Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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in previous phases, as well as the sorting of themes into two levels of analysis. The first of these is where the
extracts accompanying a set of themes are read to ensure that they form a coherent pattern. If the theme itself is
an issue then it can be re-worked, or if the extract used is an issue then a new theme is found for it. Once
agreement on this level of processing is reached the second level considers whether the existing themes
accurately and validly reflect the data set as a whole. This also allows for the coding of any additional themes
which may have been missed in previous attempts.
The fifth stage, defining and naming themes, is where the 'essence' of each theme is laid out and a detailed
written analysis of the meaning of each is made. In this stage the researcher must present the story of each
individual theme, but also how each fits into the overall story of the data set and whether any of the themes have
sub-themes which need to be explored too. The sixth and final stage is producing a report, where the complicated
story of the data is exhibited and explained to the reader.
Table 7: how the presented study followed each of the six suggested steps for thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Phase
Description of the Process in Presented Research
1 Familiarise
yourself with
the data
Data was transcribed verbatim within 3 days of each interview to ensure
closeness. Transcripts were read three times each to gain further
closeness and initial ideas from the data noted in NVivo.
2 Generating
initial codes
3 Searching for
themes
The presented study involved a data-driven analytical approach, in which
the data analysis was driven by the questions asked of participants. The
work was coded systematically, sentence-by-sentence, in order to
generate initial codes.
Themes were sought by bringing together all of the notes from previous
phases as well as the codes from the second phase. Predominant and