PSY1013 Week 5: Theme Building and Writing Qualitative Analysis

Vocabulary flashcards covering thematic analysis principles, theme generation, report structure guidelines, and coding concepts from PSY1013 Week 5.

Theme

A pattern of shared meaning or central topic across a dataset that is composed of codes and captures something significant or meaningful in relation to the research question.

Topic Summary

A descriptive overview of everything participants said regarding a specific subject, organized by topic rather than by an underlying shared meaning or analytical idea.

Code

In qualitative analysis, an analytical unit that captures a single facet of meaning within data extracts, which can later be clustered together to form themes.

Central Organising Concept

The core idea or underlying pattern of shared meaning that links diverse codes and data extracts together within a single theme.

Thematic Map

A visual diagram used to explore, refine, and map the relationships among candidate themes, subthemes, and overarching themes during analysis.

Overarching Themes

Broad organizing categories placed above themes in a thematic hierarchy, which students are explicitly instructed not to use in their PSY1013 reports.

Semantic Coding

A coding approach that captures explicit, surface-level meanings and direct statements made by participants.

Latent Coding

A coding approach that examines implicit meanings, underlying ideas, assumptions, conceptual frameworks, or power dynamics behind explicit participant statements.

Data Analysis Section

The concluding subsection of the qualitative methods section (approximately 250 words) that describes how thematic analysis was conducted, the philosophical framework used, and reflexive decisions made.

Results Overview

The introductory part of the qualitative results section that provides a brief introduction to the developed themes using text, a summary table, or a thematic map.

Analytical Narrative

The researcher's interpretative prose within the results section that explains what the participant data means, rather than simply paraphrasing quotations.

Data Extracts

Direct quotations selected from participant data to provide evidence supporting the researcher's analytical narrative.

Four-Step Theme Writing Process

A four-step structure for writing qualitative findings: (1) state the interpretation/definition, (2) introduce the evidence, (3) explain what the evidence means, and (4) connect back to the central idea.

Results Summary / Conclusion

The final part of the results section that delivers the 'TLDR' takeaway, placing findings in wider societal context and reflecting critically on analytical decisions.

Theme Boundary

The defined scope of a theme that specifies exactly what data and concepts belong within it and what are excluded to prevent overlap with other themes.

Recursive Analysis

The iterative nature of thematic analysis where researchers repeatedly move back and forth between datasets, codes, and developing themes rather than following a strict linear sequence.

Theme Naming Principles

Guidelines recommending that theme names be concise phrases encapsulating the essence of the theme, avoiding single-word titles and optionally incorporating participant quotations.

Braun and Clarke (2022)

The primary methodological authority cited for Reflexive Thematic Analysis, authoring 'Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide'.