what is thematic analysis in research

Thematic analysis is a method of analyzing qualitative data that emphasizes identifying, analyzing, and interpreting patterns of meaning, or "themes," within the data. It is often used in qualitative research to examine themes or patterns of meaning within a data set, such as interview transcripts or other textual data. Thematic analysis is a flexible approach that allows for the interpretation of data and the exploration of explicit and implicit meanings within the data. It involves a systematic process of familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and writing up the analysis. Thematic analysis is particularly useful when working with large data sets and is suitable for both exploratory and deductive studies