Thematic Analysis
Interview transcript plus 1500 word report on your analysis
In this assignment you will explore meanings and motivations attached to choosing to go to university. To do this you will interview one student at the University of Brighton (any course – as long as you record what it is) and carry out a short thematic analysis of the interview.
Prior to the interview you need to make some preparations:
1. Devise a research question based on ‘Why do people choose to go to university?’ (You can use this wording if you like or come up with different wording based on your approach). Choose a theoretical framework that you think can help us to understand students’ choices. This could be an identity-based theory, a structural theory (e.g. class, gender, etc.) or a discourse-based model (e.g. governmentality). Construct a research question that will link the theory and the topic.
2. Reflecting on the research question you are considering think about what form the interview should take – structured, semi-structured, unstructured, narrative? You should evidence your choice of method with references.
3. Write the interview questions.
4. Identify your research participant and tell them what this exercise entails. Consider any ethical implications that may attend to the research process: is the participant vulnerable, likely to disclose criminal activity or potentially distressed by the topic and research question? Remember that you should maintain confidentiality and anonymity and therefore the participant should not be named in your report.
5. Carry out the interview. Make sure you have an appropriate recording device. Take notes as you listen to the responses; your thoughts about what is being said, how it is being said and what your role in the interview process is are important.
6. Transcribe the interview. You are not doing conversation analysis, so you only need to transcribe all of the words.
7. Carry out a thematic analysis of the interview. You will need to code the transcript, using either an inductive process where the codes emerge from the data, or a deductive process where you construct a coding framework using your theory. The next stage is to identify themes and then link them to the research question. Finally, show how you address the research question drawing from the thematic analysis.
8. Write your report. This should include:
• Introduction – what this report is about.
• Research question including the theory that informs it
• Sampling – who did you get to participate and why
• Methodology and method – what is your methodological approach and why did you choose the interview method that you did, and how does this relate back to theory.
• Ethical considerations
• Interview process – what happened?
• Thematic analysis – what was the process of analysis that you carried out and what did you find?
• Critical reflection – look back at the process and your role and provide a brief assessment of the process as a whole.
• Summary and conclusion
• Appendix: interview transcript.
Read through your report to check spelling, grammar and style.
Assessment criteria:
1 Demonstrate that you can design and carry out an interview
2 Identify an appropriate theoretical framework to inform and structure the interview
3 Demonstrate an ability to analyse interview data using thematic analysis
4 Present your research in an appropriate report format with introduction, methods and methodology, ethics, analysis, and a conclusion that summarises your argument.
Information of the student getting interviewed:
Name: Ahmed Fakhroo
Nationality: Qatari
Course: Politics and Social Policy
Year in university: Second year
CHECK THE ADDITIONAL FILES IT WILL SHOW YOU WHAT MUST BE IN THE REPORT
1500 words NOT MORE than that.