Advantages And Disadvantages Of Thematic Analysis

Before we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of thematic analysis. Let’s talk about what is thematic analysis. It is a technique used to identify, analyse, and interpret patterns. Especially generated through qualitative data.

Thematic analysis is a suitable technique for conducting research on qualitative data for a dissertation. Researchers use this technique for a more in-depth understanding of dissertation data. Further, it is also used to understand people’s experiences, perspectives and behaviours.

According to dissertation writing services professionals, another viewpoint is considering all themes and evolving your research questions with data. In thematic analysis, researchers generate themes with the help of different codes. These codes represent textual elements that underscore key ideas.

Type Of Data Required For Thematic Analysis?

Sometimes, thematic analysis is used as a primary form of data. But you can also use it as a secondary data type. For example, researchers gather information from interviews, and audio and video recordings. This information can be analyzed thematically. Can also use observations and field research for the same purpose. In long-term studies, we look at behaviours and attitudes. So, we use many different types of information for thematic analysis.

When Do We Use Thematic Analysis?

As we have discussed above, the data we collect from interviews, experiences, and observations. Thus, we use a thematic analysis whenever we need personal information about the data. It helps deal with a bulk amount of data. Moreover, categorises the data into different themes that can be analysed.

Types Of Thematic Analyses?

Inductive Approach

In this technique, we have no preconceived notions regarding subjects. Instead, we analyse the data to generate themes.

Deductive Approach

In this, we already have a set of themes to generate from the data. We find these themes while doing a literature review. Further, will answer your research questions as well.

Semantic Approach

In this approach, we don’t have to delve deep to discover the subjective meaning of the facts. Instead, this strategy is utilised to consider people’s points of view.

Latent Approach

Lastly, in this approach, the researcher dives into the data. Because they want to understand its meaning. To gain an in-depth understanding of data, they also interpret it.

Content And Thematic Analysis

If we talk about Content Analysis vs. thematic Analysis both are different because thematic analysis is used purely for qualitative research and gives a detailed account of key themes and categories. On the other hand, content analysis uses coding units to quantify themes within a qualitative data set.

Content Analysis

Content analysis is used to identify words, themes, and concepts in qualitative data and then transform them into quantitative data. This method uses a similar protocol to thematic analysis. Moreover, this analyses the data and counts how many instances of different coding units occur. Allowing quantitative statistical analysis of the qualitative data.

Thematic Analysis

In thematic analysis, the researcher codes themes in the text then applies them and organises them into related themes. After grouping them identify key themes, and categories and present them accordingly.

How Does Thematic Analysis Help In Research Questions?

We study patterns by repeatedly reading data, coding it, and making themes. Thematic analysis is vital because it helps us understand people’s experiences, feelings, and actions.

• It allows us to discover all patterns and trends.
• You can generate a rich understanding of respondents’ perspectives.
• It helps contextualize data by offering a comprehensive interpretation.

Now we will dive into Advantages And Disadvantages Of Thematic Analysis:

Advantages Of Thematic Analysis?

Thematic analysis in qualitative research is an unsupervised approach that allows you to generate categories and conduct statistical tests without having to establish any rules or processes ahead of time. Here are some of the benefits of thematic analysis.

In-Depth Insights

This method allows you to gain in-depth insights into participants’ motivations, emotions, and perspectives.

User-Friendly

This analysis is highly accessible as most modern survey software provides you with the capability of text analysis.

Holistic Understanding

Looking at many repeating themes related to the research goal helps us fully understand the subject.

Applicability

This analysis method is useful for various fields like market research, customer experience research, social research, healthcare research, etc.

Disadvantages Of Thematic Analysis?

It is an unsupervised approach that enables you to generate categories and perform statistical tests without having to set up any rules or procedures in advance.

Overlooks Minor Themes

Sometimes you may overlook minor themes or less recurring patterns leading to oversight of crucial insights.

Limited Context

Thematic analysis usually focuses on phrases. But sometimes, it might not understand a phrase’s meaning. For example, in a complicated story, it might not realize that the customer wants to quit the service.

How To Conduct A Thematic Analysis?

The work of thematic analysis is that it can vary from researcher to researcher. However, some steps can help in conducting a thematic analysis. The five steps are shared below.

 

Familiarising With Data

In the beginning, you need to familiarise yourself with data. Then, you have to understand what kind of themes it will generate. You can also convert the form of your data in this phase.

Codes Developing

Now start making codes from the data. The researcher goes back and forth from the data for new codes. In this process, they refine their codes. However, these codes set the platform for a better understanding of relevant concepts. Coding is very important to researchers. Statements having the same meaning must be classified under the same code umbrella.

Generate Themes

Next sort codes into themes. It’s crucial to know what each code means and how they relate to each other. It can be single words, while themes should be meaningful sentences. Sometimes, you might find smaller themes within your data, which help identify larger themes that answer research questions. It’s important to value all your data and not dismiss any that could lead to missing key findings.

Narrate Your Experience

Once the themes are reviewed, you should tell a story about your work. This should reflect the truth. When talking about the work you should use data to support points. Make strong arguments to back up your claims. Also need to remember to answer the research questions. Answering the research questions is the researchers’ main goal. If you don’t, the study’s validity could be questioned. Yours’s work story is very important to readers. Using visuals, quotes, and statistics can help explain the story.

Conclusion

Thematic analysis is a technique for conducting qualitative research we have discussed. Also, sheds light on the advantages and disadvantages of thematic analysis. Use both primary and secondary data types. For this study, inductive and deductive methodologies will be used, as well as any data, such as interviews, observations, field research, and even qualitative data. Further, understand how it is used to understand the in-depth meaning of the data. See the difference between thematic and content analysis. Beginners often use thematic analysis. But sometimes, too much information can distract them and they might not achieve their research goals.  The technique we share above is appealing to both new and experienced researchers.