TY - CHAP

T1 - Analyzing Talk and Text II: Thematic Analysis

AU - Herzog, Christian

AU - Handke, Christian

AU - Hitters, Erik

PY - 2019/8/1

Y1 - 2019/8/1

N2 - Thematic analysis (TA) is a popular and foundational method of analyzing qualitative policy data. It is concerned with the identification and analysis of patterns of meaning (themes) and constitutes a widely applicable, cost-effective and flexible tool for exploratory research. More generally, it constitutes a cornerstone of qualitative data analysis. Drawing principally on Braun and Clarke’s (2013, 2006) work, the chapter outlines when the use of this method is suitable and makes practical suggestions about how to plan and conduct TA research. Few policy studies employing TA contain a transparent discussion of research methods. This chapter stresses the importance of research transparency and methodological reflexivity: researchers should not only document what they do; they should also explicitly argue how and why they opted for specific methods and discuss implications for future empirical research.

AB - Thematic analysis (TA) is a popular and foundational method of analyzing qualitative policy data. It is concerned with the identification and analysis of patterns of meaning (themes) and constitutes a widely applicable, cost-effective and flexible tool for exploratory research. More generally, it constitutes a cornerstone of qualitative data analysis. Drawing principally on Braun and Clarke’s (2013, 2006) work, the chapter outlines when the use of this method is suitable and makes practical suggestions about how to plan and conduct TA research. Few policy studies employing TA contain a transparent discussion of research methods. This chapter stresses the importance of research transparency and methodological reflexivity: researchers should not only document what they do; they should also explicitly argue how and why they opted for specific methods and discuss implications for future empirical research.

KW - Media and communication studies

KW - Empirical education research

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/30f2399f-6bfa-383d-ab34-327b1b7b84fd/

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-16065-4_22

DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-16065-4_22

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 978-3-030-16064-7

SP - 385

EP - 401

BT - The Palgrave Handbook of Methods for Media Policy Research

A2 - Van den Bulck, Hilde

A2 - Puppis, Manuel

A2 - Donders, Karen

A2 - Van Audenhove, Leo

PB - Palgrave Macmillan USA

CY - Cham

ER -