Differences between thematic analysis and content analysis: Exploring Environmental and Sustainability Education resources

This case reflects on key differences between thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis. I describe how I pivoted from a thematic analysis to a content analysis mid-way through a project analyzing environmental and sustainability education resources. My research question and the assumptions I had about the status of the data I was analyzing were more suited to qualitative content analysis, with its systematic procedures for reducing data and producing descriptive (though interpreted) statistics. Many of the mistakes I made with this project can be traced back to me using a tried and tested approach to analysis rather than critically reflecting on my assumptions and the best ‘fit’ between method, methodology and data. I write this case in the hope that other researchers can choose between these apparently similar approaches by arguing that the two have quite different underlying logics behind them.