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Any secondary source - both old and new - whether in printed form, handwritten or electronic that relates to the research question may be of value (Henning et al., 2004:99). The analysis of these secondary sources may provide information that fills the gaps that are left after the interviews (Henning et al., 2004:100). In this study the secondary sources that were consulted included library books, research articles, unpublished dissertations and archived material that contained euphemisms.
3.8.3 Field Notes
Field notes were compiled during the interviews which also recorded the behavioural patterns of the participants. Hittleman and Simon (2002:148) highlight the importance of taking field notes by the researcher during the periods of gathering data and the researcher made field notes while observing the participants during the interviews. According to Ary et al., (2002:431), the notes should include information pertaining to the behaviour of people, interpersonal relationships, places, activities, conversations as well as the feelings or impressions of the researcher. These notes supplement the information that is acquired from the interviews and the document analysis (Hittleman and Simon, 2002:148). In this study the field notes were edited immediately after the interviews and comments were marked as Researcher’s Comments (RC).
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3.9.2 Method of data analysis chosen for this study
The data collected for this study was analysed using the Thematic Content Analysis method (TCA) which identifies, analyses and reports patterns (themes) contained in the accumulated data; it organises and describes the data set in rich detail.
However, it often goes further and interprets various aspects of the research topic (Braun & Clarke, 2006:79). The data being analysed might take any number of forms including interview transcripts, field notes, policy documents, photographs and video footage.
The Thematic Content Analysis method illustrates the data in great detail and deals with diverse subjects via interpretation (Boyatzis, 1998:34). It is considered most appropriate for any study that seeks to discover using interpretation and it provides a systematic element to data analysis. It allows the researcher to associate an analysis of the frequency of a theme with the whole content which confers accuracy and intricacy and enhances the research’s whole meaning. Qualitative research requires understanding and collecting diverse aspects of data. The Thematic Content Analysis method offers researchers an opportunity to understand the potential of any issue more widely (Marks and Yardley, 2004). Namey et al. (2008:138) are of the opinion that
Thematic Content Analysis moves beyond counting explicit words or phrases and focuses on identifying and describing both implicit and explicit ideas. Codes developed for ideas or themes are then applied or linked to raw data as summary markers for later analysis, which may include comparing the relative frequencies of themes or topics within a data set, looking for code co-occurrence, or graphically displaying code relationships.
It allows the researcher to precisely determine relationships between concepts and compare them with the replicated data. By using Thematic Content Analysis there is the possibility to link the various concepts and opinions of the participants and compare these with the data that has been gathered in different situations at different times during the project. All possibilities for interpretation are possible.
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In order to present content when Thematic Analysis is used, the theme must
“describe the bulk of the data” (Joffe & Yardley, 2004:67-77). In other words, a large amount of content, i.e. data, is required because while one single statement is significant it does not, necessarily, reflect the full story which is especially true when the research’s objectives aim to obtain insights into, and discover relationships between, the diverse data that originated from the different groups of learners. Thus, the researcher needs to provide and describe a large amount of data.
Thematic Content Analysis provides rich, detailed and complex data which is compatible with Braun and Clarke’s (2006) vision. In addition, Blacker (2009:83) argues that a rich thematic description of the entire data assists him and/or the readers to get a sense of “the predominant and important themes” from the data.
A thematic analysis process analyses the data without engaging pre-existing themes; it can be adapted to any research that relies only on participant clarification.
In other words, each statement or idea contributes towards understanding the issues which leads to an appreciation of the whole picture. Every statement is valid in understanding a single concept or ones shared with other statements. Concepts are, therefore, constructed to give a full picture of the participants’ views and actions.
Furthermore, presenting similarities and differences between the participants’
perspectives assists readers to obtain a global view (Joffe & Yardley, 2004:83).
3.9.3 Applicable phases when analysing data using Thematic Content Analysis method
This researcher used the phases described below as part of his Thematic Content Analysis method.
3.9.3.1 Phase 1: Becoming familiarising with the data
Clarke and Kitzinger (2004) maintain that when researchers engage in analysis they may have collected the data themselves or it may have been given to them. If they collected it through interactive means, they will approach its analysis with some prior knowledge of the data and, possibly, some initial analytic interests or thoughts.
However, it is vital that they immerse themselves in the data to the extent that they are familiar with the depth and breadth of the content. In this study all verbal data,
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such as that obtained during interviews, was transcribed into a written form - even though the researcher knew it was time consuming, frustrating and, at times, boring.
The researcher repeatedly read the collected data in an active way - searching for meaning and patterns. He read through the entire data set at least once before he started his coding to enable him to shape ideas and identify patterns.
3.9.3.2 Phase 2: Generating initial codes
Phase 2 begins when researchers have read and familiarised themselves with the data and have generated an initial list of ideas of what is in the data and what is interesting about it. This phase involves the production of initial codes from the data.
Codes identify a semantic content or latent feature of the data that appears interesting to the analyst and refers to “the most basic segment or element of the raw data or information that can be assessed in a meaningful way regarding the phenomenon” (Boyatzis, 1998:63). During this phase the researcher ensured that all actual data extracts were coded and collated within each code. Data that were identified by the same code were put together.
3.9.3.3 Phase 3: Searching for themes
This phase focuses on the broader level of themes and involves sorting the different codes into potential themes and collating all the relevant coded data extracts within the identified themes. In this study, some codes formed main or sub-themes and other codes were discarded.
3.9.3.4 Phase 4: Reviewing themes
This phase involves two levels of reviewing and refining researchers’ themes. Level 1 involves reviewing at the level of the coded data where researchers re-read all the data extracts that fit into each theme to ensure that it forms a coherent pattern. Level 2 involves reviewing at the level of the themes where researchers consider each theme in relation to the data corpus. A thematic map to help researchers visualize the relationship between themes is used.
87 3.9.3.5 Phase 5: Defining and naming themes
This step captures the essence of what each theme is about and what aspect of the data it captures. By “define and refine” the “essence” of each theme is identified as well as the overall themes and it determines what aspect of the data each theme captures (Boyatzis, 1998:67). In this study themes were given concise names that immediately provided the reader with a sense of what the theme was about.
3.9.3.6 Phase 6: Producing the report
This phase involves the final analysis and writing-up of the report taking into consideration the audience. The researcher gives a succinct, coherent, logical, non- repetitive and fascinating account of the story that the data reveal.