APPLIED THEMATIC ANALYSIS

through an iterative process of identifying features (i.e., themes) and defining

boundaries around those feafures (i.e., text segmentation). We classify themes
into two major categories. Structural topics are imposed by the research design
and can have both direct and indirect effects on the resulting data. In mapping
terms, these are the swathes of terrain that you actually traveled and observed.
Content or emergent themes describe what is observed or discussed in the context
of the imposed research design. Note that in applied thematic analysis we assume
that there will be a researcher effect on the data; note also that we want to be able
to describe the consequences ofthat effect as clearly as possible.
Before we describe the process any further, we thought it would be helpful to
define our terms, since qualitative analysts often use the same terms in very dif-
ferent ways. Over time, we are optimistic that the terminology will sort itself out
and, perhaps in another generation, a consensus will emerge that ends much of
the confusion. For now, the best we can offer is clarity about the way we define
basic terms in textual qualitative analysis.
Data: The textual representation of a conversation, observation, or
interaction.
Theme: A unit of meaning that is observed (noticed) in the data by a
reader ofthe text.
Code: A textual description of the semantic boundaries of a theme or a
component of a theme.
Codebook: A structured compendium of codes that includes a descrip-
tion ofhow the codes are related to each other.
Coding: The process by which a qualitative analyst links specific codes
to specific data segments.
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TEXT SEGMENTATION
Applied thematic analysis makes considerable use of text segmentation as a tool.
For small data sets consisting of a few focus groups or a handful of interviews
it may not be necessary to develop an explicit segmentation strategy, especially
if the goal is to rapidly identifli and describe a limited number of major themes.
However, for moderate to large data sets, segmentation is a vital applied thematic
analysis mapping tool that must be used skillfu1ly and thoughtfully.
Segmentation is a technique for bounding text in order to (1) assess and docu-
ment the overall quality of the data and (2) facilitate the exploration of thematic
elements and their similarity, dissimilarity, and relationships.
Segmentation frequently gets short shrift in discussions of coding, often not
even appearing in the index of qualitative research textbooks specifically
addressing qualitative analysis. In part, this reflects a concern about attempting to
analyze text that has been abstracted from a larger context and potentially stripped
of important cues and layers of meaning. Some qualitative researchers feel so