b) Braun and Clarke (2006) sum

(b) KEYACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY RESEARCHER DURING FIRST PHASE OF THEMATICANALYSIS:

• Qualitative and textual data comein various forms recorded observations,texts,documents, multimedia,photographs etc.,researchers must triangulate different datacollection modes to increse the probability that findings will befound credible.
• They should collect the datathrough interactive means, so that they will develop initialanalytic interest with prior knowledge of data.
• Documenting the thoughts duringdata collection mark the beginning of analysis. Thus researchersshould note initial analysis thoughts, interpretations andquestions.
• After collected the data, theresearchers should tabulate it using Microsoft Word prior topreparing and organizing the content of data. This meant that thedata are ready to be analysed word-by-word,using the tables to showany significant patterns or themes.
• They should display the data in avariety of ways e.g. tables, figures and theme maps providesopportunities to gain an extra in-depth understanding of the datait. Each piece of data offers the researcher the ability to betterexplanation the data​.
• They should be fully immersed andactively engaged in data by transcribing interactions and reading(re-reading) the transcripts in active way- searching formeanings,patterns etc., and/or listening to the recordings.
• Reading data as data means notsimply absorbing the surface meaning of the words on the page, asyou might read a trashy novel or magazine, but reading the wordsactively, analytically and critically, and starting to think aboutwhat the data mean.
• Researchers can document theirtheoretical and reflective thoughts that develop through immersionin the data, including their values, interests, and growinginsights about the research topic.
• It is good to take notes or markingideas gathered from data for coding so that can be returned to insubsequent phases.

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITHTHESE ACTIVITIES:

• As the volume, complexity andvaried formats of qualitative data (audio recordings. documents andfield notes) often lack consistent structure, researchers shouldread the entire data set at least once before beginning coding elsethey cannot proceed with analysis. As ideas and identification ofpossible patterns can be shaped only with familiarity on allaspects of data.
• The reading and re-reading of datais time consuming. It is, therefore, tempting to skip over thisphase or be selective. As this phase is more important for the restof analysis, skipping or being selective is not advisable.

(b) TECHNIQUES USED TO INCREASE THETRUSTWORTHINESS OF DATA:

In quantitative studies, thetrustworthiness means validity and reliability whereas inqualitative study it means that research study findings arecredible, transferable, confirmable and dependable. Trustworthinessis all about establishing these four things.

(i)​ CREDIBILITY:

Credibility is onemethod used by qualitative researchers toestablish trustworthiness by examining the data, data analysis, andconclusions to see whether or not the study is correct andaccurate.​ This explains how confident the qualititative researcheris in the truth of research findings. Procedures used byresearchers to increase credibility:

• Prolongedengagement: is an activity used to learn traditions andcustoms of participants and build trust.
• Persistentobservation: is used to examine credibility by lookingin-depth at what the researchers are examining and investigatingfactor in detail.
• Triangulation: isan activity used to examine a substantial amount of various sources(i.e., interviewing and observation), methods, investigators, andtheories. Contextual validation plays a role intriangulation because it examines the validity ofa piece of a study by comparing it with other kinds of evidence onsame points to find distortion in a source.
• Peer debriefing:This method consists of researchers asking a colleague or anotherperson to look over the study for credibility and determine if theresults seem to align from the data.
• Negative caseanalysis: is used to show that not all the data willprovide the same result. It allows researchers to presentinformation from a study that does not align with other themes,patterns, and overall results.
• Referentialadequacy: is a method used to store raw data in records toexamine later and compare to other future studies to show thecredibility of data.
• Members checking:This is a technique in which the data, interpretations, andconclusions are shared with the participants. It allowsparticipants to clarify what their intentions were, correct errors,and provide additional information if necessary.

(ii) TRANSFERABILITY:

   Transferabilityexplains how the qualitative researcher demonstrates that theresearch study’s findings are applicable to other contexts inorderto get generalizability. In this case, “other contexts” can meansimilar situations, similar populations, and similar phenomena.They use this method to provide a detailed description of thestudy’s site, participants, and procedures used to collect data inorder for other researchers to assess whether or not applying theresults of one study is a good match, and makes sense togeneralize.

(iii) CONFIRMABILITY:

   Confirmability is thedegree of neutrality in the research study’s findings. In otherwords, this means that the findings are based on participants’responses and make sure the data speaks for itself; and not basedon potential bias or personal motivations of the researcher.

To establish confirmability,qualitative researchers can provide an audit trail that includesraw data, such as electronically recorded materials, written fieldnotes, documents, and records, which highlights every step of dataanalysis that was made in order to provide a rationale for thedecisions made. This helps establish that the research study’sfindings accurately portray participants’ responses.

(iv) DEPENDABILITY:

Dependability is the extent that thestudy could be repeated by other researchers and that the findingswould be consistent. In other words, if a person wanted toreplicate your study, they should have enough information from yourresearch report to do so and obtain similar findings as your studydid.

A qualitative researcher can useinquiry audit in ​order to establish dependability, which requiresan outside person to review and examine the research process andthe data analysis inorder to ensure that the findings areconsistent and could be repeated.

The folloeing are the ways to showdependability:

1. There can be no validity withoutreliability, and no credibility without dependability.
2. “Overlap methods” as a directtechnique to exemplify a kind of triangulation.
3. “Stepwise replication” as a processof establishing reliability. This approach requires an inquiry teamof at least two people or more who can be separated into twoinquiry teams. The two teams deal with data sources separately andperform their studies apart from one another. Then, the resultsbetween the two teams are compared.
4. Inquiry audit for a researcherauditor to examine the process of the study and determine itsacceptability to the dependability of the study. The researcherauditor looks into the data, findings, interpretations, andrecommendations and looks into whether the study is supported bydata and is trustworthy.