Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Since the publication of their inaugural paper on the topic in 2006, Braun and Clarke’s approach has arguably become one of the most thoroughly delineated methods of conducting thematic analysis (TA). However, confusion persists as to how to implement this specific approach to TA appropriately. The authors themselves have identified that many researchers who purport to adhere to this approach—and who reference their work as such—fail to adhere fully to the principles of ‘reflexive thematic analysis’ (RTA). Over the course of numerous publications, Braun and Clarke have elaborated significantly upon the constitution of RTA and attempted to clarify numerous misconceptions that they have found in the literature. This paper will offer a worked example of Braun and Clarke’s contemporary approach to reflexive thematic analysis with the aim of helping to dispel some of the confusion regarding the position of RTA among the numerous existing typologies of TA. While the data used in the worked example has been garnered from health and wellbeing education research and was examined to ascertain educators’ attitudes regarding such, the example offered of how to implement the RTA would be easily transferable to many other contexts and research topics.

This paper is a tribute to researchers who have significantly contributed to improving and advancing structural equation modeling (SEM). It is, therefore, a brief overview of SEM and presents its beginnings, historical development, its usefulness in the social sciences and the statistical and philosophical (theoretical) controversies which have often appeared in the literature pertaining to SEM. Having described the essence of SEM in the context of causal analysis, the author discusses the years of the development of structural modeling as the consequence of many researchers’ systematically growing needs (in particular in the social sciences) who strove to effectively understand the structure and interactions of latent phenomena. The early beginnings of SEM models were related to the work of Spearman and Wright, and to that of other prominent researchers who contributed to SEM development. The importance and predominance of theoretical assumptions over technical issues for the successful construction of SEM models are also described. Then, controversies regarding the use of SEM in the social sciences are presented. Finally, the opportunities and threats of this type of analytical strategy as well as selected areas of SEM applications in the social sciences are discussed.