All Outputs (174)

Thematic analysis: A reflexive approach (2024)
Book Chapter
Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Hayfield, N. (2024). Thematic analysis: A reflexive approach. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. (4th). London: SAGE Publications

This chapter introduces the thematic analysis (TA) family of methods. We highlight key features of TA, including theoretical and design flexibility and its status as a technique that can be used within a wide variety of approaches to qualitative rese... Read More about Thematic analysis: A reflexive approach.

Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG) (2024)
Journal Article
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (in press). Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG). Palliative Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163241234800

Background: Reflexive thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative research published in Palliative Medicine, and in the broader field of health research. However, this approach is often not used well. Common problems in published reflexive themat... Read More about Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG).

“One dead bedroom”: Exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder (2024)
Journal Article
Boulton, E., & Clarke, V. (in press). “One dead bedroom”: Exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychology and Sexuality, https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2024.2321147

This study explored lived experiences of sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a particular focus on the felt impact of OCD on their sexual identities, practices and relationships, and their experiences of h... Read More about “One dead bedroom”: Exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Music therapy is the very definition of white privilege": Music therapists' perspectives on race and class in UK music therapy (2024)
Journal Article
Mains, T., Clarke, V., & Annesley, L. (in press). "Music therapy is the very definition of white privilege": Music therapists' perspectives on race and class in UK music therapy. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, https://doi.org/10.56883/aijmt.2024.20

The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd highlighted, once again, the racial and socioeconomic inequities permeating western countries, and galvanised music therapists in the UK and e... Read More about "Music therapy is the very definition of white privilege": Music therapists' perspectives on race and class in UK music therapy.

The learning experiences of UK autistic university students during the Covid-19 pandemic (2023)
Journal Article
Parker, L., & Clarke, V. (2023). The learning experiences of UK autistic university students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsqmip.2023.1.36.15

This study explored the learning experiences of autistic university students in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic, covering the period from the first lockdown in March 2020 to the removal of restrictions in July 2021 and the subsequent return to in... Read More about The learning experiences of UK autistic university students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Approaches to thematic analysis: Becoming a knowing researcher (2023)
Book Chapter
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Approaches to thematic analysis: Becoming a knowing researcher. In E. Rees, A. Ledger, & K. Walker (Eds.), Starting Research in Clinical Education. Wiley

Thematic analysis is a common choice for analysing qualitative data, involving processes of coding and theme development to generate understanding around patterned meaning. It is typically understood as an analytic method (a theoretically flexible to... Read More about Approaches to thematic analysis: Becoming a knowing researcher.

Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK (2023)
Journal Article
Fitzpatrick, M., Clarke, V., Ramsey-Wade, C., & Moller, N. (2023). Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 23(4), 1144-1154. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12687

Mothers are currently under-represented in the literature on anorexia, including research on treatment, with most research focussed on female adolescents. This raises questions about how adult women and particularly those who are mothers, experience... Read More about Being a mother with anorexia: A phenomenological study of seeking and receiving professional support for white heterosexual women in the UK.

Thematic analysis (2023)
Book Chapter
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Thematic analysis. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, M. D. Giardina, & G. S. Cannella (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (385-402). (6th). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications (UK and US)

The aims of this chapter are to: a) introduce readers to thematic analysis; b) illustrate the phases and practice of reflexive TA – one specific approach to TA – using a worked example of a study exploring constructions of a (hypothetical) gay couple... Read More about Thematic analysis.

Qualitative story completion: A creative and novel method for psychotherapy and counselling psychology research (2023)
Journal Article
Clarke, V., & Moller, N. (2023). Qualitative story completion: A creative and novel method for psychotherapy and counselling psychology research. Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin, 35(Spring 2023), https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsqmip.2023.1.35.24

Story completion (SC) – where respondents are presented with the start of a story (the story ‘stem’ or ‘cue’) and asked to complete it – originally developed as a projective technique for clinical and research assessment. While SC continues to be use... Read More about Qualitative story completion: A creative and novel method for psychotherapy and counselling psychology research.

Thematic analysis (2023)
Book Chapter
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Thematic analysis. In Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. (2nd). Springer

In the social and health sciences, TA has been extensively used for analyzing qualitative data, but until the last decade or so, there had been little discussion of TA as a method or guidance provided for its use (Aronson, 1994; Boyatzis, 1998; Patto... Read More about Thematic analysis.

Doing reflexive thematic analysis (2023)
Book Chapter
Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., Davey, L., & Jenkinson, E. (2023). Doing reflexive thematic analysis. In S. Bager-Charleson, & A. McBeath (Eds.), Supporting Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research (19-38). (2nd). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13942-0_2

This chapter presents the essentials of conceptualising, designing and doing reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA), in counselling and psychotherapy. The authors contextualise TA as a family of methods, with some quite radically different approaches, rang... Read More about Doing reflexive thematic analysis.

Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting (2023)
Journal Article
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting. Health Psychology Review, 17(4), 695-718. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2022.2161594

Despite the persistent dominance of a ‘scientific psychology’ paradigm in health psychology, the use of qualitative research continues to grow. Qualitative approaches are often based on fundamentally different values from (post)positivistempiricism,... Read More about Is thematic analysis used well in health psychology? A critical review of published research, with recommendations for quality practice and reporting.

Doing reflexive thematic analysis: A reflexive account (2023)
Book Chapter
Joy, E., Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Doing reflexive thematic analysis: A reflexive account. In F. Meyer, & K. Meissel (Eds.), Research methods for education and the social disciplines in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand: NZCER Press

Reflexive thematic analysis (TA), widely used in education, social work, and counselling research, offers an accessible method for exploring and interpreting a qualitative dataset, and telling a story about patterns of meaning. Doing reflexive TA wel... Read More about Doing reflexive thematic analysis: A reflexive account.

Towards good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher (2022)
Journal Article
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Towards good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher. International Journal of Transgenderism, 24(1), 1-6

In response to the increasing use of thematic analysis (TA), and particularly the TA approach we have developed, in qualitative and mixed methods research published in IJTH, the editors of the journal have invited us to provide a commentary on good p... Read More about Towards good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher.

The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking (2022)
Journal Article
Anderson, S., Clarke, V., & Thomas, Z. (2023). The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 96(1), 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12427

Objectives: Problematic skin picking (SP) is a poorly understood experience characterised by a drive to pick the skin and related psychosocial impact. In the DSM-5, problematic SP is classified as ‘excoriation (skin picking) disorder’. The aim of thi... Read More about The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking.

‘Sunshine’, ‘angels’ and ‘rainbows’: Language developed by mothers bereaved by perinatal loss (2022)
Journal Article
Wheeler, L., Fragkiadaki, E., Clarke, V., & DiCaccavo, A. (2022). ‘Sunshine’, ‘angels’ and ‘rainbows’: Language developed by mothers bereaved by perinatal loss. British Journal of Midwifery, 30(7), 368-374. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2022.30.7.368

Background A perinatal loss is a life-changing event that can have psychological consequences for a mother both after the loss and in a subsequent pregnancy. Aims This qualitative study aimed to examine mothers' lived experiences of the holistic jour... Read More about ‘Sunshine’, ‘angels’ and ‘rainbows’: Language developed by mothers bereaved by perinatal loss.

The impact of masculine ideologies on heterosexual men’s experiences of intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration (2022)
Journal Article
Hogan, K. F., Clarke, V., & Ward, T. (2024). The impact of masculine ideologies on heterosexual men’s experiences of intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 33(1), 123-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2022.2061881

The subject of female-perpetuated intimate partner violence (IPV) against men remains poorly understood and in need of further research. Exploration of societal expectations surrounding masculinity and male victimization may enhance understanding of... Read More about The impact of masculine ideologies on heterosexual men’s experiences of intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration.

Everything changes… well some things do: Reflections on, and resources for, reflexive thematic analysis (2022)
Journal Article
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Everything changes… well some things do: Reflections on, and resources for, reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin, 33, https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsqmip.2022.1.33.21

In this short piece, we respond to an invite from QMiP Bulletin to signpost the resources we have created for learning about and doing (and teaching and supervising) TA; we also briefly signal some the things that have changed in our thinking. Our ne... Read More about Everything changes… well some things do: Reflections on, and resources for, reflexive thematic analysis.

Qualitative story completion for counseling psychology research: A creative method to interrogate dominant discourses (2021)
Journal Article
Moller, N., Clarke, V., Braun, V., Tischner, I., & Vossler, A. (2021). Qualitative story completion for counseling psychology research: A creative method to interrogate dominant discourses. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(3), 286-298. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000538

Qualitative story completion (SC) research involves the novel qualitative application of a technique previously used in quantitative research and clinical assessment, in which participants write stories in response to a story “stem” designed by the r... Read More about Qualitative story completion for counseling psychology research: A creative method to interrogate dominant discourses.

Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis (2021)
Journal Article
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis. Qualitative Psychology, 9(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000196

Thematic analysis (TA) is widely used in qualitative psychology. In using TA, researchers must choose between a diverse range of approaches that can differ considerably in their underlying (but often implicit) conceptualizations of qualitative resear... Read More about Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis.