Thematic analysis is a technique used by qualitative researchers to understand the material they gain through interviews, focus groups, texts and multiple types of media. Â Thematic analysis aims to understand the key themes that occur in a transcript of these interactions. A theme is a pattern or idea which runs throughout and across a set […]
Month: December 2015
Qualitative Research – what I’ve learnt
Qualitative research focuses on understanding the meaning behind a situation with words and images, rather than simply the numbers that you could use to measure or predict the phenomenon. Its roots are in the 19th and early 20th centuries with Wundt and Freud who used case study and introspective techniques however its popularity and use […]
Personality, Intelligence and Stress
We all experience stress, right? But does the kind of person we are have an impact on how we experience that stress? McCrae & Costa (1987) originally defined 5 personality dimensions on which every individual’s personality can be measured via the NEO-PI-R test: OPENNESS, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, EXTROVERSION, AGREEABLENESS and NEUROTICISM. The type of personality we inhabit […]
The language of growing up
Developmental psychologists study how we grow and develop throughout our lives; and it is the application of this information which can benefit society by helping ensure that we fulfil our developmental potential. It is a diverse topic, and so this post focuses only on the benefits it has brought through its discoveries within the field of […]
Identifying, Categorising and Recognising
We often take it for granted, don’t we? How we see something and instantly know what it is. But there’s some clever science behind it and during my MSc I conducted an experiment to demonstrate how some of it works. Prototype theory (Rosch & Mervis, 1975) aims to explain how we recognise and identify the […]