


We call our approach ‘reflexive TA’ and it differs from most other approaches in terms of both underlying philosophy and procedures for theme development. Our new book Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide provides a comprehensive discussion of different aspects of TA. This lecture by Victoria provides a useful introduction to these different approaches. In the FAQs you can find some explanation of the similarities and differences. We broadly think there are three clusters of similar types of approaches to TA, which we have termed coding reliability TA, codebook TA, and reflexive TA. They tend to share some degree of theoretical flexibility, but can differ enormously in terms of both underlying philosophy and procedures for theme development. TA is not a singular method – TA is best thought of as an umbrella term for a set or family of approaches for analysing qualitative data that share a focus on developing themes (patterns of meaning) from qualitative data. The method can be and is applied in lots of different ways, to lots of different datasets, to address lots of different research questions, and within a range of theoretical frameworks! It’s a very versatile and accessible method, which is part of its appeal.

Patterns are generated by the researcher through a rigorous process of data familiarisation, data coding, and theme development and revision. The purpose of TA is to develop patterns of meaning (‘themes’) across a dataset that address a research question. The method has been widely used across the social, behavioural and more applied (clinical, health, education, etc.) sciences, and beyond. Thematic analysis (TA) – briefly – is a method popular for analysing qualitative data in many disciplines and fields.
