**4. Defining thematic analysis**

The definition of thematic analysis adopted in the present paper is that of a method that allows researchers to identify and organize relevant themes and subthemes, which can then be used as units of analysis [48, 49] in subsequent detailed re-readings of a data set [50], through which researchers increasingly familiarize themselves with the data and explore the meanings associated with the concepts emerging from participant testimonies [51, 52]. The central operation of thematic analysis, therefore, is thematization [53]. It is important to specify that "data set" refers to all materials compiled within the scope of a given study: transcripts of interviews conducted with participants, written testimonies, verbal communications, study objectives, and research questions, as well as all other relevant materials, which can include newspaper articles, annual research reports, and social work intervention reports, among others.

Repeated readings of a data set are necessary for the identification of the most salient significations in the collected materials. It is through these processes that researchers can reveal the affective, cognitive, and symbolic dimensions of the assembled data.

Social work research should seek to address issues of social justice and inequality or, at the very least, should not contribute to deficit constructions of marginalized populations by failing to acknowledge issues of discrimination and oppression.

#### **5. The phases of thematic analysis**

Thematic analysis involves six phases (see **Figure 1**). For the purposes of the present discussion, these phases will be described using examples from the authors' experiences during a previous study, in which one of the main research themes was the reasons why certain men choose professions socially viewed as feminine [54]. The study involved 26 male participants enrolled in social work university programs: 13 in Chile and 13 in the Canadian province of Québec. The research question was exploratory, since no previous studies had addressed the issue directly; the thematic analysis, therefore, required a high degree of interpretation to fully grasp the significations emerging from participant testimonies. Specifically, the research question sought to discover the motivations, obstacles, and positive reference points, which characterized men's interest in social work, a profession socially viewed as feminine. The following extensive discussion will refer to examples from the aforementioned study in order to examine in detail the methodological progression of the six phases of thematic analysis.

It is essential to note that the six phases presented in **Figure 2** overlap and interact: the phases are not exclusively successive, since there is a measure of recursion involved, in what is nevertheless a generally linear process. These characteristics indicate that thematic analysis is a flexible yet rigorous method of data analysis (see **Figure 1**). Three distinct approaches may be applied to thematic analysis: deductive (when themes are defined at the outset, prior to analyses), inductive (when themes emerge in the course of analysis), or, frequently, a deductive-inductive combination.

#### **5.1 Phase 1: Familiarization with collected data**

The first phase begins with the task of transcribing audio recordings of individual or group interviews carried out in the course of the study. The next step involves proceeding through initial readings of the transcripts in order to find the most salient significations in the participants' testimonies. The material must be read thoroughly, attentively and analytically, particularly in order to identify those

**187**

**Figure 2.**

*Presentation of results.*

**Figure 1.**

*Thematic Analysis in Social Work: A Case Study DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89464*

significations of a participants' discourse.

*Thematic analysis: Six interactive phases.*

Q: Which factors influenced your career choice?

elements that may at first seem banal, yet frequently crucial to understanding the

Several techniques can help researchers to structure their first readings of the material. For example, an initial coding chart allows for the clear identification of excerpts that appear immediately relevant. As well, researchers familiar with thematic analysis frequently make annotations in the margins of transcripts or highlight in color certain excerpts that appear to be particularly significant.

The following excerpt and the comments cited below illustrate one researcher's initial observations following a first reading of material collected in the course of a study:

A: I have a childhood friend who is a SW [social worker] and I went to talk with him. He told me about the main orientations of the profession, and I took the decision to enter this line of work. So it was the advice of a friend that helped me to make my decision to undertake social work, which I had not really thought about when I was in high school. It came from these conversations with this friend about the program, and

I feel that I do not regret this decision. (Chilean participant No. 8, page 54)

#### **Figure 1.**

*Thematic analysis: Six interactive phases.*

elements that may at first seem banal, yet frequently crucial to understanding the significations of a participants' discourse.

Several techniques can help researchers to structure their first readings of the material. For example, an initial coding chart allows for the clear identification of excerpts that appear immediately relevant. As well, researchers familiar with thematic analysis frequently make annotations in the margins of transcripts or highlight in color certain excerpts that appear to be particularly significant.

The following excerpt and the comments cited below illustrate one researcher's initial observations following a first reading of material collected in the course of a study:

Q: Which factors influenced your career choice?

A: I have a childhood friend who is a SW [social worker] and I went to talk with him. He told me about the main orientations of the profession, and I took the decision to enter this line of work. So it was the advice of a friend that helped me to make my decision to undertake social work, which I had not really thought about when I was in high school. It came from these conversations with this friend about the program, and I feel that I do not regret this decision. (Chilean participant No. 8, page 54)

**Figure 2.** *Presentation of results.*

The meanings identified in the testimony of Participant No. 8 were that: **a)** the participant had a close relationship with a social worker who influenced his career choice; **b)** the participant wanted to learn about the profession before deciding to undertake it; **c)** the profession's orientations attracted the participant; **d)** the participant had not chosen a career path upon completing his secondary education; and **e)** the participant was satisfied with his choice of studies.

The example demonstrates that even a short interview excerpt can be a rich source of information, in this case indicating the various factors that characterized and influenced the participant's choice to study toward a career in social work.

It is worth noting that qualitative data software, such as Nvivo®, presents additional coding capabilities and is in widespread use. For the purposes of the present study, however, the researchers opted to employ a manual coding technique.

In summary, the first phase of thematic analysis involves several steps and techniques:

	- *What is this person trying to say?*
	- *Why are they talking about that in this particular way?*
	- *How should I interpret what I am reading?*

**189**

**Table 4.**

*Coding chart: Chile students.*

**Research objective No. 1**

Describe the motivations of men who choose to pursue studies in a profession socially viewed as feminine.

*Thematic Analysis in Social Work: A Case Study DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89464*

before beginning their analyses.

**5.2 Phase 2: Generating initial codes**

explicative and indicate causal relationships.

Vocation. I wanted to work with people and to help. Participation in volunteering. Social change as a personal value.

but refraining from premature definition.

noting all pertinent elements on the coding chart and continuing to progress through the readings while noting elements that appear related to the theme,

Within a constructivist perspective, in the first phase of thematic analysis, the researcher adopts a subjectivist epistemological approach the reality under study. In the course of this process, researcher and respondent become a mutually constructed unit. The results, therefore, are the products of interactions between their realities ([26] in [55]:p. 17). In this process of production, social work researchers must maintain consciously reflexive, in order to minimize the potential effects of their prejudices or opinions, which could otherwise deform or falsify interpretation. It is always preferable that the researcher carrying out the readings be the same person that carried out interviews with participants; this will place the researcher in a better epistemological position to ensure continuity throughout the thematic analysis process. If someone else is tasked with carrying out the readings, it is imperative that they become highly familiar with all aspects of the research project

In this second phase, the researcher will use information identified as relevant in Phase 1 to generate initial codes. At the outset, researchers begin grouping elements of data according to similarities or perceived patterns: these are initial codes (see **Tables 4** and **5**). This ordering of the data is necessary to develop a comprehensive perspective on the participants' latent or semantic discourse. An experienced researcher will likely proceed more quickly through this process; indeed, some researchers frequently combine the first two phases of thematic analysis. To begin, a code is a type of raw data extracted from interviews and field notes. These include words or phrases that are representative of groups or patterns of data (see **Table 4**). Miles and Huberman [56] identify three types of codes. The first is descriptive codes, which require very little interpretation. The second is interpretive codes, which represent data that require a certain depth of interpretation in order to be fully understood. The third type is inferential codes, relating to data that are

Within the classification elaborated by Miles and Huberman [56], therefore, the examples presented in this article largely correspond to the descriptive type. When

(Participant 1).

this profession (Participant 12).

Q: What factors influenced your choice of profession? A: [...] **I took up social work as a vocation**, because I wanted to work with people. **I was interested in working with people**, face to face! To be there! Where there is a need for people who are ready to talk, to help others and to resolve social problems

Q: What factors influenced your choice of profession? A: When I was in my 3rd or 4th year of secondary school, it was a time of mobilization among students and I developed a concern for social problems. From then, **I started doing volunteering work** and I became interested in the whole **ideal of social change**. That is what motivated me to choose

**Codes (Level 1) Excerpts of testimonies**

noting all pertinent elements on the coding chart and continuing to progress through the readings while noting elements that appear related to the theme, but refraining from premature definition.

Within a constructivist perspective, in the first phase of thematic analysis, the researcher adopts a subjectivist epistemological approach the reality under study. In the course of this process, researcher and respondent become a mutually constructed unit. The results, therefore, are the products of interactions between their realities ([26] in [55]:p. 17). In this process of production, social work researchers must maintain consciously reflexive, in order to minimize the potential effects of their prejudices or opinions, which could otherwise deform or falsify interpretation.

It is always preferable that the researcher carrying out the readings be the same person that carried out interviews with participants; this will place the researcher in a better epistemological position to ensure continuity throughout the thematic analysis process. If someone else is tasked with carrying out the readings, it is imperative that they become highly familiar with all aspects of the research project before beginning their analyses.
