Thematic analysis is a poorly demarcated, rarely acknowledged, yet widely used qualitative analytic method within psychology. In this paper, we argue that it offers an accessible and theoretically flexible approach to analysing qualitative data. We outline what thematic analysis is, locating it in relation to other qualitative analytic methods that search for themes or patterns, and in relation to different epistemological and ontological positions. We then provide clear guidelines to those wanting to start thematic analysis, or conduct it in a more deliberate and rigorous way, and consider potential pitfalls in conducting thematic analysis. Finally, we outline the disadvantages and advantages of thematic analysis. We conclude by advocating thematic analysis as a useful and flexible method for qualitative research in and beyond psychology.

Using thematic analysis in psychology

Introduction 1. Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle 2. Images of Relationship 3. Concepts of Self and Morality 4. Crisis and Transition 5. Women's Rights and Women's Judgment 6. Visions of Maturity References Index of Study Participants General Index

In a Different Voice. Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, MA (Harvard University Press) 1982.

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is an increasingly popular approach to qualitative inquiry. This handy text covers its theoretical foundations and provides a detailed guide to conducting IPA research.

Extended worked examples from the authors' own studies in health, sexuality, psychological distress and identity illustrate the breadth and depth of IPA research.

Each of the chapters also offers a guide to other good exemplars of IPA research in the designated area. The final section of the book considers how IPA connects with other contemporary qualitative approaches like discourse and narrative analysis and how it addresses issues to do with validity. The book is written in an accessible style and will be extremely useful to students and researchers in psychology and related disciplines in the health and social sciences.

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research

Part I. Experimental Studies: 2. Experiment in psychology 3. Experiments on perceiving III Experiments on imaging 4-8. Experiments on remembering: (a) The method of description (b) The method of repeated reproduction (c) The method of picture writing (d) The method of serial reproduction (e) The method of serial reproduction picture material 9. Perceiving, recognizing, remembering 10. A theory of remembering 11. Images and their functions 12. Meaning Part II. Remembering as a Study in Social Psychology: 13. Social psychology 14. Social psychology and the matter of recall 15. Social psychology and the manner of recall 16. Conventionalism 17. The notion of a collective unconscious 18. The basis of social recall 19. A summary and some conclusions.

Remembering. A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology, Cambridge (University Press) 1964.

Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.

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Social Theory of International Politics

Discursive Psychology

An Informal Introduction Cognitivism and Cognition Discourse and Reality Talk as Action Shared Knowledge Scripts and Dispositions Emotion Categories I Language and Perception Categories II Bodily Experience and Folk Psychology Narrative Stories and Rememberings Membership Children, Animals and Machines

Discourse and cognition

This book is about education as a communicative process, about how knowledge is presented, received, controlled, understood and misunderstood by teachers and children in the classroom.

Common Knowledge : The Development of Understanding in the Classroom

A major contribution to the social scientific understanding of how people make sense of their lives, Ideological Dilemmas presents an illuminating new approach to the study of everyday thinking. Contradictory strands abound within both ideology and common sense. In contrast to many modern theorists, the authors see these dilemmas of ideology as enabling, rather than inhibiting: thinking about them helps people to think meaningfully about themselves and the world. The dilemmas within ideology and their effects on thinking are explored through the analysis of what people say in specific key situations: education, medical care, race and gender. The authors identify common ideological themes running through the common-sense discourses they analyse. They highlight the tensions between themes of equality and authority, freedom and necessity, individuality and collectivity. Time and again, the contradictions between these ideological themes crop up as respondents argue and puzzle over their social worlds. Written with refreshing clarity, the discussion cuts across the boundary which often separates sociology from social psychology. Sociologists are reminded that the reproduction of ideology involves individual processes of thinking; social psychologists are urged to recognize the ideological nature of thought.

Ideological Dilemmas: A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking

Extreme case formulations (ECFs) were identified by Pomerantz (1986) as expressions using extreme terms such as all, none, most, every, least, absolutely, completely, and so forth, whose uses are to defend or justify a description or assessment, especially in case of challenge. In this study, orientations to the extremity of ECFs are initially shown in how and when they are sometimes qualified or softened. Yet ECFs are overwhelmingly not softened. Further examination shows how ECFs can work as devices for doing "nonliteral," in the sense of being not accountably accurate descriptions. Rather, their extremity might be taken to display investment in, or stance toward, some state of affairs. In addition to Pomerantz's observations, therefore, ECFs can (a) display various kinds of "investment" on the part of the speaker (e.g., commitment, certainty, caring, determination, a critical or positive attitude, etc.) and (b) provide for a range of nonliteral, metaphoric uses (interpretable as "it seemed as if [extre...

Derek Edwards

Papers

Discursive Psychology

Discourse and cognition

Common Knowledge : The Development of Understanding in the Classroom

Ideological Dilemmas: A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking

Extreme Case Formulations: Softeners, Investment, and Doing Nonliteral