A note on the concepts in thematic analysis with illustrative examples: for MBA students

A note on the concepts in thematic analysis with illustrative examples: for MBA students (information from perplexity.ai)

My question: "Regarding the topic of thematic analysis, please clarify a bit what is a code and what is theme? How to link up the themes to address a specific research question? To clarify these concepts and tasks in a more concrete way, try to provide illustrative examples with reference to the following research activity:

To conduct a semi-structured research interview on 4 secretaries in the Faculty of Engineering of the ABC University on "the leadership style and effectiveness of the Faculty Head."

The reply: "Let's dive into thematic analysis, focusing on what codes and themes are, and how they relate to your research question. In thematic analysis:

• A code is a concise label that identifies an important piece of information within your data, like a keyword or concept from an interview segment.

• A theme is a broader pattern or topic that emerges by grouping multiple related codes together; it captures a meaningful, recurring idea relevant to your research question.

For example, in interviews about leadership style with secretaries at ABC University's Faculty of Engineering, a code might be "consultative decision-making" or "communication delays." These codes highlight specific observations.

By grouping related codes like "consultative decision-making," "encouraging opinions," and "inclusive meetings," you might form a theme called "Participative Leadership." Similarly, codes like "communication delays" and "lack of clarity in instructions" might form a theme "Challenges in Communication."

Themes help you answer your research question by organizing your rich data into clear, interpretable patterns that explain secretaries' perspectives on the Faculty Head's leadership and its effectiveness.

To link themes with your research question, you would:

1. Identify codes across all interviews related to leadership behaviors and effectiveness.

2. Group these codes into meaningful themes reflecting key leadership styles and outcomes described by participants.

3. Interpret these themes to explain how the Faculty Head's leadership style impacts perceived effectiveness according to secretaries."

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.