Thematic analysis

As noted above, for the purpose of the research, I designed the analysis process to find a model which could shed more light on the complex identity negotiation processes from individually dynamic and unique identity journeys. I used thematic analysis guided by Braun and Clarke (2006) and Bernard and Ryan (2009). I searched for themes which were similar and/or different among those experiences and looked for a structure linking those various themes (Åkerlind, 2012; Eisenhardt, 1989; G. W. Ryan & Bernard, 2003). I used Nvivo software.

The overall analysis was rather chaotic and complex. There was a continuous cutting and sorting of identified quotes or expressions which seemed important into piles of similar groups. Often, it was not clear which group was the most relevant for the text to be sorted into. In this case, I put the text into all the possible groups so that I did not miss any important data. The close description of the process follows.

I read through each participant’s stories and identified a possible theme for segments of text that emerged as salient because of their relevance to my research questions. For example, as seen below, I noted 24 themes from Jessica’s first interview with 49 segments of text.

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Table 3.1: Example of the number of themes identitfied

Interview (Jessica) Themes Quotes Initial interview-1 24 49 Interview-2 20 40 Interview-3 26 49 Interview-4 14 17 Interview-5 33 74 Interview-6 25 54 Interview-7 15 31

As seen in Table 3.1 above, there were themes and quotes. I assessed the themes first. I examined each theme to decide whether it could be a theme or a sub-theme. A sub-theme was decided when the theme could be an example of another theme. If a theme was too ambiguous to decide, then I added it in a separate pile so that I could re-assess it later. There was a process of combining and sorting to develop “hierarchies of themes” (Ryan and Bernard, 2003, p. 85)—code books. One sample result of the process is seen below: I identified seven themes from Jessica’s stories with many sub-themes, and I also noted anything interesting so that I could re-examine it.

Table 3.2: Example of themes and sub-themes identified

Themes Quotes

Interaction

unclear communication_interaction 11 sharing with others 5 personal opinion of others 11 others evaluating me 4 devalued self identity 10 not being heard or visible 4 differences and preferance not heard 3

58 invisible to others 2 Ambiguity accepting ambiguity 3 confused by others 4 cultural unclarity 6 Being language learner

successful langauge learner 6 language struggle 8

my reasons 2

unfair judgement of English proficiency

no language zone 1

influence of language 2 Identity and membership

initial settlement 11 imagined identity or community 8 I don't belong here 2 current identities and communities 6

emotional effect 7

Policies and system effect on life

global influnce 8

local influence 7

Negotiation

no other option available 6 my way to deal with things 15 don't want to do this 4 Past experience afffects future decision

positive 2

negative 8

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Then, I examined the quotes. Each sub-theme and its references were exported to the Word document as illustrated below.

Figure 3.2: Example of the export of one theme Theme: Successful language learner

<Internals\\Interviews\\Interviews & Feedback\\JK(recount)\\JK-initialinterview-1(tra)> - § 1 reference coded [0.56% Coverage]

Reference 1 - 0.56% Coverage

I just finished TESOL course at [an institute].

<Internals\\Interviews\\Interviews & Feedback\\JK(recount)\\JK-interview-3(tra)> - § 2 references coded [1.86% Coverage]

Reference 2 - 1.15% Coverage

Because you know, I have done it for a year and I know what to do. That's why my essay I finished it already, not this tutor, this one here, different one who is marking, she used my essay for an example to my classmates.

As in Figure 3.2, the theme was succesful language learner and one of the quotes I identitfied was Jessica’s claim that she had a TESOL qualification during the first interview. During the third interview, she mentioned that her essay was chosen as an example for her peers. Both stories were added when Jessica was telling me significant events about her unsuccessful language learner identity. The stories identified were contradictory to the main stories and I did not code this a a main theme. However, I thought they were important to note (later in this section, I describe how the theme was significant in the study). Like this example, I re-read the identified themes and references to confirm if all the quotes were related to the theme. I repeated this with all the themes I coded.

These sorted themes again became a data pool. I combined all the themes and references. From the data pool, I tried to find a structure to elucidate the relations among them in terms of the process of identity negotiation. The process linked themes into theoretical models (Bernard & Ryan, 2009; G. W. Ryan & Bernard, 2003). At this stage, I found the software program—Nvivo—which had given me

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flexibility and convenience, was no longer beneficial. It was better to use a more traditional way of analysing: highlighting, taking notes, connecting/disconnecting themes and drawing maps to find the structure. After numerous drafts, the final structure seen below became the source of Chapter 5. The themes were examined several times while I was drafting the findings chapters.

Table 3.3: Final categorises of themes

Themes Sub-themes Quotes

Affordance Given_ExistingIDs 78 Offered_OuterStructure 33 Offered_Others 81 Constraints Being_Mother-Wife 61 Structure_Global-Local 136 Previsous_CoPs-Knowledge 66 Being_Language_Learner 67 Health 14 Being_Aisan_migrant 28 Response Took_Opportunities 39 Learn_Differences_TwoWays 21 Seek_Support 36 Personal_opinion (one-way) 69 Find_Ways2Settle 62 Choose_Priority 30 Don't know what 4

Developing_New ID 17

The analysis of the data did not stop with the findings chapters. When I identified a signficant link between self and identity, I went back to the data and selected quotes which seemed related to the representation of self. For example, the quotes in Figure 3.2 above were under the theme of successful language learner and I could see that they were Jessica’s representation of herself to resist her unsuccessful language learner identity. Then I re-examined the quotes in light of

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the participant’s positioning which is discussed in Chapter 7. I also returned to the data after I constructed a model that synthesised the findings, which is presented in Chapter 8. In this way, the data analysis was iterative and ongoing.