What is the difference between content analysis and thematic analysis as methods used in qualitative data analysis?
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Research
has a long tradition of quantitative research which still dominates many university courses on research methods. Qualitative research is a younger phenomenon that was established in research after the second world war. An emerging research field that needed new analysis methods tailored for qualitative data. Two of the most frequently used approaches in qualitative data analysis are content analysis and thematic analysis. In several aspects content analysis and thematic analysis both share a
common approach to analytically examine qualitative data, and the fact that they have been used interchangeably has made it difficult for the more unexperienced researchers to distinguish and choose between them. The aim of this study is to examine doctoral students’ perceptions of qualitative analysis with content analysis and thematic analysis. The study had a qualitative approach with data collected from two webinars on qualitative data analysis, where a total of 76 doctoral students
participated. Data consists of participant reflections in a Padlet on content analysis and thematic analysis at the two webinars. Webinar participants have given their consent to use their reflections in the Padlet for research. Content analysis with an abductive coding approach was used to analyse the collected data and formulate categories that answer the study’s aim and research question. Results show both perceived similarities and differences between content analysis and thematic analysis.
Both are perceived to have a similar process in the coding of data, although content analysis has a wider selection of coding approaches and thematic analysis support deeper immersion. Content analysis is also perceived as more practical and straightforward, while thematic analysis is perceived as more intuitive and faster to learn. Both content analysis and thematic analysis are perceived to have individual opportunities and challenges that make them appropriate for different types of research.
Findings presented in this study can be used by researchers at any level to explore similarities and differences between content analysis and thematic analysis, and where to apply them in research.
 Academic Papers
Review . 2013 Sep;15(3):398-405. doi: 10.1111/nhs.12048. Epub 2013 Mar 11. Affiliations
Review Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive studyMojtaba Vaismoradi et al. Nurs Health Sci. 2013 Sep. AbstractQualitative content analysis and thematic analysis are two commonly used approaches in data analysis of nursing research, but boundaries between the two have not been clearly specified. In other words, they are being used interchangeably and it seems difficult for the researcher to choose between them. In this respect, this paper describes and discusses the boundaries between qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis and presents implications to improve the consistency between the purpose of related studies and the method of data analyses. This is a discussion paper, comprising an analytical overview and discussion of the definitions, aims, philosophical background, data gathering, and analysis of content analysis and thematic analysis, and addressing their methodological subtleties. It is concluded that in spite of many similarities between the approaches, including cutting across data and searching for patterns and themes, their main difference lies in the opportunity for quantification of data. It means that measuring the frequency of different categories and themes is possible in content analysis with caution as a proxy for significance. Keywords: content analysis; nursing; qualitative descriptive research; thematic analysis. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. Similar articles
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What's the difference between content analysis and thematic analysis?Thematic analysis helps researchers understand those aspects of a phenomenon that participants talk about frequently or in depth, and the ways in which those aspects of a phenomenon may be connected. Content analysis, on the other hand, can be used as a quantitative or qualitative method of data analysis.
What is thematic content analysis in qualitative research?Thematic analysis is a method for analyzing qualitative data that entails searching across a data set to identify, analyze, and report repeated patterns (Braun and Clarke 2006). It is a method for describing data, but it also involves interpretation in the processes of selecting codes and constructing themes.
Why did you use thematic analysis qualitative content analysis?When to use thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a good approach to research where you're trying to find out something about people's views, opinions, knowledge, experiences or values from a set of qualitative data – for example, interview transcripts, social media profiles, or survey responses.
What is the difference between qualitative content analysis and quantitative content analysis?Content analysis can be both quantitative (focused on counting and measuring) and qualitative (focused on interpreting and understanding). In both types, you categorize or “code” words, themes, and concepts within the texts and then analyze the results.
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