Question

b) Braun and Clarke (2006) summarise thematic analysis according to six phases. The first of these phases (i.e., Phase 1) is titled ‘familiarizing yourself with your data’. Reflecting on this phase: summarise the key activities a researcher would perform during this phase; and identify any challenge(s) associated with performing these activities.

c) It is important for qualitative researchers to provide evidence of the trustworthiness of their study. Briefly describe three techniques that could be used by a researcher to increase the trustworthiness of their data and conclusions

Answer 1

(b) KEY ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY RESEARCHER DURING FIRST PHASE OF THEMATIC ANALYSIS:

• Qualitative and textual data come in various forms recorded observations,texts,documents, multimedia, photographs etc.,researchers must triangulate different data collection modes to increse the probability that findings will be found credible.
• They should collect the data through interactive means, so that they will develop initial analytic interest with prior knowledge of data.
• Documenting the thoughts during data collection mark the beginning of analysis. Thus researchers should note initial analysis thoughts, interpretations and questions.
• After collected the data, the researchers should tabulate it using Microsoft Word prior to preparing and organizing the content of data. This meant that the data are ready to be analysed word-by-word,using the tables to show any significant patterns or themes.
• They should display the data in a variety of ways e.g. tables, figures and theme maps provides opportunities to gain an extra in-depth understanding of the data it. Each piece of data offers the researcher the ability to better explanation the data​.
• They should be fully immersed and actively engaged in data by transcribing interactions and reading (re-reading) the transcripts in active way- searching for meanings,patterns etc., and/or listening to the recordings.
• Reading data as data means not simply absorbing the surface meaning of the words on the page, as you might read a trashy novel or magazine, but reading the words actively, analytically and critically, and starting to think about what the data mean.
• Researchers can document their theoretical and reflective thoughts that develop through immersion in the data, including their values, interests, and growing insights about the research topic.
• It is good to take notes or marking ideas gathered from data for coding so that can be returned to in subsequent phases.

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE ACTIVITIES:

• As the volume, complexity and varied formats of qualitative data (audio recordings. documents and field notes) often lack consistent structure, researchers should read the entire data set at least once before beginning coding else they cannot proceed with analysis. As ideas and identification of possible patterns can be shaped only with familiarity on all aspects of data.
• The reading and re-reading of data is time consuming. It is, therefore, tempting to skip over this phase or be selective. As this phase is more important for the rest of analysis, skipping or being selective is not advisable.

(b) TECHNIQUES USED TO INCREASE THE TRUSTWORTHINESS OF DATA:

In quantitative studies, the trustworthiness means validity and reliability whereas in qualitative study it means that research study findings are credible, transferable, confirmable and dependable. Trustworthiness is all about establishing these four things.

(i)​ CREDIBILITY:

Credibility is one method used by qualitative researchers to establish trustworthiness by examining the data, data analysis, and conclusions to see whether or not the study is correct and accurate.​ This explains how confident the qualititative researcher is in the truth of research findings. Procedures used by researchers to increase credibility:

• Prolonged engagement: is an activity used to learn traditions and customs of participants and build trust.
• Persistent observation: is used to examine credibility by looking in-depth at what the researchers are examining and investigating factor in detail.
• Triangulation: is an activity used to examine a substantial amount of various sources (i.e., interviewing and observation), methods, investigators, and theories. Contextual validation plays a role in triangulation because it examines the validity of a piece of a study by comparing it with other kinds of evidence on same points to find distortion in a source.
• Peer debriefing: This method consists of researchers asking a colleague or another person to look over the study for credibility and determine if the results seem to align from the data.
• Negative case analysis: is used to show that not all the data will provide the same result. It allows researchers to present information from a study that does not align with other themes, patterns, and overall results.
• Referential adequacy: is a method used to store raw data in records to examine later and compare to other future studies to show the credibility of data.
• Members checking: This is a technique in which the data, interpretations, and conclusions are shared with the participants. It allows participants to clarify what their intentions were, correct errors, and provide additional information if necessary.

(ii) TRANSFERABILITY:

   Transferability explains how the qualitative researcher demonstrates that the research study’s findings are applicable to other contexts inorder to get generalizability. In this case, “other contexts” can mean similar situations, similar populations, and similar phenomena. They use this method to provide a detailed description of the study’s site, participants, and procedures used to collect data in order for other researchers to assess whether or not applying the results of one study is a good match, and makes sense to generalize.

(iii) CONFIRMABILITY:

   Confirmability is the degree of neutrality in the research study’s findings. In other words, this means that the findings are based on participants’ responses and make sure the data speaks for itself; and not based on potential bias or personal motivations of the researcher.

To establish confirmability, qualitative researchers can provide an audit trail that includes raw data, such as electronically recorded materials, written field notes, documents, and records, which highlights every step of data analysis that was made in order to provide a rationale for the decisions made. This helps establish that the research study’s findings accurately portray participants’ responses.

(iv) DEPENDABILITY:

Dependability is the extent that the study could be repeated by other researchers and that the findings would be consistent. In other words, if a person wanted to replicate your study, they should have enough information from your research report to do so and obtain similar findings as your study did.

A qualitative researcher can use inquiry audit in ​order to establish dependability, which requires an outside person to review and examine the research process and the data analysis inorder to ensure that the findings are consistent and could be repeated.

The folloeing are the ways to show dependability:

1. There can be no validity without reliability, and no credibility without dependability.
2. “Overlap methods” as a direct technique to exemplify a kind of triangulation.
3. “Stepwise replication” as a process of establishing reliability. This approach requires an inquiry team of at least two people or more who can be separated into two inquiry teams. The two teams deal with data sources separately and perform their studies apart from one another. Then, the results between the two teams are compared.
4. Inquiry audit for a researcher auditor to examine the process of the study and determine its acceptability to the dependability of the study. The researcher auditor looks into the data, findings, interpretations, and recommendations and looks into whether the study is supported by data and is trustworthy.