Skip to main content

Table 2 Steps of thematic analysis with authors’ roles

From: Influences of post-implementation factors on the sustainability, sustainment, and intra-organizational spread of complex interventions

Steps

Description

Familiarize with the data

The analysis team (YS, LM, WB) read through the full transcripts of the six interviews

Generate and apply coding scheme

The team undertook an iterative process between codes and raw data to develop a coding scheme

  (1) LM randomly selected two of the six transcripts. Drawing on factors influencing sustainability phenomena from sustainability literature, the team independently coded the two transcripts, using open coding by assigning codes to chunks of data

  (2) The team compared coding via regular group discussions, clarified ambiguities and inconsistencies until they reached consensus of a preliminary coding scheme

  (3) Using the coding scheme while being open to emerging codes, the team independently coded two additional transcripts

  (4) The team went through (2) again, finished coding all six transcripts, and refined the coding scheme

  (5) The team discussed the coding scheme with authors LG, MD, AW and LC and agreed on a final set of coding scheme

  (6) The team independently reviewed the coding of all transcripts for consistency with the final coding scheme

Generate themes

Based on the coding, YS and LM prepared extensive memos for each code and attended to the relationships between individual codes. Patterns were identified and themes emerged in the process. The team conducted rounds of discussions and revisions of the themes

Refine themes

Authors LG, MD, AW and LC provided input to the refinement of the themes identified through the data analysis