Possible approaches to qualitative data analysis
(Thematic analysis description is taken largely from my thesis – as you can see in
other document. The other summaries were produced for the study I am currently
working on – OriEL).
Summary
Thematic analysis appears to be one of the most popular approaches to qualitative
data analysis and is frequently cited as the approach of choice in journal papers
describing qualitative studies. However, thematic analysis is by no means uniform
and is often only partially explained in these papers. The processes of coding
undertaken are rarely specifically described. It remains popular and useful because it
provides theoretical flexibility and accommodates synthesis of varied data sources
(Boyatzis 1998). Grounded theory, abductive analysis and narrative analysis are all
alternative ways of analysing qualitative data and tend to be more theoretically driven.
Abductive analysis, for example, focuses on identifying novel aspects of the data as a
starting point for theory generation in contrast to the inductive method of grounded
theory. Narrative analysis covers a range of approaches that analyse narratives as
situated accounts and a means of sense-making that support identity.
Thematic analysis
Thematic analysis focuses on identifiable themes and patterns of living and talk and
aims to generate descriptions of strategies and behaviours (Hammersley and Atkinson
1995). Despite being widely used in qualitative research there is a lack of clear
conceptualisation and explanation of thematic analysis processes in much of the
literature (Boyatzis 1998, Braun and Clarke 2006, Suddaby 2006). In application,
thematic analysis is deployed across disciplines and topics in a variety of ways. For
example, although located firmly within the interpretivist paradigm for sociologists,
thematic analysis is sometimes applied by clinical researchers as almost a form of
content analysis, with a sole-focus on identifying recurring descriptive statements
(Boyatzis 1998).
Thematic analysis, to a large extent, is based on the same relativist and interpretivist
concerns as a purely grounded theory approach, most significantly those of constant
comparison and theoretical sampling (Aronson 1994). Descriptions, explanations and
relationships are categorised and subsequently explored and refined by applying them
to other participants, cases and contexts. The purpose is to develop a narrative
explanation, or theory, that can account for and accurately describe the phenomena.
A thematic analysis, however, is differentiated from a grounded theory in that it aims
to summarise data into themes that are then explained, rather than necessarily
developing a novel theory to describe the findings (Ryan and Bernard 2000). The
process of analysis begins with identifying initial ‘themes’ from participants’
accounts. Once these initial patterns of behaviour and talk have been identified, the
next step is to categorise all data that relate to these patterns and, produce codes and
thereby, refine the themes. The patterns are then expounded on and related codes
sorted into sub-themes (Aronson 1994). Finally, the task of the analyst is to try and
explain the ‘story’ of each pattern, code and theme from all perspectives. In
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summary, a thematic analysis is a search for themes that emerge as being important to
the description of the phenomenon. These emerging themes then become categories
for analysis (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane 2006). One of the advantages of this
approach is that it enables researchers to use a wide variety of types of information in
a systematic manner, due to the theoretical flexibility it entails, and is therefore very
useful in synthesising data from different sources (Boyatzis 1998).
Braun and Clarke (2006) explain that, unlike grounded theory or conversation
analysis (CA), a thematic analysis is not tied to a particular theoretical or
epistemological position. As a method of analysis it is essentially independent of
theory and can, therefore, be applied across a range of theoretical and epistemological
approaches. Thematic analysis is a process for encoding qualitative information,
rather than a theoretically informed model for research and analysis (Boyatzis 1998).
Grounded Theory
Grounded theory consists of gathering qualitative data and, at the same time working
out theories and hypotheses and concepts in relation to the data being collected. In
analysis concepts emerge from the data and are taken back to see if they are
adequately representative (Eyles and Smith 1988). Categories can be continually
modified to include new information. Description, classification and connection are
conducted in an iterative, rather than linear, process (Kitchin and Tate 2000).
Grounded theory analysis has three stages: open coding, axial coding and selective
coding. Open coding involves describing and naming initial features of the data and
phenomena being studies. Axial coding involves trying to ‘fit’ the data together and
identify causal relationships. Selective coding is the selection of the core category
and systematically relating them to other categories (Kitchin and Tate 2000). The
core category is the central phenomenon. The theories and categories generated are
verified through theoretical saturation. Eventually, new data ceases to add to existing
knowledge about a category, at which point coding and analysis of that category have
reached saturation.
This method can be approached in a variety of ways and there is some disagreement
over its exact processes and scope (Charmaz 2006). There have been a number of
methodological critiques and commentaries arguing that qualitative researchers are
increasingly describing their analytical approach as a grounded theory, yet what they
are actually deploying is a general method of comparative analysis that could just as
easily be described as a thematic analysis (Thorne 2000, Suddaby 2006). These
analyses are situated in, and in dialogue with, wider bodies of literature and research.
A purely grounded theory approach, by contrast, recommends that:
"An effective strategy is, at first, literally to ignore the
literature of theory and fact on the area under study, in
order to assure that the emergence of categories will not
be contaminated by concepts more suited to different
areas" (p. 37) (Glaser and Strauss 1967)
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More ‘purist’ interpretations of grounded theory, such as the one quoted above, have
come to be replaced by constructivist approaches that aim for plausibility rather than
irrefutability, and an acceptance that existing research and literature on a topic should
not be dismissed, even at the outset (Charmaz 2003). Grounded theory remains a
widely used, discussed and contested approach.
For example, Gray and Smith (2000) deployed a grounded theory analysis in their 4year qualitative longitudinal study of mentoring student nurses. Eight participants
were interviewed about their experiences and the authors describe their application of
grounded theory as ‘a general methodology for developing theory that is grounded in
data which are gathered and analysed using the constant comparative process.’ (Gray
and Smith 2000) (p.1544). In total, 28 categories emerged from the analysis and were
then collapsed into five major categories. The core category of “the professional
socialisation of HE Diploma in Nursing students” was arrived at through ‘a critical
process in which relevant literature was also reviewed’ (Gray and Smith 2000)
(p.1545). This represents a more constructivist, rather than ‘purist,’ grounded theory
approach as existing theories and research were factored into the analysis.
Abductive Analysis
An abductive approach to analysis builds upon Charmaz’s constructivist interpretation
of grounded theory (Ong 2012). In essence, it is a development from the inductive
stance of grounded theory (i.e. theory development driven exclusively by the data) to
an abductive analysis which consists of looking at the data and identifying aspects
that contradict or do not fit with existing theory. These novel or surprising points
should then be the starting point for generating theory.
Timmermans and Tavory (2012) explain that abduction is a creative inferential
process aimed at producing new hypotheses and theories based on surprising research
interviews. The authors accept that the approach does require familiarity with a wide
range of theories and the ability to be both critical and unbiased in comparing findings
to existing research and theories.
There are three distinct stages of data analysis: revisiting; defamiliarisation; and
alternative casing. The analyst must first revisit and re-interpret the data to position
the experience, to allow relevance and focus to develop until it becomes ‘theoretically
salient’. The analyst must then defamiliarise themselves from the data through
inscription, through interrupting, restarting and re ordering the data. This should
provide opportunities and modes of thought that are often glossed over in the first
instance and challenge the taken-for-granted. Lastly, the researcher must think
through different conceptual and theoretical frameworks. In practice, this would
mean taking a relatively small data excerpt and working through it in detail trying to
find as many possible ways to understand the data as can be found (Timmermans and
Tavory 2012).
Narrative Analysis
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As with the approaches described above, there are a variety of ways in which
narrative analysis can be theorised and applied. Greenhalgh and colleagues (2005)
comment that a narrative analysis of personal stories take the story as a whole, rather
than trying to segment it into themes. They reference Muller’s1 five overlapping
stages of narrative analysis: entering the text (preliminary coding); interpreting;
verifying (seeking alternative explanations); representing (writing an account); and
illustrating (finding representative quotes). The structure of the story as a whole and
the context in which it is told must remain in focus (Greenhalgh, Russell et al. 2005).
The authors also highlight an alternative conception of narrative research as
developing shared meanings rather than writing stories. Narratives can be used in
collective sense-making, as a way of understanding change and incorporating it into
an individual’s cognitive schema (Greenhalgh, Russell et al. 2005).
Thomson and Holland (2003), in a similar vein, describe narratives as community
resources on which individuals can draw. They undertook qualitative longitudinal
data analysis for a UK based study following 100 young people over a 9-year period.
Their approach aimed to capture the narrative character of individual accounts, track
changes to them over time, and identify processual features such as narrative style,
pacing and structure. Additionally, they also analysed the substantive content of
personal narratives such as conceptual categories, like linked lives, agency, time and
place. In practice this meant that individual narrative analyses were undertaken after
each interview and a ‘summary narrative analysis’ was written for each location
which identified local themes. Also, the researchers recorded their own personal
reflections on the interviews and their predictions at the end of each round of data
collection. These varied analyses were then drawn together to form a ‘case profile’
tracing changes and continuities in narratives over time (Thomson and Holland 2003).
Alternatively, a discursive analysis of personal narratives emphasises the significance
that individuals place on issues of stake and interest, and how attitudes, habits and
social practices are interwoven with notions of contextual identity (Potter 1997).
Self-narratives and personal stories serve as forms of social accounting and public
discourse, open to continuous alteration (Gergen 2001). There is a substantial body of
literature on health and illness narratives in medical sociology (Horton-Salway 2001).
A discursive narrative analysis begins at transcription. The researcher listens to the
conversation over and over to produce a more detailed rendering of the key moments
and to identify where temporal or topical narratives begin, end and are interrupted.
Interpretative categories, ambiguities in language, contradictions and dilemmas can
then be identified as the narrative segments of the transcription are categorised
(Kohler Riessman 1993).
References
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Muller, J. (1999) Narrative approaches to qualitative research in primary care. In: Crabtree BF,
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