What is are the similarities and differences between content analysis and thematic analysis?
|
Review Show
. 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
Cited by
Publication typesMeSH termsLinkOut - more resources
What is the similarities between content analysis and thematic analysis?The first three are considered similarities between content analysis and thematic analysis: 1) similar process of coding and analysing data, 2) similar challenge regarding subjectivity and potential bias, 3) similar challenge in defining and organising data.
What is the difference between content and thematic analysis psychology?Thematic analysis is a method of qualitative data analysis that can be used with varying research designs, while content analysis is a data analysis method that can be used to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.
What is the difference between content analysis and thematic analysis as methods used in qualitative data analysis?Content analysis uses a descriptive approach in both coding of the data and its interpretation of quantitative counts of the codes (Downe-Wamboldt, 1992; Morgan, 1993). Conversely, thematic analysis provides a purely qualitative, detailed, and nuanced account of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
What are the similarities and differences between qualitative and quantitative content analysis?Qualitative data analysis is based on classification of objects (participants) according to properties and attributes whereas quantitative analysis is based on classification of data based on computable values. Qualitative analysis is subjective whereas quantitative is objective.
|
