Medical Teacher ISSN: 0142-159X (Print) 1466-187X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/imte20 Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131 Michelle E. Kiger & Lara Varpio To cite this article: Michelle E. Kiger & Lara Varpio (2020): Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131, Medical Teacher, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030 Published online: 01 May 2020. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2167 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=imte20 MEDICAL TEACHER https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030 AMEE GUIDE Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131 Michelle E. Kigera,b and Lara Varpioa,b aWright-Patterson Medical Center, Dayton, OH, USA; bUniformed Services University of the Healthy Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Thematic analysis is a widely used, yet often misunderstood, method of qualitative data analysis. It Thematic analysis; is a useful and accessible tool for qualitative researchers, but confusion regarding the method’s qualitative research philosophical underpinnings and imprecision in how it has been described have complicated its methods; qualita- use and acceptance among researchers. In this Guide, we outline what thematic analysis is, posi- tive analysis tioning it in relation to other methods of qualitative analysis, and describe when it is appropriate to use the method under a variety of epistemological frameworks. We also provide a detailed def- inition of a theme, as this term is often misapplied. Next, we describe the most commonly used six-step framework for conducting thematic analysis, illustrating each step using examples from our own research. Finally, we discuss advantages and disadvantages of this method and alert researchers to pitfalls to avoid when using thematic analysis. We aim to highlight thematic analysis as a powerful and flexible method of qualitative analysis and to empower researchers at all levels of experience to conduct thematic analysis in rigorous and thoughtful way. Introduction Data analysis has been described as ‘the most complex and mysterious of all of the phases of a qualitative project, and Practice points the one that receives the least thoughtful discussion in the Thematic analysis is a powerful yet flexible literature’ (Thorne 2000). Many qualitative research papers method for analyzing qualitative data that can be lack explicit description of the methods informing data used within a variety of paradigmatic or epis- analysis, or, when included, the terms used to describe temological orientations. data analytic methods are often used imprecisely or are Thematic analysis is an appropriate method of mislabeled entirely (Sandelowski and Barroso 2003; analysis for seeking to understand experiences, Sandelowski 2010). Further complicating matters, certain thoughts, or behaviors across a data set. terms describing qualitative data analysis have either car- Themes are actively constructed patterns (or ried a wide range of definitions or lacked clear definitions. meanings) derived from a data set that answer a This imprecision leads to a lack of transparency, making it research question, as opposed to mere summaries difficult for readers to understand how data analysis was or categorizations of codes. Themes can be gen- performed and, consequently, how to interpret findings erated inductively or deductively. (Nowell et al. 2017). It also contributes to perceptions that The most widely-accepted framework for conduct- qualitative research is less rigorous than quantitative ing thematic analysis involves a six-step process: research (Clarke and Braun 2013). familiarizing yourself with the data, generating ini- Unfortunately, this lack of clear terminology plagues a tial codes, searching for themes, reviewing qualitative data analysis method that is among those most themes, defining and naming themes, and pro- frequently used in health professions education (HPE) ducing the report. research: thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a term that Given the flexibility of thematic analysis, research- has been variably defined (Merton 1975; Aronson 1995; ers using this method must clearly outline their Boyatzis 1998; Attride-Stirling 2001; Braun and Clarke 2006; paradigmatic orientations and assumptions to Joffe 2011), and that has even been discounted as ensure the trustworthiness of their findings and unsophisticated or inferior to other qualitative methods interpretations. (Braun and Clarke 2006, 2014). Many researchers who use thematic analysis fail to provide sufficient descriptions of the analysis process followed and of the theories or epis- temological assumptions undergirding the analyses further explanation (Braun and Clarke 2006). Clearly there is (Attride-Stirling 2001; Braun and Clarke 2006). Additionally, considerable confusion amongst researchers about many studies that have employed thematic analysis have what thematic analysis means, when to use it, and how to not explicitly labeled it as such in their manuscripts; use it. instead, these reports simply state that ‘qualitative data Thematic analysis is a practical data analysis approach were examined for recurring themes’, without offering for qualitative researchers; clarifying how to use it CONTACT Michelle E. Kiger [email protected] Wright-Patterson Medical Center, 4881 Sugar Maple Dr, Dayton, OH 45433, USA ß 2020 AMEE 2 M.E. KIGER AND L. VARPIO appropriately and effectively can help HPE researchers rec- to constructivism because, through the process of analyz- ognize its utility, versatility, and power. In this Guide, we ing a wide range of data, it can illustrate how a certain aim to support the achievement of these goals. First, we social construct develops. In these ways, constructivist the- define thematic analysis, focusing on the flexibility that it matic analyses will search for more latent, deeper themes offers researchers. We explore how it can be applied across within the data. Finally, critical realism acknowledges expe- a range of theoretical and epistemological frameworks. We riences and perceptions grounded in a material reality but also suggest when thematic analysis can be harnessed in seeks to investigate social meanings and implications qualitative data analysis. Next, we focus on some key con- behind the topic of interest (Joffe 2011; Clarke and Braun cepts underpinning thematic analysis. Specifically, we dis- 2017). Within a critical realist framework, thematic analysis cuss the definition of a theme, including different types of can allow researchers to study the power relations inform- themes (i.e. semantic versus latent), and how inductive or ing reality and to engage in emancipatory investigations deductive processes can be employed to develop themes. that value the voices of oppressed populations. We then describe a stepwise approach for conducting the- Among those who have described thematic analysis as a matic analysis, following the six-step framework of Braun post-positivist method (Aronson 1995; Boyatzis 1998). and Clarke (2006) and providing a worked example from Boyatzis (1998) forwards thematic analysis as a method our own research data to illustrate each step. We conclude that can bridge the chasm between the post-positivist pur- with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of suit of understanding a reliable, objective, fact-based real- using thematic analysis, and a description of pitfalls ity, and the more interpretive aims of many social science to avoid. researchers. Boyatzis posits that ‘thematic analysis allows the interpretive social scientist’s social construction of meaning to be articulated or packaged in such a way, with What is thematic analysis? reliability as consistency of judgment, that description of Thematic analysis is a method for analyzing qualitative social “facts” or observations seems to emerge’ (p. xiii). He data that entails searching across a data set to identify, suggests that the interplay between post-positivist and analyze, and report repeated patterns (Braun and Clarke interpretivist paradigms within thematic analysis can pro- 2006). It is a method for describing data, but it also duce a symbiosis in which interpretive findings can gener- involves interpretation in the processes of selecting codes ate new hypotheses to be tested using post-positivist and constructing themes. A distinguishing feature of the- methods, and post-positivist hypothesis testing can in turn matic analysis is its flexibility to be used within a wide suggest new themes for exploration from an interpret- range of theoretical and epistemological frameworks, and ive lens. to be applied to a wide range of study questions, designs, and sample sizes. While some scholars have described the- When to use thematic analysis matic analysis as falling within the realm of ethnography (Aronson 1995) or as particularly suited to phenomenology Thanks in large part to those who have clearly laid out its (Joffe 2011), Braun and Clarke (2006) argue that thematic analytical processes (Braun and Clarke, 2006, 2012; Clarke analysis can stand alone as an analytic method and be and Braun 2017), researchers have suggested that thematic seen as foundational for other qualitative research meth- analysis is a good first analytic method for novice qualita- ods. Indeed, the principles of thematic