Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology

This book guides you through five different approaches to qualitative data analysis – thematic analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis, grounded theory, narrative analysis, and discourse analysis. It applies each of them to a common data set, this book gives a step-by-step guide to each approach and helps you work out which is the right one for you to use. 

With chapters on the history of qualitative research in psychology, ethical considerations, and data collection methods including sources such as Instagram and Tik Tok, this book is the ultimate resource for those engaged in qualitative psychological research.

Simon Goodman is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University, Leicester. He use discursive and rhetorical psychology in his research to address a number of issues. Much of this research explores the discursive construction of asylum seekers and refugees in which he have focussed on the ways in which potentially prejudicial arguments against asylum seekers are presented as ‘reasonable’ and non-prejudicial. Some of his other work focuses on what is, and what is not, considered to be racist, particularly with regard to asylum seeking. This has led to an interest in how people use, support and challenge hate talk in a range of different areas of prejudice. His research also explores the (largely negative) experiences of asylum seekers in the UK and the ways in which they make complaints and resist their negative presentations. His other interests include the British public’s understanding of income inequality and high earners, the ways in which the far-right attempt to present their policies as acceptable and non-racist, as well as negative representations of Gypsies in online discussion forums and responses to the England riots. He is currently chair of the British Psychological Society’s Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section. He is the Critical Social Psychology section editor of the Social and Personality Psychology compass and is a co-author of The Language of Asylum published by Palgrave.  Joanna Brooks is a Chartered Psychologist and Lecturer in Health Psychology at the University of Manchester. Her research interests include the long-term management of chronic and palliative illness conditions in the home environment, and networks of communication and support in health and social care.  She has particular expertise in qualitative research methods and her work is informed by an interest in the development and use of novel and inclusive approaches to research. She is editor (with Nigel King) of “Applied Qualitative Research in Psychology” (Palgrave, 2017) and author (with Nigel King) of “Template Analysis for Business and Management Students” (Sage, 2017).   Evanthia Lyons is a Professor at Kingston University London and a Social Psychologist. Her research interests include identity and social representational processes in contexts of intergroup conflict and multi-cultural societies. Adrian Coyle: My engagement with higher education began with my degree in Psychology (with Philosophy), completed at University College Dublin in 1986. In 1987 I moved to London and worked as a research assistant at what was then South Bank Polytechnic until 1989 before transferring to the NHS to work as an HIV Training Officer and Counsellor. After completing my PhD at the University of Surrey in 1991, I took up a lectureship there and have remained at Surrey ever since, fulfilling various roles, principally in relation to the Practitioner Doctorate in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology (as Research Tutor) and currently the MSc in Social Psychology (as Course Director). In recent years, I returned to academic study at the University of London, obtaining qualifications in Theology (at Birkbeck) and in the Psychology of Religion (at Heythrop College).