Thematic Analysis: a Critical Review Ofits Process and Evaluation

This paper critically reviews of the use of thematic analysis (TA) in qualitative research by describingits procedures and processes andby comparing grounded theory (GTA) with hermeneutic analysis.The literature that relates to thematic analysis (TA) shows that there is a lackof descriptions issues exist due respect to the concepts, process, validations and clarifications that been used by researchers. This paper finds that thematic analysis is a comprehensive process where researchers are able to identify numerous cross-references betweenthe data the research‟s evolving themes(Hayes 1997). It provides flexibility for approaching research patterns in two ways, i.e. inductive and deductive (Frith and Gleeson 2004; Hayes 1997; Niece 2011; Halldorson 2009). This makes the process of thematic analysis more appropriate for analyzing the data when the research‟s aim is to extract information to determine the relationship between variables and to compare different sets of evidencethat pertain to different situations in same study.