1

Sixth edition of The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Inquiry

Editors: Norman Denzin, Yvonna Lincoln, Gaile Cannella and Michael Giardina

Chapter title: Thematic analysis

Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke

Chapter Outline (summary)

Section Estimated word count

Introduction & aims 250 words
Background/history 1,500 words
Basic epistemological and ontological 1,250 words
assumptions
Theoretical and methodological approaches 4,000 words
New developments and perspectives 500 words
Conclusion 500 words
Discussion questions 130 words
Reference list 870 words
Total: 9,000 words

Detailed overview
1. Introduction & aims (250 words)
The aims of this chapter are: a) to introduce readers to the thematic analysis (TA) family of qualitative
methods and particularly to the reflexive approach we have developed; and b) to illustrate the phases
and practice of reflexive TA with a worked example of a study exploring constructions of sex,
relationships and physical disability.
More details on the worked example study – this is a small study we are conducting specifically for this
chapter. The study aims to explore how young adults make sense of and construct physical disability in
the context of sex and partner relationships. We are using the innovative and creative method of story
completion – where participants are given the start of the story (one or more sentences), written by the
researcher and centered on a hypothetical scenario, and asked to complete it. We are currently
collecting data from younger adults using four stems, which center on the following scenarios: 1) dating
a person with a physical disability; 2) “hooking up” with a person with a physical disability; 3) “having
sex” for the first time with a person with a physical disability in the context of a committed relationship;
 2

and 4) infidelity with a person with a physical disability in the context of a committed and cohabiting
relationship. Each stem features a “couple,” with gender neutral names. The chapter will include a box
introducing the example study (see below).
This topic aligns with the social justice orientation of the Handbook, and with our own scholarly and
political agendas. Sex and sexuality represent an ongoing area of research interest for us, but physical
disability is new. We chose this research focus because we have both become disabled in the last
decade or so and experience both physical and cognitive limitations; Victoria has also experienced an
escalation in her physical disability as a result of developing a progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis in
addition to other chronic autoimmune conditions. Beyond a topic through which to demonstrate
reflexive TA, the focus on physical disability in the worked example provides us with a rich resource for
exploring the dynamics of reflexivity in TA, and in qualitative research more broadly, and how the
personal and political often intertwine in qualitative research – and indeed how personal experiences
can shift our research in new directions. We also hope that putting ourselves in the position of
researching something new will resonate with student readers as many of them are conducting research
for the first time.
2. Background/history (e.g., how has this topic evolved over time, what are the key inflection points or
moments in its development, what are key/definitional works in this area, what are the major
criticisms of this topic, etc.) (1,500 words)
We will briefly outline our understanding of the history of TA – the term “thematic analysis” has been in
use for at least a century in numerous disciplines and fields; TA as a qualitative research practice seems
to have evolved from quantitative forms of content analysis (Joffe, 2012). Procedures for TA begun to be
published in the 1990s (e.g., Boyatzis, 1998; Hayes, 1997; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Ritchie & Spencer,
1994), at the same time, qualitative researchers often used the method without any guiding reference,
noting that “themes emerged” as if by magic from data, or used techniques from another approach
(e.g., grounded theory) to rationalize what essentially was TA. The publication of our paper Using
thematic analysis in psychology (Braun & Clarke, 2006) is arguably a key moment in the history of TA –
resulting in an increase in popularity of TA as a “named and claimed” method and the inclusion of
chapters on TA in this and other edited works that scope and define the landscape of qualitative
research.
Debates and criticisms center on: whether TA is a distinct method or a set of generic analytic techniques;
whether TA can and should “bridge the divide” between positivist/quantitative and
interpretive/qualitative research (e.g., Boyatzis, 1998; Guest et al., 2012); and whether TA allows for
“thought-less” qualitative researching and for researchers to “analyse their qualitative data for topic
content without considering any methodological horrors” (Brown & Locke, 2017, p. 425). Exploring
these debates and criticisms will enable us to introduce the TA family of methods and the diversity
within TA and to challenge some of the common myths and misconceptions about TA.
3. Basic epistemological and ontological assumptions around TA (1,250 words)
Flexibility, including theoretical flexibility, is a hallmark of the TA family of methods – but some
approaches are more theoretically flexible than others. We argue that our and other reflexive
 3

approaches are the most theoretically flexible because they are not constrained by the implicit (and
sometimes explicit) neo-positivism evident in approaches that emphasize establishing the accuracy and
reliability of coding and the use of structured coding approaches (e.g., use of a codebook or coding
frame) (e.g., Boyatzis, 1998; Guest et al., 2012; Joffe, 2012). We illustrate how epistemological and
ontological assumptions underlying different versions of TA are evident in and enacted through
procedures and practices, and through the conceptualization of core constructs such as the “theme” –
“diamonds scattered in the sand waiting to plucked-up by a lucky passer-by” (Braun & Clarke, 2016, p.
740) versus sculptures actively crafted by an artist with a wealth of human experience to draw on. We
use this discussion to argue for and illustrate the importance of a reflexive, knowing and deliberative
engagement with theory in TA and qualitative research, no matter which approach you are using.

Historically, TA and phenomenological and experiential research have often been linked, although the
grounds for this are rarely explicated. We and others (e.g., King & Brooks, 2017) understand TA as
extending beyond a concern for experiential phenomena to also encompass the exploration of social
processes and the social construction of meaning. The theoretical flexibility of TA creates possibilities for
using it within feminist theoretical frameworks – the term “feminist thematic analysis” (McDougall &
McGeorge, 2014, p. 82) increasingly has currency – queer theoretical frameworks (e.g., Kjaran &
Jóhannesson, 2013) and Indigenous knowledge frameworks (e.g., Le Grice & Braun, 2016; Ong & Braun,
2016), among others. The theoretical flexibility of reflexive TA also means it can be incorporated into
community-based research designs and participatory methodologies such as memory work (e.g.,
Delgado-Infante & Ofreneo, 2014). The relative accessibility of reflexive TA (both in terms of procedures
and outputs), and the previously noted potential to side-step “methodological horrors” (Brown & Locke,
2017, p. 452) – here knowingly, and for pragmatic and political purposes (e.g., facilitating community
members contributing to the analysis) – means it is particularly well suited to “power-sharing”
participatory methodologies (e.g., Rowley et al., 2020).

4. Theoretical and methodological approaches (i.e., how to ‘do’, put in practice, or conduct the
approach discussed in your chapter) (4,000 words including boxes, tables and figures)
We provide theoretically- and methodologically-oriented and grounded guidelines for the doing of
reflexive TA, discussing and illustrating the “many questions” of reflexive TA – around research values
and guiding theory, research questions and research design, inductive and deductive orientations,
semantic and latent coding – as we outline and illustrate our six-phased approach. We illustrate the key
decisions and processes using the worked example study. We use boxes and tables to provide a brief
overview of the example study (250 words) – research question, data collection, participants – and other
processes and “outputs” from the analytic process such as familiarization notes (250 words), coding (250
words), thematic mapping (100 words), and theme definitions (150 words).
5. New developments and perspectives (i.e., what is under debate, pending, and/or unresolved in this
area?) (500 words)
New developments include exciting and knowing methodological “mash-ups” of TA and other methods
including narrative analysis and discourse analysis, and the use of TA within pluralist enquiry. And also a
more reflexive future for reflexive TA – with researchers sharing the inner workings of their analytic
 4

process (e.g., Trainor & Bunden, 2020), and focusing less on the number of outputs and more on the
quality of outputs. For new journal reporting formats that allow or even encourage researchers to share
these inner workings e.g. supplementary material online.
6. Conclusion (i.e., where do we go next? Lead us into the next decade!) (500 words)
We argue for a future of slow TA – part of a wider “slow academia” movement (e.g., Berg & Seeber,
2016) – of allowing time for the turning of what we have referred to elsewhere as the “slow wheel of
interpretation” (Braun & Clarke, 2021). For TA researchers to prioritize depth of engagement over speed
of output. To appreciate the value of returning to data time and again, of pondering, wondering,
reflecting, imagining, shifting away and coming back again (e.g., Ho et al., 2017). We connect this to the
importance – discussed in previous section – of making visible their analytic processes.
7. Provide at the end up to five (5) discussion questions germane to your chapter for teaching
purposes (130 words)
 How much does the mode of research depicted in this chapter – reflexive qualitative research –
sit comfortably with you? How much does it feel uncomfortable and challenge you?
 If you feel uncomfortable or anxious about starting your reflexive TA journey, what might you be
able to do to manage this?
 Which values or principles about research might influence your response to the material in this
chapter – positive and/or negative?
 If you imagine a continuum from the unbiased objective researcher to the subjective situated
researcher, where feels most comfortable to you? Why might that be? How might that affect
your qualitative research practice?

References (870 words)

Berg, M. & Seeber, B. K. (2016). The slow professor: Challenging the culture of speed in the academy.
University of Toronto Press.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development.
Sage.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology,
3, 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practice guide for beginners. Sage.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2016). (Mis)conceptualising themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with
Fugard and Potts’ (2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis. International Journal of Social
Research Methodology, 19(6), 739-743. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2016.1195588
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019a). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport,
Exercise & Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019b). To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful
concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise
and Health. ONLINE FIRST. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1704846
 5

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic
analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology. ONLINE FIRST.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2021). The ebbs and flows of qualitative research: Time, change and the slow
wheel of interpretation. In B. C. Clift, J. Gore, S. Gustafsson, S. Bekker & I. S Costas Batlle (Eds.),
Temporality in qualitative inquiry: Theories, methods, and practices. Routledge. [in press]
Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Hayfield, N. (2019). “A starting point for your journey, not a map”: Nikki Hayfield
in conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke about thematic analysis. Qualitative
Research in Psychology. ONLINE FIRST. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2019.1670765
Brown, S., & Locke, A. (2017). Social psychology. In C. Willig & W. Stainton Rogers (Eds.), The Sage
handbook of qualitative research in psychology (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555
Delgado-Infante, M. L., & Ofreneo, M. A. P. (2014). Maintaining a “good girl” position: Young Filipina
women constructing sexual agency in first sex within Catholicism. Feminism & Psychology, 24(3),
390–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353514530715
Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2012). Applied thematic analysis. Sage.
https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436
Le Grice, J. S., & Braun, V. (2016). Mātauranga Māori and reproduction: Inscribing connections between
the natural environment, kin and the body. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous
Peoples, 12(2), 151-164.
Ho, K. H. M., Chiang, V. C. L., & Leung, D. (2017). Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis: The
‘possibility’ beyond ‘actuality’ in thematic analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(7), 1757–
1766.

Joffe, H. (2012). Thematic analysis. In D. Harper & A. R. Thompson (Eds.), Qualitative methods in mental
health and psychotherapy: A guide for students and practitioners (pp. 209-223). Wiley.
Kidder, L. H., & Fine, M. (1987). Qualitative and quantitative methods: when stories converge. In M.M.
Mark & L. Shotland (Eds.), New Directions in Program Evaluation (pp. 57-75). Jossey-Bass.
King, N., & Brooks, J. (2017). Thematic analysis in organisational research. In C. Cassell, A.L. Cunliffe & G.
Grandy (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative business and management research methods
(pp. 219-236). Sage.
Kjaran, J.I. & Jóhannesson, I.A. (2013). Manifestations of heterosexism in Icelandic upper secondary
schools and the responses of LGBT students. Journal of LGBT Youth, 10(4), 351-372.
McDougall, S.D. & McGeorge, C.R. (2014). Utilizing women’s feminist Identities in family therapy: A
phenomenological exploration of the meaning women assign to their feminist identities. Journal
of Feminist Family Therapy, 26(2), 73-98.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.).
Sage.
 6

Ong, M. G., & Braun, V. (2016). Erasing/Embracing the marks of aging: Alternative discourses around
beauty among Filipina migrants. Social Science Diliman, 12(2).
Ritchie, J., & Spencer, L. (1994). Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. In A. Bryman & R.
G. Burgess (Ed.), Analysing qualitative data (pp. 173-194). Taylor & Francis.
Rowley, J., Rajbans, T., & Markland, B. (2020). Supporting parents through a narrative therapeutic group
approach: A participatory research project. Educational Psychology in Practice.
https://DOI.ORG/10.1080/02667363.2019.1700349

Trainor, L. R., & Bundon, A. (2020). Developing the craft: Reflexive accounts of doing reflexive thematic
analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1840423
 7

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER

This will be the sixth generation of the Handbook. More than 25 years ago, the first edition (1994)
established the fact that qualitative research had come of age as a field, and needed to be taken
seriously. Subsequent editions framed the field in terms of social justice; theory and method that
connects to politics; and ways forward toward interventionist research in times of global uncertainty.
We want the sixth edition to carry qualitative inquiry well into the next decade, acknowledging the
multiple crises we face: a global pandemic; assaults on higher education; the terror of neoliberalism and
encroaching tide of illiberal democracy and authoritarianism; wage inequality; and racial, gender, sexual,
and class based forms of oppression. At the same time, we want authors who can write chapters that
will address practical, concrete issues of theoretical and methodological implementation while critiquing
the field and mapping key current and emergent themes, debates and developments.
Chapter formatting:
We would appreciate authors following a format close to the one enumerated below. We recognize, of
course, that not all chapters will fit neatly into this framework, and so there will likely be a bit of
deviation between chapters. Our goal here is to have a degree of general uniformity in the overall look
and feel of each chapter, while providing authors a good deal of latitude to select the key matters most
deserving of attention in their chapter:
1. Introduction & Aims of the chapter
2. Background/History (e.g., how has this topic evolved over time, what are the key inflection points
or moments in its development, what are key/definitional works in this area, what are the major
criticisms of this topic, etc.)
3. Basic epistemological and ontological assumptions about your chapter topic
4. Theoretical and Methodological Approaches (i.e., how to ‘do’, put in practice, or conduct the
approach discussed in your chapter)
5. New developments and perspectives (i.e., what is under debate, pending, and/or unresolved in
this area?)
6. Conclusion (i.e., where do we go next? Lead us into the next decade!)
7. Provide at the end up to five (5) discussion questions germane to your chapter for teaching
purposes.
Your chapter should be no longer than 9,000 words, inclusive of notes and references. Please write your
chapter with an international audience in mind, and so please ensure your literature is sufficiently global
in its scope, while also providing links to your own research experience(s) where appropriate.
Importantly, you should be clear how your topic aligns specifically with qualitative inquiry. Your chapter
should provide readers the necessary information for deciding whether and how to use or engage with
the approaches and/or theories that are the focus of your chapter.
Remember, you are the expert in this area: we encourage you to define – or, at least, present an
argument for – how and where the field goes into the next decade.
 8

Authors should adhere to the 7th edition of the APA Style Manual, with the exception of multi-authored
in-text citation. A change in the 7th edition is that it dictates all sources with three authors or more
should be attributed using the name of the first author only, followed by ‘et al.’ from the first instance of
citation in the text. We believe, and SAGE agrees, that this change marginalizes if not erases authors of
multi-authored works. As such, please include all authors of multi-authored works the first time cited;
utilize first author, et al. in any subsequent in-text citation.
In terms of level, your chapter should be both sophisticated and accessible—oriented to graduate
students and academics, but perhaps those who are only beginning to grapple with either qualitative
inquiry generally, or your particular topic specifically. We hope that this edition will become the go-to
qualitative research text in the classroom, and so writing with a teaching element in mind is greatly
appreciated. Where necessary and appropriate, we encourage the use of charts, graphs, tables,
photographs, call-out boxes, and so forth.

Formal timeline:
February 1, 2021: Chapter outline due
July 15, 2021: First draft of chapter due
September 1, 2021: Editorial feedback provided by this date
December 1, 2021: Revised chapter draft due
January 30, 2022: Final feedback provided on revised draft by this date
March 1, 2022: Final copy due
Summer, 2022: Copy editing stage
Fall, 2022: Volume enters final stages of production process
Spring, 2023: Handbook published!