The History of the Thematic Analysis Psychology Essay

The History of the Thematic Analysis Psychology Essay Thematic analysis is an analytical technique serving to interpret the contents of texts or human experiences and widely used in qualitative research. In its interpretation of qualitative data, thematic analysis generates themes within the distinguished categories of data. Each category that reflects a recurring feature of the obtained data attributes a code to a corresponding informational block. However, data categorization is thematic analysis pursues the aim of managing the overall volume of unstructured data rather than indicating conceptual issues. In this vein, thematic analysis entails a clear and precise definition of codes that are distinct from one another. During analytical procedures, a researcher refers to the developed code log book to categorize data and allow themes to emerge.[1] In other words, a theme in thematic analysis represents a statement of meaning observed in most of the data. This meaning may be also reported by a minority of participants, but carry a strong emotional power or factual impact on the studied situation. In thematic analysis, themes may be regarded as units formed by deriving and comprising patterns of conversation issues, meanings, feelings, recurring activities. Proverbs, and vocabulary. As such, themes serve to bring together elements ideas, perceptions, or experiences that may seem meaningless when considered separately.[2] In other words, the role of thematic analysis is to summarize the data content and draw relationships between distinct codes to produce a social meaning shared by the examined population sample. Therefore, thematic analysis is an interpretive analytical technique dedicated to revealing new concepts and ideas. Thematic analysis is theoretically flexible and allows answering various research questions without adherence to a specific framework. This analytical approach is mostly beneficial for responding to research questions regarding human experiences, ideas, attitudes, and perceptions.[3] Its focus on motifs and beliefs driving individual behavior fits scholar ship in psychology, social studies, behavioral research, and more applied disciplines like education, health, and clinical research. Psychology is a discipline that seeks to explore and analyze human experiences and behaviors to determine factors and personality traits shaping individual’s behavior patterns. In this vein, qualitative studies represent a significant portion of psychology scholarship when researchers attribute meanings to different behavior types observed or discussed with human participants.[4] In line with the prevailing qualitative research design, psychological studies focus on synthesizing the attained data and interpreting results into meaningful conclusions. In this pursuit, scholars tend to use different names to describe content analysis procedures utilized in their inquiries or using them without a specific description. Regardless of the expressed position, psychologists appreciate the thematic analysis framework for several benefits offered. While examining human observations, feelings, and attitudes, this analytical approach tends to bridge the researcher and participants intellectuall y and emotionally, fostering understanding of the former of motifs and beliefs underpinning behavior of the latter.[5] Moreover, thematic analysis allows combining different research methods that is a substantial advantage for psychological research. For instance, thematic analysis is applicable to processing and interpreting data obtained through both qualitative and quantitative methods. In thematic analysis, interview findings may be complemented by survey results to expand the depth and breadth of the acquired understanding while strengthening validity and reliability of the produced conclusions.[6] This argument is crucial in terms of qualitative research criticism that stresses on high subjectivity and descriptiveness of qualitative research findings. When applied to a single research method, thematic analysis serves to organize the unstructured dataset and embed a systematic approach in the analytical process. In the case of psychological research utilizing several research methods, thematic analysis is useful to generate an insight into the studied phenomenon while proving credibility of the attributed meaning. References Boyatzis, Richard E. Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Thousand oaks, CA: Sage, 1998. Gibson, Will. “Qualitative Research Analysis in Education.” In Educational Research and Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, ed. Dimitra Hartas, 295-307. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010. Goodwin, C. James and Kerri A. Goodwin. Research in Psychology: Methods and Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, 2016. Thatchenkery, Tojo and Carol Metzker. Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2006. [1] Ibid. [2] Tojo Thatchenkery and Carol Metzker, Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2006), 235. [3] Ibid. [4] C. James Goodwin and Kerri A. Goodwin, Research in Psychology: Methods and Design (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, 2016), 302. [5] Richard E. Boyatzis, Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development (Thousand oaks, CA: Sage, 1998), 6. [6] Goodwin and Goodwin, 302.