Edinburgh Napier University

  Thematic analysis is an increasingly popular method for analysing qualitative data within the social sciences. Current guides for conducting thematic analysis promote the method’s broad flexibility across research designs, which has resulted in criticism that the method lacks the rigour and structure necessary for credible academic research. Therefore, through this paper, an 8-step prescriptive approach specific to abductive methodologies is presented which recognises the challenges faced by qualitative scholars, this method of analysis incorporates many concepts from seminal works in thematic analysis but, importantly maintains the balance of theorising with empirical data, which is the core of abductive research.