Qualitative sources may provide vital insights into specific problems, providing an output in the form of descriptions of personal experiences. Such methods as the narrative and thematic content analysis allow researchers to extract information for their studies from qualitative data sources. However, they have different goals, which makes it necessary for analysts to understand the outcomes of each method’s application. This paper will compare these methods and assess their specifics.
When a researcher analyzes a video or an email interview, their goal must be identified prior to selecting a method for data extraction. Qualitative studies are based on the analysis of the personal experiences of chosen individuals that may highlight a specific phenomenon (Ravitch & Carl, 2019). For example, if this information must represent a broader spectrum of experiences, a researcher may select a thematic analysis. It will provide them with patterns in a data set that will shed light on overarching topics that will help explain a studied phenomenon. However, qualitative research is also suitable for comparing an individual’s thoughts and perceptions. A narrative analysis gives a better representation of each interviewee’s point of view (McAllum et al., 2019). Researchers may select specific quotes from each interview that bear similarities with other material and understand the essence of a phenomenon being analyzed.
In conclusion, while a thematic analysis provides a researcher with a set of codes, themes, and categories that were discussed in interviews, a narrative approach focuses on each interviewee’s story in particular. Their differences in the application provide an output in either more generalized or more specialized data. However, both approaches highlight similarities in each interviewee’s responses in an attempt to draw a picture of shared aspects between respondents’ perceptions.
References
McAllum, K., Fox, S., Simpson, M., & Unson, C. (2019). A comparative tale of two methods: How thematic and narrative analyses author the data story differently. Communication Research and Practice, 5(4), 358-375.
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2019). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.