematic analysis is an appropriate method of analysis. Themes, as opposed to mere
summaries or categorizations of codes, are actively constructed patterns (or meanings)
derived from a data set that answer a research question. Themes can be generated in
either an inductive or deductive manner. The most widely accepted framework for
conducting thematic analysis consists of six steps: becoming acquainted with the data,
generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming
themes, and producing the report. Themes, as opposed to mere summaries or
categorizations of codes, are actively constructed patterns (or meanings) derived from a
data set that answer a research question. Themes can be generated in either an
inductive or deductive manner. The most widely accepted framework for conducting
thematic analysis consists of six steps: becoming acquainted with the data, generating
initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and
producing the report.

Thematic analysis is not restricted to a single paradigm; rather, it can be used in

post-positivist, constructivist, or critical realist research approaches. Using thematic
analysis in various research paradigms entails tailoring this method to specific goals
and outputs. Post-positivists can use thematic analysis to focus on individuals'
meanings and experiences in order to gain insights into the external reality, thereby
assisting in the development of conjectural knowledge about reality. Many interpretivist
orientations (for example, constructivism) emphasize the social, cultural, and structural
contexts that influence individual experiences, allowing the development of knowledge
that is constructed through interactions between the researcher and the research
participants, revealing socially constructed meanings. Researchers have suggested that
thematic analysis is a good first analytic method for novice qualitative researchers to
master, thanks in large part to those who have clearly laid out its analytical processes.
However, as with any research or analytic method, we would argue that thematic
analysis should be chosen based on the research's goals rather than a desire to select
an easy-to-follow method of analysis. When attempting to understand a set of
experiences, thoughts, or behaviors across a data set, thematic analysis is an
appropriate and powerful method to employ. It is useful because it is intended to look for
common or shared meanings. It is less suitable for investigating unique meanings or
experiences derived from a single person or data item. Finally, because thematic
analysis is relevant to other qualitative research methods, the steps of thematic analysis
are similar to those of grounded theory, ethnography, and other qualitative
methodologies that rely on coding and searching data sets for themes as part of their
processes.

Thematic analysis is unquestionably an effective analytical method for qualitative

research. We hope that this Guide not only clarifies what thematic analysis is and how it
can be applied in various research traditions, but also lays out the steps of the process
so that researchers can apply this method in their own work. Thematic analysis is a
versatile method for analyzing qualitative data. We hope that this description will help to
change the perception of thematic analysis in our community. It is not a simple or
unsophisticated data analysis method; rather, it is a flexible and robust analysis method
that can aid in the development of insights into complex phenomena.
When analyzing your research, it is critical to keep your methods as transparent as
possible in order to strengthen your findings and allow your reader to understand how
you arrived at your conclusions. It is critical to be clear about your process. Thematic
analysis has six distinct steps. Following these steps ensures that your process is clear
and rigorous.

The following are the six steps of Thematic Analysis:

1. Get acquainted with your data.

2. Initial code generation

3. Looking for themes

4. Themes are being reviewed.

5. Theme definition and naming

6. Making the report

It is critical to immerse yourself in your data and become intimately acquainted with it.
This is the stage where you will transcribe any verbal data. This step requires you to
read and reread your data. It is critical to actively read through your entire data corpus.

before coding and searching for meanings and patterns. You may take notes on your
initial ideas at this point, but you will not begin coding.

'Thematic analysis allows the interpretive social scientist's social construction of

meaning to be articulated or packaged in such a way that description of social "facts" or
observations appears to emerge, with reliability as consistency of judgment'. He
contends that the interaction of post-positivist and interpretivist paradigms within
thematic analysis can result in a symbiotic relationship in which interpretive findings can
generate new hypotheses to be tested using post-positivist methods, and post-positivist
hypothesis testing can generate new interpretive findings suggest new themes for
investigation through an interpretive lens.
Part 3. Analysis Paper
Instructions: Try going through the 6 steps of thematic analysis on your own using the
following data set:
P1:

My goals/aspirations are to share life together with one woman.

I am unique because I am skillfully artistic.
My music preferences range from Il Divo, Kiri Tekanawa, to Shania Twain.
I am hoping to obtain my private pilot's license.
My hobby is mostly scale model trains.
My ambitions are to spend the rest of my life with one woman. I am unique because I
am an accomplished artist. My musical tastes range from Il Divo to Kiri Tekanawa and
Shania Twain. I'm aiming for a personal driver's licence. My main hobby is scale replica
rail lines.
P2:

I'm an active woman. I enjoy kayaking, travelling, watching live music, and holistic
healing. I take very good care of my health. Looking for someone who is open minded
spiritually, and physically active as well. I believe any great relationship starts with a
solid friendship. Let’s start as friends and build from there.
The woman has an active lifestyle and she wants a person who is open minded . She
believes a solid friendship is a starting point for a great relationship.
P3:

I do not volunteer anymore, thinking I may get back into doing that. I oil paint when the
mood strikes, quilting, walking, reading, some computer games. Keeping my apt tidy
and clean that has become a hobby rather than a chore. The only goal I have at this
point is to stay as healthy as I possibly can and to stay out of trouble. I am a caring,
romantic, honest, loving person. I love hugs and being close. I am sorry I do not do idle
chatting...If you think you would like to know me please send me a message and I will
answer it.
The person has been bored on their life and wants to meet new people. They like social
interactions like hugs. The person wants a productive kind of chat rather than idling.