Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- In today's episode I explain the qualitative methods of Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis. I make reference to Grounded Theory's origins (Strauss and Glaser), Braun and Clarke's (2006) description of Thematic Analysis, and Henwood and Pigeon's (1992) criteria for assessing good qualitative research.
Below I elaborate on the deductive approach and manifest themes, two topics which viewers have been confused about:
1. The deductive approach can use prior research and theories. Using this approach a researcher deliberately integrates prior reading and learning into their work. They analyse the data from this framework to develop themes which are greatly informed by the work of other psychologists.
2. An example of a manifest theme would be somebody who said in an interview “I really felt incredibly uncomfortable on that day”. Discomfort would be a manifest theme in this situation because they explicitly told you they were feeling that way.
If you would like me to make another video about qualitative approaches, please let me know in the comments!
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This is fantastic! Very clear and thorough. I had a hard time understanding the differences/nuances between grounded theory and thematic analysis. This was very helpful. Thank you!
I'm delighted you found the video useful Marlene. I really appreciate you telling me too! Encourages me to get up and make my next one asap! If there's any concepts in psychology you struggle to grasp, be sure to let me know by leaving another comment and I'll cover them in a future video.
Very Informative, straight to the point description of how this theory is applied. Thank you!
You're very welcome Michael, thank you for your kind words! Delighted you enjoyed the video. I've lots more similar videos on my channel. Be sure to subscribe if you'd like to see more!
Hey! I just wanted join the others here in saying thank you for a really informative and helpful video! I'm working on a data analysis project for my undergrad at the minute and, unfortunately, because of current circumstances our teaching has been rather unclear; this video really helped me understand what my poor professors were trying to get across :) Thanks again!
Just a technical note if it helps at all - there's a slight doubling of the audio at 15:00-15:20 and 15:39-15:55. It's not a major issue at all but just a heads up :)
Hi Sín! Thank you so much for your kind words! They really mean a lot!
Also, thank you for the heads up regarding the audio. Delighted I get away with it in this instance, but it's not a mistake I want to repeat.
Have you any questions unanswered regarding this topic? If so, I'll do my best to answer them here! Or, if you have a topic you would like me to record a future video on, I'd love to hear your suggestions!
Best of luck in your project, and thanks again for commenting and watching!
Very helpful, clear, concise, and informative. Thanks.
Thank you very much Muhammed, delighted you got so much from the episode!
This is extremely useful for my masters dissertation. Thank you and all the best
Hi Claire! I'm delighted to hear that you found the video useful. Thank you so much for letting me know, it means a lot! Best of luck with your Masters and please subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. I have a lot more videos which you might find interesting or useful. Also, let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to discuss and I'll make a video on that topic!
Cheers,
Pat
Hi Pat. I don't have much to say on the topic, but I found this video very valuable! You did an incredible job at describing both grounded theory and thematic analysis, and it was extremely helpful for me! Thank you for making this!!
Thank you so much for your kind words Nicole, they really mean a lot! You're very welcome! I've made lots of other psychology videos which you can see for free on my channel. Be sure to check them out and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. Subscribing really helps me as I continue to make more videos. You're the best!
You just saved my hours of study time to validate my research design for my master's thesis. Hats off and keep up the good work
Ah that's brilliant Mohai! I'm delighted I was able to synthesis grounded theory and thematic analysis literature into a presentation for you. May I ask what the topic of your masters thesis is?
Thank you so much! This has answered a lot of my questions!
Delighted to see that @pollyjaneit, thank you for commenting!
Hi, again another repetition of many other comments you have received but thank you very much! I am currently underway with my final year project and this has been such a great help in clarifying my understanding !
Such kind and inspiring comments will never get old, thank you very much Kelsi! I'd sincerely appreciate if you shared the video with your classmates and a sub to the channel. It really helps me get off my arse and make some more content!
Thanks for this video it saved me a lot of time reading through books and articles for my disso - I was literally about to pull my hair out before watching this. The examples really helped too!!
I'm delighted you found it so useful! Best of luck wrapping up your dissertation! May I ask what topic you're covering?
This was excellent! Thank you! I was getting GT and TA muddled with all the reading I was doing in trying to decide which avenue to take my dissertation down, but this made some wonderful, clear points that I can keep in my mind going forward.
Thanks so much for commenting! Out of curiosity, I'd love to know the topic of your dissertation?
Your video is very clear and easy to understand. I'm in second-year PhD in fine art and education and still find it useful.
What an endorsement! Thank you very much Yibing. I'm absolutely delighted to hear you find it useful!
I have lots more related videos on my channel, if you'd like to check them out be sure to subscribe!
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO. Super helpful for me making sense of my research data!
No, thank YOU Benjamin! I'm delighted you found the video helpful for your research. Best of luck with it! Make sure to subscribe to the channel to catch my next video (it really helps me too)...coming soon!
I am a psychology undergraduate and this video has been a lifesaver! Thank you very much for making this video :))
I'm absolutely delighted you found the video so helpful Laiba, thank you so much for commenting! What would you like me to discuss in my next video?
Same he explains it very well !!
Really struggled to understand the difference between those two, so thank you for taking the time to make such an informative video.
You're very welcome! I'm glad you found it useful!
two? or is it possible three? or are you collapsing one or the other into GT? seeking clarification in your interpretation. Thanks
Thanks so much for this very clear presentation!
You're very welcome Ramya, delighted you found it useful!
Great video - Thank you so much!
Thanks @Olechver!
Brilliant summary thanks!
Delighted you found it useful R H, thank you for commenting!
I am using thematic analysis in my doctorate studies. This video has helped me in clarifying my methods and, in particular, has given me the tools to evaluate my own work. thank you.
Always wonderful to hear people finding my content so useful... Thank you so much Doug for letting me know! Best of luck in your studies! Out of curiosity, may I ask what your topic of research is?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc I am researching the fall in the number of men playing grassroots 11 aside football. I’ve been involved in local football in the East Riding of Yorkshire for almost 58 years (not a young researcher) and have chosen TA as the research method to best seek patterns from my 20 interviewees (two focus groups and 11 individual participants).
@@dougwaterson1647 Really cool! Certainly an area of inquiry I would not be even remotely familiar with. Delighted to hear that the research is being done, and that you're not letting notions of age get in the way. I can only imagine that you are an fount of wisdom on the subject. Best of lucK!
Thank you, loved it. Just looking for Henwood and Pigeons's paper
Delighted you found it useful Sasha! I see now I made a mistake with the year of the paper... It's actually from 1992. Well worth a read. Apologies for the incorrect citation!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1992.tb02426.x
Thank you so much for this clear video!!!!
Thank you Cici for your kind comment! Is there anything you would have liked me to explain further?
Brilliantly explained 👌🏾great help thanks
Happy days Paige I'm delighted you found the video helpful! Is there a separate topic you'd like me to make a future video on?
Thanks for the video its really helped me during the methodology section of my undergraduate research project 😄
You're very welcome Sean, delighted it helped!
Hey, that was so helpful! Thank you pat :)
Ah brilliant! Delighted you found the video useful. You're very welcome!
Thank you so much I really appreciate your breakdown of these methodologies.... I've been searching for a way in which I could easily grasp these concepts so thank you very... Will certainly help me on my PhD journey 🙏🏾🙏🏾
You are so welcome Hezron! Delighted you found the video so useful. Best of luck beginning your PhD journey! Are there any other methodologies you'd like me to make a video about?
Thank you so much
You're very welcome @napoza! If you know somebody else who might benefit from the video like you did, please share it with them!
Thanks Pat, this was so clear! I was looking at so many articles trying to understand GT a bit better. Wonderful breakdown!
When should someone use one over the other? Would you say GT approach is better to use only if you have a larger sample size, say 40 or 50 interviews?
What if I'm interviewing 8 or 15 people? Would thematic analysis work better in that case? TIA!!
Hi Kevin, I'm delighted you found the video so clarifying!
It really depends on the researcher themselves. Personally, I feel that sample size is a less important element than other things regarding the choice between GT or TA. Two things that I think are more relevant are: the existing literature, and the researchers preference. Regarding the existing literature, I think it's worth asking... "Has the phenomenon I'm researching been adequately explained?" If the answer is no, then perhaps a GT approach is wisest. If the answer is yes, then I think it's worth asking "has this phenomenon been adequately described?". If the answer is no, then thematic analysis is worth engaging in. If the answer to both questions is yes, you have to ask yourself "why am I conducting this research?".
In a nutshell, I see GT as an explanatory approach, and TA as a descriptive approach.
I hope this provides further clarity! Thank you for watching and commenting. Please share the video with somebody you know who will find it useful, like you did! And if you haven't already, do subscribe and ring that bell for more videos like this. It's free, and really helps me as I try and grow the channel!
Very helpful 👌
Thanks Beatrice, I'm delighted you found this episode useful! Is there a topic you'd like me to make a future episode on?
This was great, thank you for the video.
You're very welcome Kurt, thanks a million for commenting, and for subscribing to the channel! Are you left with any questions after watching the video?
Hi @@PatsPsychologyMSc . It was very clear and answered my questions. I generally watch a few videos on a research methods before diving into books on the subject. This was very good. I plan to use Grounded Theory for my research project and this was a great introduction.
@@kurtpiron838 brilliant Kurt! I'm absolutely delighted you found the video useful. Best of luck with your research project!
That's very informative and helpful. Thank you so much!
Thank you very much for your kindness Yalla, you're very welcome for the video! I would love if you subscribed to the channel, it's free and really helps me continue to make videos!
@@PatsPsychologyMSc I already did :)
Thanks for your time and effort!
Keep it up!
@@yalla.arabic1555 you're a legend Yalla, thank you so much! Is there a topic that you would like me to make a future video on?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc I actually wonder about the different ways we could use in TA that would support the credibility of the results, I am reading about reflexivity, linguistic indicators, crystallisation and trangulation - I still haven't started analysing the data, but I am already lost in these topics. if you have recommendations or suggestions regarding it, that would be wonderful!
@@yalla.arabic1555 Thank you very much Yalla for your excellent topic suggestions! I discuss some qualitative methods briefly in this video - ruclips.net/video/aCibX68_rwU/видео.html
Unfortunately I don't have any other suggestions for you at present, other than the references cited in this video. However, I'll do some study, create some videos, and link them here for you when they're ready!
Very helpful video! I am trying to decide which method to use for my dissertation.
Hi Tami, I'm delighted you found the video helpful! Maybe I'd be able to help you decide. What is your dissertation about?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc I'm investigating people's experiences of empathy in their romantic relationships. There's not much research on this at the moment, so I want to do semi structured interviews.
@@Tinyturtletami That sounds like an extremely interesting topic. Have you any hypotheses?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc since its a qualitative research it has a research question, no hypothesis. Research question: how do people experience empathy in romantic relationships? It's very broad so the participants can shape the whole study with what they said.
@@Tinyturtletami a great research topic. I think the method most appropriate to your dissertation might become apparent once you begin your data collection. Best of luck with your research and thanks you so much for commenting and subscribing! If you have any questions you'd like to ask, or topics you'd like me to cover in a future video, please let me know. Also, if you know someone who would also benefit from this video please share it with them! Your support is sincerely appreciated ❤️
Great video Pat very informative and digestible. In terms of numbers what’s your thoughts on a ‘great’ sample size for a Thematic Analysis perspective. E.g. minimum quantity to maximum quantity?
Thank you very much for your kind words and question. In my opinion, it all depends on your resources. If you are part of a team working on the same project, with a decent budget and longer time frame, obviously a sufficient number of participants to achieve data saturation would be ideal. That's not to say if you have budgetary and other limitations that you can't do great exploratory research with very few participants. It all depends on your circumstances really. I hope that helps!
Thank you very much for this clear explanation. After reading Braun and Clarke's (2006) and some books of research methodology, your videos helped bringing everything together and make sense of these two concepts that were confusing to me. I'm currently conducting thematic analysis on interview transcripts, but I have no prior experience in qualitative analysis. Do you recommend any books that give a good overview of these methods and perhaps other methods too to analyse qualitative data? Thanks in advance :)
Thank you Claudia for your kind words! I would highly recommend reading Henwood and Pigeon (1992), they will give you a great insight in how to conduct high quality research.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1992.tb02426.x
I also discuss some further qualitative research skills which may be useful to you in this video
ruclips.net/video/aCibX68_rwU/видео.html
With regard your approach to qualitative analysis, I would highly recommend you largely stick to one type of approach. The type of research you are doing will largely inform which approach you decide to take. What is the subject of research are you conducting? I might be able to point you in the right direction (hopefully)!
@@PatsPsychologyMSc Thanks a lot for the links! I'm researching the social implications of using artificial intelligence in the public sector. The interviews I'm carrying are currently semi-structured interviews with key informants.
@@ClawiFig You're very welcome!
Wow. That is a fascinating and extremely important research topic! With the increasing computing power becoming available to companies, I fear for many people's job security in the long term.
The future of AI is a topic I'm very interested in. I'd highly recommend reading/listening to some of Nick Bostrom's work if you haven't heard of him. I can provide some further AI reading recommendations if you wish.
I think you've chosen a great qualitative approach in thematic analysis for your research project. It is a great tool to help you describe the data you collect.
In relation to the structured element of your interviews, I would highly encourage you to base them on your literature review. Try and find references to inform the questions you are asking. By supporting your question formation using the relevant literature, you will really strengthen your study!
Fantastic! You have brought a lot of clarity to these two approaches. However, I'll like a bit more clarity as to whether they are both research designs or approaches to data analysis. I'll also like to know where computer assisted data analysis comes in- can NVivo, for instance, perform grounded theory and thematic analysis procedures?
Thanks for your comment @profmartinCA10!
I would consider grounded theory and thematic analysis to be approaches to data analysis, both falling under an exploratory research design. NVIVO can certainly facilitate both grounded theory and thematic analysis. However, if your dataset is small, or your using grounded theory/thematic analysis for a college assignment as opposed to a larger research study, it might be best to stick with simpler rools like Word/Excel.
Does this answer your questions?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc Absolutely! Thank you.
hello good sir can you integrate thematic analysis in grounded theory and vise versa? im confused Thanks
Thanks Pat. I'm at the data collection point of a thesis at the moment and this helped summarise lots of articles and ideas. Is GTLite treated in any way differently?
Delighted to hear that David! Interesting question, I actually haven't heard of GTLite before. Forgive my ignorance! Perhaps you could signpost me to something about GTLite and I could hopefully give you an informed response?..
@@PatsPsychologyMSc A grounded theory-lite involves using the techniques of grounded theory for the development of categories (and concepts), and an understanding of the relationship between the various categories (and concepts) (Pidgeon & Henwood, 1997)
@@DahveeedL thanks for that David. That excerpt makes it sound like GTLite can be treated in much the same way as I describe in the video...
Important disclaimer: I'm no expert when it comes to GTLite!
Hi! Thank you for this informative and concise explanation!
I am considering using grounded theory for my research. However, I am still unclear on the differences between grounded theory and inductive thematic analysis approaches, as both don't use prior theory(ies) to develop the themes (or theory in grounded theory).
Would you kindly elaborate more on this?
Hi there! Delighted you found my explanation useful.
I gently disagree with your statement that a researcher can't use prior theory using a thematic analysis approach. Established theory can be a useful tool for identifying and expanding upon themes.
Similarly, for grounded theory, a researcher needs some familiarity with existing theory to understand whether or not they're coming up with something new or not. Existing theory can be a helpful compass of sorts
Does this make sense?
I found this very helpful. Thanks!
I wonder can you do a video on how to use the hermeneutics approach when doing a critical literature review analysis. I’m struggling with this. I’m doing my dissertation and we’re looking for themes and gaps in our research literature to do an extended literature review. First time to do this and I haven’t the foggiest... anyway they said to use hermeneutics to identify themes and gaps, but there was no tutorial on it. Oh and I’m not conducting my own study, just using current literature that I’m researching on my topic question. Does any of this make sense?
Hi Madeline, thank you so much for your kindness!
The hermeneutic approach is a fascinating one. I always find its preference for idiographic over nomothetic explanations quite interesting. Your question absolutely makes sense!
Based on your challenging assignment, and the very understandable difficulty you are experiencing with the approach, I will certainly make a video on the subject - Thank you so much for requesting! It may take me a few weeks to prepare in order to produce a satisfactory video. But I will make sure to reply to your comment with the link once it's ready.
Until then, I would highly recommend this video by Yale Professor Paul Fry - ruclips.net/video/iWnA7nZO4EY/видео.html.
He gives an excellent introduction to the subject.
I would also recommend reading Hein and Austin (2001) - see reference at bottom of my comment. They too provide a brilliant account of the approach.
I hope you find these resources helpful until I produce my own episode dedicated to hermeneutics!
Hein, S. F., & Austin, W. J. (2001). Empirical and hermeneutic approaches to phenomenological research in psychology: A comparison. Psychological Methods, 6(1), 3-17. doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.6.1.3
@@PatsPsychologyMSc Thank you so much Pat. I really appreciate that you took the time to reply and I’m really looking forward to seeing your video. Thanks for the links and recommendations. I will take a look at them, and hopefully get some understanding of where to go with my research. Again I’m looking forward to your video and thanks for making everything so clear!
@@madelinepolcer3522 You're very welcome Madeline, I hope you find them useful! Make sure to subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon to make sure you don't miss out on any videos.
It really helps to inspire me and invest more time into my episodes too!
Hi Pat! Thanks for the video. Do you have any tips or guidance regarding a researcher's epistemological/ontological position for conducting Thematic Analysis? How to find a position and justify/state that position...? Cheers!
Cheers Andy! You're very welcome. Great question. Fundamentally, I understand Thematic Analysis as an epistemological form of enquiry. For understanding your position and its justification, I advise going back to the very basics...
What is your research question? Why are you asking this research question?
By really thinking on these two questions, and by fleshing out their answers, your position and its justification should eventually emerge.
Does this help?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc Hi Pat, thanks for the reply. I think I may have met to ask more about the research paradigm rather than just the epistemological position... I am struggling to really know what position best suits my question. From my basic understanding, a positivist paradigm is suited to quant research, and constructivist to qual - although I don’t think that is necessarily always the case. There is the critical realist paradigm to consider too ... My Q is along the lines of “How do young men aged 16-18 communicate about their wellbeing in their friendship groups?” ... not quite sure how to go from there to justifying a particular paradigm. Am I making sense?
@@gandrewmill4115 No problem Andy! In my experience (albeit limited), the paradigm a researcher conducts their work from is largely informed by the researcher's personal preference and choice. Personally, I would have a preference for the Popperian approach (named after philosopher Karl Popper). The Popperian approach places great importance on the idea of falsifiability regarding scientific enquiry. For me, the logic, rationality, and consistency of the Popperian approach makes it appealing for all methods of enquiry.
My understanding is that ultimately you are the person who has to decide upon your preferred paradigm. There is no necessarily wrong/right paradigm from the academic perspective. However, you should be able to defend the approach to the research question you take. You will be able to conduct this defence based on your knowledge of your chosen paradigm.
In short... what paradigm makes the most sense to you?
Does this make sense?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc This is great. I have not heard of the Popperian approach before - I will have to do some further research.
Thank you for the clarification, this has really helped.
Best wishes! Andy
@@gandrewmill4115 my pleasure Andy, delighted I could help you!
Please subscribe and share this video with a classmate who might find it helpful. I'll really appreciate it!
Hi sir may I ask can I have data that only have manifest themes? or is it inevitable that latent themes will occur? and also are latent themes necessary for thematic analysis? thank you :)
Thanks for watching Raymund!
As I understand it, it all comes down to your analysis and how you present your argument. May I ask, why do you feel that latent themes don't exist in your data?
what data analysis is best for literature-based secondary dissertation?
Hi Arvind! That really depends on the content of the assignment and what you are intending to do. Generally, I consider thematic analysis more applied for describing things, whereas grounded theory is more applied for explaining things. What is it you are analysing?
@@PatsPsychologyMSc my topic is on “ How management of remote teams plays an important role in project risk management of IT projects” also is a secondary literature based
@@Cutloo13 your research question sounds more descriptive than explanatory to me. Beginning the question with "how", suggests thematic analysis. However, if the question began with "why", grounded theory might be more applicable.
I hope this is in some way helpful! When people pose questions like yours, I always consider it important to contact your supervisor for a more detailed insight into what applies best to the research question.
@@PatsPsychologyMSc Thank you that was very helpful ..
@@Cutloo13 you're very welcome Arvid, thank you for commenting! I'd love if you subscribed and told your friends about my videos. It would really help me grow the channel!
Hi Pat, thank you so much for the amazing video, I have spent days trying to understand both GT and TA and the difference between the two and you just answered all my questions in 25 minutes.
For my final year project I'm doing a qualitative research method study, and I had some rather long questions is there anyway I could have a discussion with you please regarding which one I could use for my study (GT or TA) because research has been done before on the topic I want to do but not exactly what I want to do, there are other aspects that have not been looked at. Also from your experience which is easier to do GT or TA?
Sorry for all these questions.
Hi Sana, thank you for your kind words! Delighted you found the video useful.
By the sounds of things, TA might be a good option... At the very least in the beginning. It might help you recognize a gap in the literature which you could address with further research. Final year projects are brilliant learning experiences, you don't always have to do groundbreaking work for them! With this in mind, I would advise choosing the approach which you think would result in the best learning for you. What is the area of research you're looking at? Have you discussed your options with your supervisor?