Dear researcher,

The six steps prescribed by Braun and Clarke (2006) to carry out a thematic analysis are guidelines and should not be used as prescriptive, linear, and inflexible rules when analysing data. They should rather be used in relation to the research question and the available data. The six steps are as follows:

1. Familiarising yourself with your data

This step requires the researcher to be fully immersed and actively engaged in the data by firstly transcribing the interactions and then reading (and re-reading) the transcripts and/or listening to the recordings. Initial ideas should be noted down. It is important that the researcher has a comprehensive understanding of the content of the interaction and has familiarised him-/herself with all aspects of the data. This step provides the foundation for the subsequent analysis.

2. Generating initial codes

Once familiar with the data, the researcher must then start identifying preliminary codes, which are the features of the data that appear interesting and meaningful. These codes are more numerous and specific than themes, but provide an indication of the context of the conversation.

3.Searching for themes

The third step in the process is the start of the interpretive analysis of the collated codes. Relevant data extracts are sorted (combined or split) according to overarching themes. The researcher’s thought process should allude to the relationship between codes, subthemes, and themes.

4. Reviewing themes

A deeper review of identified themes follows where the researcher needs to question whether to combine, refine, separate, or discard initial themes. Data within themes should cohere together meaningfully, while there should be clear and identifiable distinctions between themes. This is usually done over two phases, where the themes need to be checked in relation to the coded extracts (phase 1), and then for the overall data set (phase 2). A thematic ‘map’ can be generated from this step.

5. Defining and naming themes

This step involves ‘refining and defining’ the themes and potential subthemes within the data. Ongoing analysis is required to further enhance the identified themes. The researcher needs to provide theme names and clear working definitions that capture the essence of each theme in a concise and punchy manner. At this point, a unified story of the data needs to emerge from the themes.

6. Producing the report

Finally, the researcher needs to transform his/her analysis into an interpretable piece of writing by using vivid and compelling extract examples that relate to the themes, research question, and literature. The report must relay the results of the analysis in a way that convinces the reader of the merit and validity of the analysis. It must go beyond a mere description of the themes and portray an analysis supported with empirical evidence that addresses the research question.

Her are some articles I hope they will help you:

http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11735/2/thematic_analysis_revised_-_final.pdf

http://smitg.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/General_Docs/Introduction-to-Qualitative-Analysis.sflb.ashx

Good luck

Dear researcher,

The six steps prescribed by Braun and Clarke (2006) to carry out a thematic analysis are guidelines and should not be used as prescriptive, linear, and inflexible rules when analysing data. They should rather be used in relation to the research question and the available data. The six steps are as follows:

1. Familiarising yourself with your data

This step requires the researcher to be fully immersed and actively engaged in the data by firstly transcribing the interactions and then reading (and re-reading) the transcripts and/or listening to the recordings. Initial ideas should be noted down. It is important that the researcher has a comprehensive understanding of the content of the interaction and has familiarised him-/herself with all aspects of the data. This step provides the foundation for the subsequent analysis.

2. Generating initial codes

Once familiar with the data, the researcher must then start identifying preliminary codes, which are the features of the data that appear interesting and meaningful. These codes are more numerous and specific than themes, but provide an indication of the context of the conversation.

3.Searching for themes

The third step in the process is the start of the interpretive analysis of the collated codes. Relevant data extracts are sorted (combined or split) according to overarching themes. The researcher’s thought process should allude to the relationship between codes, subthemes, and themes.

4. Reviewing themes

A deeper review of identified themes follows where the researcher needs to question whether to combine, refine, separate, or discard initial themes. Data within themes should cohere together meaningfully, while there should be clear and identifiable distinctions between themes. This is usually done over two phases, where the themes need to be checked in relation to the coded extracts (phase 1), and then for the overall data set (phase 2). A thematic ‘map’ can be generated from this step.

5. Defining and naming themes

This step involves ‘refining and defining’ the themes and potential subthemes within the data. Ongoing analysis is required to further enhance the identified themes. The researcher needs to provide theme names and clear working definitions that capture the essence of each theme in a concise and punchy manner. At this point, a unified story of the data needs to emerge from the themes.

6. Producing the report

Finally, the researcher needs to transform his/her analysis into an interpretable piece of writing by using vivid and compelling extract examples that relate to the themes, research question, and literature. The report must relay the results of the analysis in a way that convinces the reader of the merit and validity of the analysis. It must go beyond a mere description of the themes and portray an analysis supported with empirical evidence that addresses the research question.

Her are some articles I hope they will help you:

http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11735/2/thematic_analysis_revised_-_final.pdf

http://smitg.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/General_Docs/Introduction-to-Qualitative-Analysis.sflb.ashx

Good luck

Many thanks Hafidha S. Al-Barashdi. Quite an eye opener. Thanks a Million Times!

The following sources should also be helpful: 

• Attride-stirling, J. (2001). Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 1, 3, pp. 385-405.
• Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In: Cooper, H., Camic, P. M., Long, D. L., Panter, A. T., Rindskopf, D. and Sher, K. J. (eds.) APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 57-71.
• Fereday, J. and Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5, 1, pp. 80-92.  
• https://www.researchgate.net/post/Thematic_Analysis_to_an_interview 
• https://www.researchgate.net/post/Any_recommendations_on_references_for_thematic_analysis/1 

I agree that Braun and Clarke (2006) is the classic citation for thematic analysis. It has over 30,000 citations. Unfortunately, I also find it to be rather vague. In particular, their Step 3, Searching for themes, does little more than tell you to find the themes, without telling you how to do that.

I think the best way to get insight into what they want you to do in that regard is to examine the codes and themes that they produce in their own work. For that, I think the 2006 article is not as useful as the 2012 book chapter.

An introduction to applied thematic analysis is attached here. See end of chapter for details.

I have read the Guest et al. book on Applied Thematic Analysis, and I personally would consider it to be closer to "content analysis" than the Braun & Clarke version of thematic analysis. In particular, Guest et al. pay much more attention to creating codebooks.

Thank you Anastasia. Thank you ALL!

You can use these websites. Good Luck...

http://libgen.io/scimag/index.php

http://gen.lib.rus.ec/scimag/

http://booksc.org/

http://sci-hub.club/

http://libgen.in/scimag/

http://libgen.org/scimag/

As a researcher the rich and diverse views expressed and shared in ResearchGate are enriching- thank you all for the useful insights.And the references, very generous of you all!!!