Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide

I bought Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide for my PhD, and it’s been a really helpful resource. The authors explain the process of thematic analysis in a clear and practical way, which made it much easier to get to grips with, especially as I’m fairly new to qualitative research. The book is well-structured, breaking everything down into manageable steps without feeling overwhelming or too academic.I also visited their website, which offers extra resources and examples that help reinforce the key points from the book – definitely worth checking out if you want to dive a bit deeper. Also, of course read all of Braun and Clarkes published papers!Overall, it’s a very useful guide for anyone working with qualitative data, and I’d recommend it to those looking for a practical, no-nonsense introduction to thematic analysis.

Such a great book when trying to learn thematic analysis. Currently using it for my Masters dissertation in Social Science, specifically Criminology. Easy to read and understand. Everything is explained so clearly, the best book i have read to help understand thematic analysis.

Highly recommend the book for anyone doing thematic analysis. Really was a lifesaver during my PhD

Extremely helpful book. Written in a way that engages the reader. I just wish it had been available when I was doing my doctoral research.

Thematic Analysis, A Practical Guide really does what it sets out to do. It provides a detailed explanation on how to start, progress and complete reflective Thematic Analysis. This type of analysis is used to investigate data in a way that takes into account your context on the data selected as well as various sociopolitical and other contexts. It is not a process for simply reporting on what data says but what it means after you analyse it. The book has chapters on how to start, how to analyse your data, how to code your data as a prelude to identifying themes, how to write your report and ensure good quality. There is an accompanying website and at the end of each chapter there are study points, worked examples so you can practically follow the process with their example data and further reading on the chapters subject. There is also information for teachers and mentors to help others on the journey of Thematic Analysis.I came to this book after attending a presentation for the Chartered Quality Institute where the presenter had used this method for analysis of trend data with a view to see how can this help me in my work as a Quality Manager. I don’t think it is something I would use as in engineering, unlike the authors psychology background, there is little scope for interpreting the meaning behind data which this method is particularly good for. However, with my background of analysis and audit I can see that this method would be great for that.My only negative thoughts on the book are really about format. Firstly, the authors use of TA throughout the book instead of using the full Thematic Analysis term. There are lots of long scientific type words in this book repeated over and over again (ontological, epistemological for example and I felt it distracted from the “theme” of the book. Also the constant references in sentences e.g. “limits of 30-40 (MacQueen, McLellan, Kay & Milstein, 1998)” instead of just using superscript numbers to point the reader to a references section, particularly when it is several times in the middle of a sentence. I felt this really distracted me from the sentences and I often had to reread a sentence more than once to get by this. Also at the start of the book they suggest if you are new to Thematic Analysis you should read chapter 8 first. Surely a starter chapter should be at the start of the book!!If you are someone wanting to understand Thematic Analysis and planning to implement it then this is a great book for you, although the authors suggest you read their previous paper “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology (2006) first.

Great if you’re doing a PhD or supervising a PhD. It sets out the information clearly and logically, although it could probably have been 20% with a little less repetition, but I guess it helps reinforce key concepts.

I am writing my MA dissertation, I find Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis understandable. I have been working from their seminal paper for a few years, so I was happy to see they have brought this book out after reading an article in BPS magazine. I much prefer working from a book compared to a paper.

This book is really easy to understand and follow. It is very useful for anyone undertaking research of this type for the first time.