My thematic analysis and research, more broadly, have benefitted from using NVivo (qualitative data analysis software). But, I also find it increasingly necessary to use an approach to research that emphasises participation of communities—in particularly youth, in the case of my area of research—through PAR.The use of NVivo, however, can be extremely technical and a painstaking affair, as well as sometimes a solitary one. To me, this seems to be at odds with the collaborative nature of involving community stakeholders and research participants in the research process.Since I have never tried to combine (youth-led) PAR with managing qualitative data using NVivo (or similar software), I thought I should seek answers to the four aforementioned questions.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and please add further questions if this topic piques your interest, as this list is far from exhaustive.
It depends on the type of (Y)PAR. But a generalised answer to your questions could be:
a. Perhaps your thematic analysis and NVivo could appear at a late stage of your research? That is, allow research participants to dictate the research questions, purpose and discussions, then use NVivo more to present the overall research/prepare for peer-reviewed papers.
b. Train one or two research participants to use NVivo. The skills gained can also be regarded as transferable and can be used not only to have a PAR approach to NVivo, but also as an opportunity for the participant to develop certain IT/research skills.
I am not sure, whether you can call NVivo an "approach". The role(s) of a software package, like NVivo, essentially depend(s) on the settings and goals of the research as well as the skills of the user. On the other hand, any software package contains certain model(s) of research embedded in it. From this perspective, a software tool could not be neutral.
I agree; NVivo is not an approach and it's not neutral since it shapes, to various degrees, the way one codes and presents the qualitative data. Thanks for clarifying Juha.
My preliminary worry is that its technical challenges (which I embrace and enjoy) can interfere with a youth-led participatory approach to research.
Thematic analysis is one of the most common forms of analysis within qualitative research. It emphasizes identifying, analysing and interpreting patterns of meaning within qualitative data. Thematic analysis is often understood as a method or technique in contrast to most other qualitative analytic approaches - such as grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis - which can be described as methodologies or theoretically informed frameworks for research. Thematic analysis is best thought of as an umbrella term for a variety of different approaches, rather than a singular method. Different versions of thematic analysis are underpinned by different philosophical and conceptual assumptions and are divergent in terms of procedure
I would suggest that you use Web of Science marked lists to identify relevant papers and then import the papers to code themes and then analyze them. I am currently teaching a workshop on NVivo analysis where I use color coding and matrices usage for theme analysis. I wish you goodluck with you work.
Thanks Minhaaj Rehman for your answer. Your outline of NVivo is very informative. What I'm interested in, however, is to hear about whether a "full-on" use of the analysis tools that NVivo offers can interfere with a (youth-led) participatory approach to research. If so, then I may drop the use of NVivo for the youth-led research project that I have in mind.
I think a major concern has to be what you would use as an alternative to NVivo. Just from a methods point of view, the usual alternative is to print out transcripts and code them with colored pencils etc. At some level, this kind of "hand coding" is not all that different from what NVivo does, however, it you have anything other than a small dataset, it can be hard to keep track of things.
But that is only the methods point of view. From a PAR, standpoint, there is a larger question about whether coding of any kind will be meaningful for your participants. Do you have some way of engaging them in describing what kinds of results they would like to have, as well as the role they would like to play in producing those finals products?
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