Network methods to support user involvement in qualitative data analyses: an introduction to Participatory Theme...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)

Background:

• Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is crucial but often limited to specific research stages.
• Participatory data analysis methods are scarce for complex health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test a novel approach called Participatory Theme Elicitation (PTE) for analyzing qualitative data.
• To evaluate the value of PTE in a youth advisory panel context.

Main Methods:

• A proof-of-concept study used qualitative data from a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT).
• Youth panel members sorted qualitative data excerpts, which were then clustered using network analysis algorithms.
• Key excerpts were identified using network analysis and explored qualitatively.

Main Results:

• Participatory Theme Elicitation (PTE) analysis largely aligned with researcher-led analysis.
• Young participants identified novel thematic content not initially recognized by researchers.

Conclusions:

• PTE shows potential for enabling user-led theme identification from qualitative data in complex interventions.
• Further research is needed to validate and expand the PTE methodology.