Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis is a widely used method for analysing qualitative data — interview transcripts, open-ended survey responses, field notes, or documents — by identifying, organising, and interpreting recurring patterns of meaning, known as themes, across a data set. Rather than counting occurrences of specific words, it focuses on the underlying ideas and concepts that appear repeatedly across what people have said or written.
A common phased approach
Thematic analysis is often described in a series of phases, most closely associated with Braun and Clarke’s framework:
- Familiarisation with the data
- Generating initial codes
- Searching for themes
- Reviewing themes
- Defining and naming themes
- Producing the final analysis/report
The process isn’t always strictly linear in practice — moving back and forth between phases as understanding develops is common and expected.
Why it’s widely used
Thematic analysis is valued for being relatively accessible and flexible compared to some other qualitative methods — it isn’t tied to a single theoretical framework, and can be applied across a wide range of research questions and data types, making it a common default choice for qualitative analysis, including within Action Research and Participatory Action Research projects.
Relevance
This pillar sits under Research Methodologies as the analysis technique most likely to be applied to qualitative data gathered through the participatory and action-oriented approaches also covered in this vault.