How to Do a Thematic Analysis: Braun & Clarke's 6-Phase Method

Thematic analysis uses Braun and Clarke's six phases: (1) familiarisation with the data, (2) initial coding, (3) generating themes, (4) reviewing themes against the dataset, (5) defining and naming themes, and (6) writing up. It is the most common qualitative analysis method in Canadian education, nursing, and social-science graduate programs.

Phase 1 - Familiarisation: transcribe interviews yourself if you can. Read each transcript twice before coding anything.

Phase 2 - Initial coding: tag every meaningful unit. Codes are descriptive labels, not themes yet. Use NVivo, Atlas.ti, or a spreadsheet.

Phase 3 - Generating themes: cluster related codes. A theme captures a pattern that says something meaningful about your research question.

Phase 4 - Reviewing themes: re-read the full dataset against each candidate theme. If the theme does not hold across the data, split it, collapse it, or drop it.

Phase 5 - Defining and naming themes: write a one-paragraph definition for each. The name should signal the analytic claim, not just the topic.

Phase 6 - Writing up: structure findings by theme, not by interview. Quote sparingly - one or two strong illustrations per theme.

Common errors: stopping at descriptive coding (no themes), themes that mirror your interview questions (no analysis), no audit trail for committee review.

Featured-snippet answer: do a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke's six phases - familiarisation, initial coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining themes, and writing up.