Speaker 1: Thematic analysis is a way to identify patterns and meaning in qualitative data. But how do you actually derive themes from raw data like transcripts and notes? In this video, I'll walk you through a step-by-step breakdown of thematic analysis. I'll show you how to turn data into transcripts, how to derive themes from data, how to craft a narrative from themes, and then show an example of thematic analysis in practice using a qualitative data analysis tool. Thematic analysis is a data analysis process that involves delving through a dataset, identifying patterns, systematically coding, deriving themes, and creating a narrative. There are dozens of different ways to approach thematic analysis, but in this video, we'll focus on the approach described by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clark. Definitely check out their papers and books to learn more about their specific approach. Let's delve into the step-by-step breakdown of thematic analysis. The first step is to familiarize yourself with your data. If your data is in the form of audio files, get them transcribed. Read through the transcripts and actively observe meanings and patterns that appear in your data. Step 2. Create initial codes. Now that you're familiar with the data, create a set of initial codes that represent the meanings and patterns you see in the data. Then, in Step 3, you decide what to code. Read through your data again and identify interesting excerpts and apply the appropriate codes to them. Excerpts that represent the same meaning should have the same code applied. Then, add new codes as you see fit. Step 4 is when you collate codes with supporting excerpts. Now, bring together all the excerpts associated with a particular code. This allows you to read through all the excerpts organized by code so you can gain a deeper understanding of each individual code you've developed. Adjust and revise the codes as you see fit. Once you've done that, you move into Step 5, where you group your codes into themes. Group together all the excerpts associated with a particular code into a theme. A theme should go beyond just describing the topic area. It should be nuanced, complex, and say something meaningful and important about your research question. Then, in Step 6, you'll evaluate and revise your themes. Thematic analysis is an iterative process. Once you have your initial set of themes, review and revise them. Ensure that each theme has enough data to support them and is distinct. Make sure you can articulate the boundaries of each theme and be clear on what excerpts belong in the theme and what don't. If multiple themes are similar to each other, consider merging them together. If your theme doesn't have something to contribute to your overall analysis, don't be afraid to remove it. Make sure to take out ones that aren't relevant enough or don't have enough data to back them up. Once you feel confident about your themes, you can move on to write your final narrative. Writing the narrative is the final step to tell the story of your data. You should have fully thought out themes, and now it's your chance to communicate to your readers about the validity of your analysis. Make sure that your narrative tells a coherent story about your data and choose vivid quotes to help back up your points. Your narrative should go beyond just describing your data and should include your own interpretive analysis and make an argument for the claims that you present. When practicing thematic analysis, you can use pen and paper, document processors, or use qualitative coding software to do it. We highly recommend using qualitative coding software. And next, we'll walk you through an example of how to do the same thematic analysis steps using the qualitative coding software, Delve. Before you can start thematic analysis using qualitative coding software, you need to make sure your data is prepared for analysis. Make sure your audio recordings are transcribed and make sure your notes and other data are ready to go. Step one is to familiarize yourself with your data. Import your data into Delve. Drag and drop your files and click between transcripts to read through them. Write down your notes along the way and start thinking about the initial codes you'll want to create. Step two is to create codes that represent meanings and patterns you see in the data. When I notice patterns in the transcripts, I'll go to the right side of the screen, type in the codes, and press Enter. Next, I'll start coding by highlighting excerpts related to the codes and click on the code to code it. Make sure to check across all your transcripts to code anything related to that particular pattern. Continue going through your transcripts and code any relevant patterns you see. As you read through your transcripts, you may see more patterns beyond your initial set of codes. Feel free to add codes to capture those patterns. Step three is when you collate codes with supporting data, which means bringing together all the excerpts associated with a particular code. In Delve, just click on the pencil icon, click on See Details, and see the code with all the excerpts organized in one place. You can even see what transcript is associated with each excerpt. By reading over each code and its supporting excerpts, you will gain a deeper understanding of how the codes could connect. Step four is when you group your codes into themes. As you read through your codes, you'll find ways that your codes share patterns and meanings. These patterns that you find are called themes. Remember that a theme should go beyond just describing a topic area. It should be nuanced, complex, and say something meaningful about your research questions. Review your existing codes to come up with themes. When you come up with a theme, just create the theme by typing it up on the right-hand side, then dragging and dropping other codes underneath it. Don't worry if your themes are messy at this point. We'll be addressing that in the next step. Step five is when you review and revise themes. Once you have your initial set of themes, review and revise them. Ensure that each theme has enough data to support them and is distinct. If a code doesn't belong in a theme, move it under a theme that's more appropriate. If multiple themes are similar, merge them together. And if a code doesn't have sufficient data, remove it. Step six is when you write your narrative. You write your narrative to tell the cohesive story of your data. I'll show you how the coding you did helps in the next steps of writing. Use the codebook on the left-hand menu to help you. Have your document processor open, whether it's Microsoft Word or Google Doc, open side-by-side with your data. Here, you can view all your themes, codes, and descriptions, and excerpts all in one place. When writing your section on a particular theme, pull up the detail page for the theme in Delve to see your quotes. Pull those supporting quotes from Delve into your report and write your narrative. Remember, your narrative should go beyond just describing your data and should include your own interpretive analysis and make an argument for the claims that you present. Thank you so much for checking out our video. If you're ready to get started with thematic analysis, you can start a free trial of the Delve qualitative coding software at delvetool.com slash getstarted. If you want to learn about other qualitative methods, you can check out our other videos or learn more in our Delve Learning Center at delvetool.com slash learn.