Stage 3 · RefiningTutorial 12 of 21 · 8 minutes · Written

Change relationships and keep a reflexive log

In Model mode's Work mode, add relationships found in your data, adjust the published ones, and record why in the reflexive log.

Open the live demoDownload the template
  • What you needA model open in Model mode.
  • How longAbout eight minutes.
  • At the endYour own version of the model's relationships, with your reasons in the reflexive log.

Step by step

The same steps as the video, written out so you can follow at your own pace.

Steps
  1. Choose Work
  2. Add a relationship from your data
  3. Change a published relationship
  4. Record why in the reflexive log
  5. Move quotes and note the fit
  6. Save your progress

Choose Work

With the model open, choose Work from the Interaction control.

Add a relationship from your data

Choose + Add relationship and draw from one part to another. Relationships found in your data are drawn dotted, with a sign and a note.

Change a published relationship

Select a relationship to change its sign, its direction or its two ends, or remove it. A notice says how your version departs from the published model; it never blocks the change.

Record why in the reflexive log

Choose Add to the reflexive log to record why your version departs from the model, or Not now. The Reflexive log button lists every entry.

Tip: Write your own reading of a relationship under In your words; it shows in View.

Move quotes and note the fit

Move a quote with Move to, or drag a code pill onto another part or the Outside the model tray, and mark how a part fits: Supports, Extends or Challenges, with a note.

Save your progress

Your progress saves all of it in the layout file: ids, choices and your notes, never quote text. Your own files are not changed.

Your path

Every tutorial in order. This one is marked, and the ones you finish fill in.

  1. Getting started

    From the template or an NVivo project to your first map, and saving it as files you keep.

    0 of 3 done
    1. Load your first fileMake a copy of the template, code a few rows, and open them in the viewer to see your first map.Getting started10 minutesOpen the tutorial
    2. Save your progress and carry on laterThemescape keeps no copy of your project. Save your work as files on your computer and load them next time.Getting started5 minutesOpen the tutorial
    3. Import a project from NVivo, MAXQDA or ATLAS.tiExport your NVivo, MAXQDA or ATLAS.ti project in the REFI-QDA format and import it, so your coding opens as a map without retyping.Getting started8 minutesOpen the tutorial

  2. Exploring

    Reading the map in its three views, opening themes in the reader and searching your project.

    0 of 3 done
    1. Move between the three viewsThe node network, the hierarchy and the file tree show the same coding. Learn what each one shows and when to reach for it.Exploring6 minutesOpen the tutorial
    2. Read a theme's definition and quotesSelect any theme or code to read its working definition, the participants behind it and its quotes, without leaving the map.Exploring5 minutesOpen the tutorial
    3. Search across codes, themes and quotesFind the theme, code or line of quote text you remember, and go straight to it on the map.Exploring4 minutesOpen the tutorial

  3. Refining

    Definitions, favourite quotes and connections in Work mode, and restructuring themes in the spreadsheet.

    0 of 7 done
    1. Edit definitions and favourite quotes in Work modeRewrite working definitions beside the quotes they account for, star your strongest evidence, and save the changes as files.Refining8 minutesOpen the tutorial
    2. Record connections between themesDraw the links you see between themes, codes and sub-codes, each marked Empirical or Theoretical, with a note on why.Refining7 minutesOpen the tutorial
    3. Merge, split and rename themesRestructure your analysis in the spreadsheet, where the coding lives, then load the files again to see the new shape.Refining8 minutesOpen the tutorial
    4. Arrange the map with Custom placementPut themes and codes where they make sense to you, in each view, and keep the arrangement in your layout file.Refining5 minutesOpen the tutorial
    5. Load a published model and check the mappingMap your coded data into a published model or framework, and check how it maps before you open the model.Refining8 minutesOpen the tutorial
    6. Change relationships and keep a reflexive logIn Model mode's Work mode, add relationships found in your data, adjust the published ones, and record why in the reflexive log.Refining8 minutesOpen the tutorial
    7. Try arrangements of a modelMove a model's top level parts to new rows and columns, save the arrangement under a name, and compare it with others.Refining5 minutesOpen the tutorial

  4. Presenting

    Present mode, figures from Build mode and taking your changes back to the spreadsheet.

    0 of 5 done
    1. Present to a supervisor or a panelHide the tools and walk through your themes, bringing your favourite quotes forward as you talk.Presenting5 minutesOpen the tutorial
    2. Make a figure in Build modeTurn a figure style into a finished figure, set its colours and export it for a thesis, article or poster. Build mode is in beta.Presenting10 minutesOpen the tutorial
    3. Bring your changes back into your spreadsheetTake the definitions, favourites and connections you refined in Themescape back into your coding workbook, in the same format.Presenting6 minutesOpen the tutorial
    4. Choose a starting layout and arrange a figureStart a Build mode figure from one of the figure styles, then move, shape, align and group its parts. Build mode is in beta.Presenting8 minutesOpen the tutorial
    5. Undo, Reset, Fit and Show hidden in Build modeHide what a figure does not need, undo a step, start again from the starting layout, and fit the figure to the screen.Presenting5 minutesOpen the tutorial

  5. Guided analysis

    For Student plans: working through Braun and Clarke's Phases 3 to 5 in Themescape for students.

    0 of 3 done
    1. Start guided analysis, and come backOn a Student plan, take your project into guided analysis in Themescape for students, save your progress, and return to the main viewer.Guided analysis5 minutesOpen the tutorial
    2. Generate and review themes in guided analysisPhase 3 sorts your codes into piles of candidate themes. Phase 4 reviews each candidate against its quotes and the whole dataset.Guided analysis10 minutesOpen the tutorial
    3. Refine, define and name themes in guided analysisPhase 5 gives each theme a name, a central organising concept and a definition, sets the order of your write up and confirms each theme.Guided analysis8 minutesOpen the tutorial

Common questions

Short answers to what researchers ask most. The FAQ page has the rest.

See all questions

What happens if I close the browser?

Changes since your last save are gone, because Themescape never keeps your project in the browser. Save your progress at natural breaks, with Export, then Your progress, or Exit with my progress in the Log out box. Loading those files next time carries on where you left off.

Does Themescape suggest connections?

No. You decide every link. Themescape draws the connections you record, in Work mode or in the Connections tab, and suggests nothing.

See your own themes come to life

Try the live demo or start a 7 day free trial. Your data is read in your browser and never leaves your computer.

Try the live demoStart 7 day free trial