Applying Thematic Analysis to Education: A Hybrid Approach to Interpreting Data in Practitioner Research

Abstract

Thematic analysis (TA), as a qualitative analytic method, is widely used in health care, psychology, and beyond. However, scant details are often given to demonstrate the process of data analysis, especially in the field of education. This article describes how a hybrid approach of TA was applied to interpret multiple data sources in a practitioner inquiry. Particular attention is given to the inductive and deductive coding and theme development process of TA. Underpinned by the constructivist epistemology, codes were driven by both data per se and theories, through a “bottom-up” and “top-down” approach to identify themes. A detailed example of six steps of data analysis is presented, which evidences the systematic analysis of raw data from observation and research journals, students’ focus groups, and a classroom teacher’s semistructured interviews. This example demonstrates how classroom practice was unpacked and how insiders’ insights were interpreted through the theoretical lens while also allowing the participants to express themselves. By providing step-by-step guidelines in data coding and identification of themes, this article contributes to informing qualitative researchers, especially teacher-researchers who undertake their research in the classroom setting.