Glossary
Plain definitions of the words used in thematic analysis and in the Themescape viewer. Each entry says where the word comes from and how it shows up on the map.
B
C
- Candidate themeThematic analysisA provisional theme generated in phase 3, held loosely while the researcher reviews whether it works against the coded data and the whole dataset.
- CodeThematic analysisA short label the researcher gives to a segment of data to capture something meaningful about it. Codes are the building blocks themes are developed from.
- CodebookThematic analysisA structured list of codes with definitions, used in codebook approaches to thematic analysis to apply codes consistently, often across several coders.
- Coding templateThemescapeThe Themescape spreadsheet, a Google Sheet or Excel workbook with one row per coded quote, that the viewer reads to draw your map.
- Custom placementThemescapeThe Work mode tool for dragging themes and codes into an arrangement of your own, saved in the layout file.
E
F
- FamiliarisationThematic analysisPhase 1 of reflexive thematic analysis: reading and rereading the dataset, and noting initial ideas, before coding begins.
- Favourite quoteThemescapeA quote you star as one of the best examples for its code, which moves it to the top of the reader and into Present mode.
- File tree viewThemescapeA compact indented outline of every theme, code and sub-code with a quote count on each row, read like the contents page of an analysis.
G
H
I
- Illustrative quoteThematic analysisA quote chosen to show a reader what a theme or code means, because it captures the central idea clearly and vividly.
- Inductive and deductive orientationThematic analysisTwo ways into the data: an inductive orientation starts from the data itself, and a deductive orientation starts from existing theory or concepts.
L
N
P
- Parent modeThemescapeThe top level choice of what you are doing in Themescape: Code for working with your coding, or Build for constructing a finished figure.
- ParticipantThematic analysisA person who took part in a study and whose words or responses form part of the dataset, identified in analysis by a pseudonym or code.
- Present modeThemescapeThe Interaction setting that hides the tools and brings your themes and strongest quotes forward, for a supervision, a seminar or an examiner.
- Progress fileThemescapeThe files the viewer saves to your computer so you can carry on where you left off. Themescape keeps no copy of your project.
- PseudonymThematic analysisA made up name or code used in place of a participant's real name, so quotes can be reported without identifying the person.
R
- REFI-QDAThemescapeAn open exchange format for qualitative data analysis projects, which lets coded projects move between different software.
- Refined quoteThemescapeA tidied version of a verbatim quote for presenting, kept in its own column so the original is never changed.
- Reflexive thematic analysisThematic analysisBraun and Clarke's approach to thematic analysis, in which the researcher actively develops themes through six recursive phases and treats their own interpretation as a resource rather than a bias.
- ReflexivityThematic analysisThe researcher's ongoing reflection on how their own position, assumptions and choices shape the analysis.
S
- Semantic and latent codingThematic analysisTwo levels of coding: semantic codes capture what participants explicitly said, and latent codes capture meanings and assumptions the researcher reads beneath the surface.
- Sub-codeThematic analysisA finer code within a code, used when one code holds two related but distinct ideas.
T
- Thematic analysisThematic analysisA family of methods for developing and interpreting patterns of meaning, or themes, across qualitative data such as interviews, focus groups or open survey answers.
- Thematic mapThematic analysisA visual representation of themes, the codes beneath them and the relationships between them, used to think through and present the shape of an analysis.
- ThemeThematic analysisA pattern of shared meaning across a dataset, organised around a central idea, which the researcher develops from their codes and gives a name and a working definition.
- Theoretical connectionThemescapeA link between two themes, codes or sub-codes that the researcher proposes from theory or interpretation, with no shared code between them yet, drawn as a dashed line.
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W
- Work modeThemescapeThe Interaction setting with every editing tool in view, for rewriting definitions, starring favourite quotes, marking connections and arranging the map.
- Working definitionThematic analysisA sentence or two saying what a theme or code means and what it holds, written early and revised as the analysis develops.
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Definitions are a plain language guide, not a substitute for your methods literature.
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