See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/356924218

Thematic Analysis & Coding: An Overview of the Qualitative Paradigm

Chapter · December 2021

DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17159249

CITATIONS READS

5 23,142

1 author:

Swami Gurunand Jnanathapaswi

University of Kerala
16 PUBLICATIONS 5 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Swami Gurunand Jnanathapaswi on 10 December 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

An Introduction to Social Science Research,
APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-7946-041-2 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17159249

Thematic Analysis & Coding:

An Overview of the Qualitative Paradigm

Swami Gurunand Jnanathapaswi

Research Scholar in Education, University of Kerala, MTTC Research Centre,
Thiruvananthapuram-15. e-mail: swamigurunand@gmail.com

Abstract
Qualitative data analysis is the process of organising, eliciting meaning,

and presenting conclusions from collected data. It could be a tedious process, as it

involves a large volume of data which takes a significant amount of time to order

and analyse the data, for which Thematic Analysis provides an effective

solution. Coding of meaningful themes, identifying patterns, categorising

common codes and themes, conceptualising the inner meaning, generation of the

underlying theory and reporting the same is brought out through the analysis.
Key Terms: Thematic Analysis, pattern, coding, theme, category, concept.

Qualitative data analysis is characterised by “merging of analysis and interpretation

and often by the merging of data collection with data analysis” (Cohen et al.,

2011), for which thematic analysis provides itself as a distinctive tool. According to

Saldana (2009), despite the fact that thematic analysis first appeared in the 1970s

as a data analytic tool, it was not widely used until Boyatsis provided clear

specifications and guidelines regarding 'Coding and Theme Development'. This

allowed thematic analysis to have its own identity separate from Grounded

Theory modalities. The publication of Braun & Clarke's 'Using Theme Analysis

in Psychology' in 2006 encouraged the widespread use of Theme Analysis in the

social and health sciences.

Thematic analysis helps researchers to analyse a large rage of data sets to

find patterns and develop themes. By using thematic analysis, it is possible to

analyse the data collected under different circumstances at different times and

precisely ascertain the relation between concepts and weigh them according

to their recurrence frequency, in relation to the whole content. It is now accepted to

be the best approach

for researches involving meaning recognition and interpretation. The aim of

using thematic analysis in qualitative research is to categorize patterns of meanings

across a dataset that answers the researcher’s research question. One of the

benefits of using thematic analysis is that it can be used within different

frameworks, to answer quite different types of research question.

Boyatsis (1998) defines the theme analysis as a "qualitative information encoding"

process. Braun & Clarke (2006) described thematic analysis as "a method of

identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns or themes within the data".

Whereas Guest, MacQueen & Namey ascertains that, “thematic analysis

moves beyond counting explicit words or phrases and focuses on identifying

and describing both implicit and explicit ideas. Codes developed for ideas or

themes are applied or linked to raw data as summary markers for later analysis,

which may include comparing the relative frequencies of themes or topics

within a data set, looking for code cooccurrence, or graphically displaying

code relationships (2012).”

Qualitative data generally occur as narrative text or scripts generated from journals,

interviews, survey questions, recorded observations or other existing documents. The

researcher becomes ‘immersed' in the raw data in the first stage by reading

and rereading it and taking notes on ideas. Researcher ascertains 'codes' to

words or phrases that have relevance of meaning and ideas in the research context.

The stage of coding is really important to the entire analysis, as code forms the

building blocks of all further analysis. The process is highly subjective and hence

demands validity to minimise researcher bias through careful notes that justify

selection or rejection of particular phrases, and also through inter-rater

comparisons and discussion. Themes or categories are formed by grouping

related codes, producing a network of associations. The themes are then

reviewed and contrasted for completeness, whether they cover all of the

codes, and whether they can be pooled together or further subdivided. Themes

that arise from the analysis are 'sense-checked' against new raw data, influencing

ongoing data collection.

Themes evolving from the coded data are employed to develop a theoretical model,

which is then tested against existent and new data in the final stage of analysis. At

this point, the researcher is entangled in cycles of inductive development of themes

from data and the subsequent deductive or inferential application to the existing data,

assessing their and validity and significance (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In the deductive

parts of the process, the researcher’s own professional theories and constructs from

existing research could be brought into play. Through these iterative phases of

analysis, the researcher goes through a variety of cognitive and creative processes,

from clustering & comparing to conceptual cohering & hypothesising. There are a

variety of tools and tactics that can back the course of analysis and theory creation,

the choice of which will depend greatly on the cognitive style of the researcher.

Six Steps in Thematic Analysis

PHASES DESCRIPTION OF THE ANALYSIS PROCESS

1. Narrative preparation, i.e. transcribing data

1 Familiarising Data
2. Rereading the data and noting down initial ideas
1. Coding interesting features of the data systematically
2 Generating Codes cross entire data set
2. Collating data relevant to each code
Searching 1. Collating codes into potential themes
3
Themes 2. Gathering all data relevant to each potential theme
1. Checking if themes work in relation to the coded extracts
Reviewing 2. Checking if themes work in relation to the entire data set
4
Themes 3. Reviewing data to search for additional themes
4. Generating a thematic "map" of the analysis
1. On-going analysis to refine the specifics of each theme and
Defining &
05 the overall story of the analysis.
Naming Themes
2. Generating clear definitions and names for each theme
1. Selection of vivid, compelling extract examples
2. Final analysis of selected extracts
6 Producing Report
3. Relating the analysis back to the research question,
objectives and previous literature reviewed

(Bran and Clark, 2006)

Coding

Coding is the creative link between data collection and data analysis, based on data

selection. It is the heuristic linking of data to the research question. Coding is only the

initial step toward a more meticulous and meaningful analysis and interpretation

towards a final report. “It leads you from the data to the idea, and from the idea to all

the data pertaining to that idea” (Richards & Morse, 2007). The Coding Manual for

Qualitative Researchers by Saldana (2015) presents a collection of coding methods

in great detail. Detailed discussion of the methods is streamlined, elegantly profiled,

and re-envisioned by Kathy Charmaz in Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical

Guide through Qualitative Analysis (2006), whereas Graham R. Gibbs provides a

well-designed survey of elementary analytic processes regarding coding in Analyzing

Qualitative Data (2007)

What Gets Coded?

While coding textual data, Lofland et al.’s suggests to look at the following aspects in

the raw data to code for:

• cognitive aspects / meanings (e.g., self-concepts, ideology, identities, rules);

• emotional aspects / feelings (e.g., work place satisfaction, sympathy in health

care);

• hierarchical aspects / inequalities (e.g., racial inequality, high school cliques,

battered women)

What is a Code?

“A code in qualitative inquiry is often a word or short phrase that

symbolically assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or

evocative attribute for a portion of language-based or visual data. …………

Codes are shorthand representations or an abbreviation for a more

important category yet to be discovered from the data. …………

 To codify is to arrange things in a systematic order, to make something

part of a system or classification, to categorize”. ………. (Saldana (2015).

Qualitative data generally consists of documents, literature, interview transcripts,

participant observation field notes, journals, artifacts, videos, photographs, e-mail

correspondence, websites, etc. Codes are to be formulated such that they are

essence-capturing and representative of the ideas or meaning embedded in the

dataset. If a code is taken directly from the data, they are referred to as an In-Vivo

Code. The codes, when clustered according to their similarity and regularity, a pattern,

give rise to categories which facilitate analysis of their interconnections. “Coding is

thus a method that enables one to organize and group similarly coded data into

categories or families because they share some characteristic – the beginning of a

pattern” (Saldana (2015).

Coding for patterns

Sometimes, the same codes are to be repeatedly used throughout the data due to the

congruence and coherence of ideas. This could be either natural or deliberate:

• natural, as there are recurring patterns of action and regularities in human

affairs

• deliberate as the primary goal of the coder is to find those recurring patterns

of actions and regularity in human affairs, as documented in the data

(Saldana 2015).

Searching for patterns in coded data enable their categorisation. A pattern can be

characterized by:

• similarity (things happen the same way)

• difference (they happen in predictably different ways)

• frequency (they happen often or seldom)

• sequence (they happen in a certain order)

 • correspondence (they happen in relation to other activities or events)

• causation (one appears to cause another) (Hatch, 2002)

From codes to categories to theory

The categories are the generalisations when the codes are compared with each other

to discern possible relationships to create an outcome proposition based on their

patterning.

Codes when compared to each other to determine possible relationships

based on their patterning, they give rise to generalizations, referred to as categories.

Pooling and correlation of the categories give rise to more comprehensive and

intangible generalities called concepts. Richards & Morse (2007) clarify that

“categorizing is how we get ‘up’ from the diversity of data to the shapes of the data,

the sorts of things represented. Concepts are how we get up to more general, higher-

level, and more abstract constructs”. Meanwhile, it is the ability of the researcher to

extract how the themes and concepts systematically interconnect and evolve towards

a higher order final theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

Lichtman (2006) asserts that qualitative research in education generally bring forth

80–100 codes that can be systematized into 15–20 categories which then synthesize

to generate five to seven key theoretical concepts. In the perspective of Harry F.

Wolcott “three of anything major seems an elegant quantity for reporting qualitative

work” (1994).
A streamlined codes-to-theory model for qualitative inquiry (Saldana 2009)

Multistage coding

It is rare for someone to get coding and categorising right the first time. Qualitative

research necessitates meticulous attention and in-depth reflection on emergent

patterns and meanings. Hence effective coding requires at least an initial coding and

in-depth coding, which Saldana (2009) refers to as First Cycle and Second Cycle

methods.

First Cycle Coding, Themeing the Data

A theme is a phrase or sentence that identifies what a unit of data is all about and

what it means. They are the chunks of ideas. So as to identify and generate the

themes, the entire dataset is repeatedly scanned mentally to have an immersion and

mental saturation of ideas. Coding is done by reading the data line by line, trying to

see the underlying meaning or concepts behind the statement (Strauss & Corbin,

1990). Only relevant texts connected to the research questions were to be coded for
themes, probably following Auerbach and Silverstein (2003) criteria for text

relevance:

• Does it relate to your research concern?

• Does it help you to understand your research questions better?

• Does it clarify your thinking?

• Does it simply seem important, even if you can’t say why?

Second Cycle Coding

Second Cycle coding methods are advanced ways of reorganizing and analyzing data

coded through First Cycle methods. At this stage the data may have to be recoded

because new themes will be discovered at a deeper level. The primary goal during

Second Cycle coding is to develop a sense of categorical, thematic, conceptual, and

theoretical organization from the array of First Cycle codes. Saldana (2015)

recommends Thematic Analysis as one of the effective ways of second cycle analysis.

Conclusion

As the acceptance of qualitative research grows, so does the demand for methods

and techniques to assist researchers in conducting high-quality qualitative research.

However, researcher's interpretative critical analytic skills are important in all forms of

qualitative analysis, for which thematic analysis is also of no exception. From the

varieties of approaches, the specific one has to be skillfully chosen by the researcher

and the requirements are to be meticulously executed to come out with valid and

reliable results. The researcher's active participation is critical to the effectiveness of

every qualitative analytic approach.

 • Auerbach, C. F., & Silverstein, L. B. (2003). Qualitative studies in psychology.
Qualitative data: An introduction to coding and analysis. New York University
Press.
• Boyatzis, R.E. (1998) Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis
and code development. Sage Publications, Incorporated, Thousand Oaks.
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in
psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–
101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
• Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through
qualitative analysis. London: Sage Publications.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., (2011). Research methods in education.
7th ed. London: Routledge.
• Gibbs, G. R. (2013). Analyzing qualitative data. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.
• Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2012). Applied Thematic Analysis.
SAGE Publications, Inc. https://www.doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436
• Richards, L. and Morse, J.M. (2007) Readme First for a User’s Guide to
Qualitative Methods. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
• Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage
Publications Ltd.
• Saldana, J. M. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.).
SAGE Publications.
• Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques
and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.

View publication stats