Thread by @AritraPsych

here are my tips and suggestions for doing #ReflexiveThematicAnalysis, some could be purely personal and might not work for you at all (1)

Tip 1: Braun and Clarke did not stop writing after 2006 so please cite their other works, they have written on when to do a thematic analysis and when to use the word saturation. Furthermore, Braun and Clarke aren't the only ones who have theorized on thematic analysis (2)

Tip 2: Coding:-highlight if you are using a constructivist approach or essentialist approach if you are doing a semantic level of coding or latent level of coding. Nothing is wrong or right but Reflexive TA demands that you state which one are you employing.

Tip 3: Ideally know the difference between each methodology and why you didn't choose it. It is perfectly well to say "I am not well-versed or comfortable in it" but to change the meaning of a paradigm is not okay. For e.g. grounded theory is not employing a theory to your data.

Tip 4: Coding- show don't tell. While presenting give us some verbatim excerpts so that we can see the patterns you engage with. If you put only the codes then I would have no clue how you came about that code. I think this is essential for transparency.

Tip 5: Coding and themes- I see a lot of scholars use inductive coding and their themes and codes are deductive in nature i.e. borrowed from a theory. Use deductive when a large number of studies have been previously done in that area and you are getting the same codes.

Tip 6: Coding and themes- Use inductive when very few studies have been conducted and when you do not really agree or diverge from the literature.
You can always choose abductive-first you code with the theory-driven codes, then inductive codes

Tip 6:Themes- I like my themes to show movement and not be a stagnant descriptor so let's say you have some excerpts on "God" show me the nature of this relationship e.g., "Transcendence and personalization of God," rather than just state "Relationship with God."

Tip 7: After describing your themes and findings, please tell me how it has added or challenged previous results. Your findings, as revolutionary as they are, do not help me locate your study in the literature. Do not end your discussion with just the discussion on themes.

Tip 8: Findings: Your themes are not universal, so do not write or state your discussion like you are describing the entire population. Do not "preach," your topic can be about "deaddiction," but what works for one may not work for the other, so be tentative and restraint.

Tip 9: Reflexivity: Psychologists cut a sorry figure in this. Positionality is the starting point but not the end "I am a white man/white woman" does little to help me know how that has helped you in your findings. Please tell us how "whiteness" operates when thematizing...

Tip 9: Reflexivity: it is a process- highlight how your thoughts have been influenced. it could have influenced just after studying a research paper, could be after a fight with your dog. Being stagnant is also a journey and should be highlighted.

Tip 10: Limitations: Absolutely never should your limitation be "Low sample size" and "Subjective biases." Even if it is subjective you could have sought to engage in "appreciative and/or cooperative Inquiry" you can do "member check" but you cannot use an "objective scale"

Tip 10: limitations: subjectivity- qualitative research hails subjectivity, which is its strength. Good reflexivity is the best way to help us know how your subjectivity has aided you in developing your findings.

Tip 10: low sample size is often sought in some forms of qualitative research and it only works as a limitation if your goal was to saturate and you couldn't saturate your data. Clarify in the sampling strategy if you did "intensity sampling, " "maximum variance," among others