Presenting qualitative
evidence
Business Research Methods
RESE-1170
Tutorial 6
February 2023
• Know how to structure your
qualitative analysis.
• Examine analysis from published work
• Brief for assessment 1.
Lecture learning
outcomes
Recap:
Thematic analysis
1. Short Paragraph introducing your themes.
2. Theme 1:
1. Make your claim
2. Offer your evidence (quotations)
3. Interpret – explain to the reader what it is you want them to to take from
the quote)
4. Link to literature – a short sentence or two linking what you have found to
themes / issues raised in the literature review
3. Theme 2:
1. Ditto
4. Theme 2:
1. Ditto
Structure of a thematic analysis
Tindal, S., Packwood, H., Findlay, A., Leahy, S. and McCollum, D. (2015) In what
sense ‘distinctive’? The search for distinction amongst cross-border student
migrants in the UK. Geoforum, pp.90-99.
In this paper Scott was interested in the question: Why do Scottish students
migrate from Scotland where university is free, to England, where tuition fees
are £9,000?
He and his collaborators interviewed Scottish students studying in English
universities, and found that there were several reasons why Scottish students
opted into the expensive English system…
Example, I
1. Some Scottish students wanted to study at a ‘good’ university (especially
Oxford and Cambridge) and would pay to attend these universities.
2. Others it was because they failed to be accepted in competitive courses
such as Medicine / Veterinary Medicine in Scotland, but were accepted in
an English university.
3. Others wanted ‘specialist’ undergraduate courses, such as material
sciences, public policy, nautical engineering, etc.
4. Others wanted to study in London for its ‘cosmopolitan’ identities and work
opportunities.
What they found in the interviews:
Theme 1:
1. Make your claim
2. Offer your evidence (quotations)
3. Interpret – explain to the reader what it is you want them to to take from
the quote)
4. Link to literature – a short sentence or two linking what you have found to
themes / issues raised in the literature review
Reminder:
This is from Tindal et al (2016)
Here in this part of the analysis is the ‘claim’
Here is the ‘evidence’ (two quotes)
Here is the interpretation of the quotes – what
the authors want the reader to take away from
these quotes, and how they should understand
the quotations.
Here the authors are very briefly linking what
they have found back to literature. .
Theme 1:
1. Make your claim
2. Offer your evidence (quotations)
3. Interpret – explain to the reader what it is you want them to to take from
the quote)
4. Link to literature – a short sentence or two linking what you have found to
themes / issues raised in the literature review
In your own assessment, as it is so short you’re likely just to have enough room
for 1 theme with perhaps 2 or 3 subthemes.
You should link your findings with that of at least one journal article.
FINAL Reminder:
Examining thematic
analyses published
work
Assessment 1 Brief:
Let’s go to Moodle….
Bryman, A., Bell, A. and Harley B. (2018) Business Research Methods. 5th Edition.
Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. Chapter 19.
Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill. A (2019) Research Methods for
Business Students. 8th Edition. Pearson Education. Harlow, UK. Chapter 13-14.
Halliday, A. (2016) Doing and writing qualitative research (2nd ed). Sage: London.
Chapters 5-6; 8.
References
Further
help with
studying
1. Study skills:
https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/academicskil
ls
2. Referencing:
https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/referencing
3. Proof-reading and feedback:
https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/studiosity
4. Wellbeing, mental health and
counselling:
Your personal tutor, or
https://www.gre.ac.uk/studentservices/support/student-wellbeing