how to perform a thematic analysis?

Data analysis in qualitative research is one of the most difficult processes, so the data is analyzed in qualitative research using the method of thematic analysis.

Qualitative research: It is an explanatory scientific research that contains information that needs to be interpreted and analyzed, and is not used to test hypotheses but to answer the questions of scientific research studied by the researcher, where qualitative research answers questions (how - why) providing the reader and researcher with a deeper understanding of the answers to the questions asked.

 Thematic analysis 

 Is processes are aimed at identifying themes content of sources of information and creating search tools and accessing sources through the themes portal. The concept of thematic analysis can expand as it means building terminology and themes coding.

Thematic analysis is one of the methods used to qualitative analysis data. Where the researcher organizes and categorizes data in specific themes. Thematic analysis may be done by focusing on the commonalities between the data.

Data analysis:

• There are many methods used in qualitative research analysis, including Microsoft office software and Invivo.
• Identify the goal of qualitative research and make it in front of the researcher's eye to focus on it and not distract it during the analysis of the qualitative research based on it.

Codec:

To encode qualitative research outputs there are many ways, including the method of descriptive coding through interview, documents, posts, photos, video and observation, and these methods are suitable for novice researchers in the analysis of qualitative search data. The selection of a coding or category is essential for the analysis. That said, a given category shows the themes for the data. A category should be clearly stated. Where the identification of a category make the analysis easier and more accurate. A category help the researcher classify the data. That is why the researcher should pay close attention when selecting a category.

Why thematic analysis?

For new people in the field of qualitative research, thematic analysis is the entry gateway for qualitative research. thematic analysis explains coding mechanisms and systematically qualitative analysis data.

This thematic analysis has become the core and the essence of office and information work. It is noted that thematic analysis is part of themes indexing.

 Thematic analysis objectives 

• Uncovering books in the library that deal with a particular themes.
• Access all relevant material by theme.
• Find an entry point for any thematic field at any level of analysis.
• Provide an entry point for the document through any common vocabulary.
• Show the interconnectedness of themes.
• Formal description of thematic content.
• Disclosure of information in the library, which deals with themes related to a theme the researcher is looking for.

Therefore, the thematic analysis is to refer to the themes content of the information By using the term or numbers. The purpose of thematic analysis is to reach all cultural materials that are relevant to themes, provide a level of analysis, show the correlation between themes, describe the thematic content of common vocabulary.

 Thematic analysis tools 

Thematic analysis tools can be divided into two parts:

• Modern thematic analysis tools include: branding, free classification or fxonomi, tsonomi, anthropology, interrelated data and semantic web.
• Traditional thematic analysis tools include: brooms, themes header lists, classification plans, coding and extraction.

Qualitative analysis

The process of qualitative analysis begins with the beginning of the collection of scientific material.

 Uses of qualitative analysis methods 

• Qualitative analysis is used in experimental studies.
• Qualitative analysis is also used to calculate special criteria.
• Special qualitative analysis is used to read and evaluate research studies.

The importance of qualitative analysis:

The qualitative analysis process aims to understand the researcher's implications, and at first glance it may seem difficult to qualitative analysis, but those with experience and those familiar with the problem of research or subject find in collecting a large amount of data a huge wealth towards starting to the intellectual and creative depth, Thus, the hoped-for results and the answers to the assumptions of scientific research are reached.

Quotation

The quotation in scientific research is one of the main pillars on which the research plan depends, and the quotation is one of the oldest methods of collecting the scientific material known, and the aim of the quotation is to strengthen the research and strengthen the content.

The word quotation means supply, benefit, and demand, and the quotation is defined in scientific research: to convey some texts directly or indirectly to others, in order to emphasize or objectively criticize a particular idea, and to reach the new in the same discipline.

 Types of quotation 

• Quotation directly.
• Quotation indirectly.
• Data completion.
• Delete when quotation.
• Author citation.
• Agreement or disagreement.
• Reference to a personal interview.

Quotation terms:

There are many quotation requirements that the researcher must abide by:

1. The quotations that the researcher cites in his research must be expressing the original meaning, with reference to the author or author of the source.
2. With multiple means of quotation, the researcher must be as short as possible, as the prolonged quotations may be have errors, and this may lead to a change of meaning.
3. The researcher should only be interested in quotation necessities.
4. The researcher should provide the reasons for quotation by commenting on what is being conveyed.

The importance of quotation

The researcher relies on the transmission of some ideas produced by others, during the course of his research, and there is no doubt that the accumulated cultural heritage is a huge source of ideas on which the scientific researcher builds his ideas.

Conclusion

We talked about the concept and importance of thematic analysis and its objectives and tools and we talked about some of those tools, where thematic analysis is part of objective indexing and thematic analysis is the essence and basis of office and information work, and that the frequent production of information and the multiplicity of sources of information and its diversity, especially in Today, the age of the explosion of information and the age of technology have made the shift in the organization of so many different sources in libraries and information centers from the tools of traditional thematic analysis to modernity inevitable but undoubtedly a first.

Watch: Introduction to thematic analysis of qualitative data 

With greetings: Al - Manara Consulting to help researchers and graduate students