Using Thematic Analysis in Healthcare HCI at CHI: A Scoping Review

Title of the Paper

Using Thematic Analysis in Healthcare HCI at CHI: A Scoping Review

Paper Information

• Research Domain: Qualitative analysis methods in healthcare human-computer interaction (HCI) research—Thematic Analysis (TA)
• Keywords: Thematic Analysis, qualitative research, health technology, team collaboration, research standardization, reflexive practice, reporting accuracy

Research Background and Issues

• Problem or Challenge: With the widespread application of Thematic Analysis (TA) in the healthcare HCI field, researchers have observed diversity and inconsistency in its usage across different papers. This variability may complicate the interpretation of research findings, hinder methodological standardization, and affect the replicability of subsequent studies.
• Significance: Healthcare HCI often involves research on vulnerable or sensitive populations, where analytical results can significantly impact design decisions, technology development, and real-world applications. Therefore, transparency and standardization of methods are crucial for enhancing the credibility of research.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • Qualitative Thematic Analysis is a widely recognized method, but its practical application demonstrates high flexibility and ambiguous boundaries.
  • Previous HCI studies lacked a comprehensive review of the standards for using and reporting TA.
  • This study aims to provide guidance for better application of TA in HCI by reviewing its usage in recent years.

Solution

• Research Method:

  • The authors employed bibliometric analysis and a scoping review approach to analyze 78 papers related to healthcare published at CHI conferences between 2012 and 2021, encompassing 100 instances of TA implementation.
  • The study examined the domains where TA was used, the implementation process, and reporting details of the method.
  • Systematic recommendations were proposed to improve research practices.

• Background of TA Usage:

  • TA is primarily used for analyzing user interview data, guiding design, and evaluating new technologies.
  • The analysis spans various health and mental health topics, including women's health, emotional disorders, and diabetes.

• Methodological Innovations:

  • The study identified ambiguities in team collaboration processes and challenges in insufficient reporting.
  • By comparing different TA variants (e.g., coding reliability TA, reflexive TA), it explored technical pathways suitable for specific research questions.
  • Practical strategies for team collaboration norms and reflexive practices were provided to improve data analysis quality.

Research Findings

• Analysis Results:

  • Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Reflexive TA) is highly prevalent in HCI research, but its application often suffers from insufficient reporting.
  • Approximately 40% of TA analyses did not clearly specify the process of theme generation.
  • Regarding team collaboration, most papers mentioned multi-person collaboration but did not detail specific roles or discussion mechanisms.
  • The use of statistical methods (e.g., inter-coder reliability evaluation) was relatively low in the reviewed studies, indirectly reflecting the need for quality assurance in TA.

• Comparative Advantages Over Existing Methods:

  • Compared to traditional methods, TA demonstrates greater flexibility across diverse research domains, topics, and designs, making it particularly suitable for complex practices in healthcare HCI studies.
  • Reflexive TA emphasizes researchers' subjective agency and reflexivity, which is especially critical when studying vulnerable or sensitive populations.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations: Reporting of analytical content is often constrained by paper length, reducing transparency; anonymous peer review requirements may further limit the disclosure of reflexive or contextual information.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Recommend journals and conferences to establish supplementary material channels for more detailed descriptions of TA processes and theme derivation logic.
    2. Enhance awareness of reflexive practices, particularly in studies involving vulnerable populations and health-related topics.
    3. Explore more creative qualitative analysis methods as sources of design inspiration to address existing gaps in providing design recommendations.
    4. Conduct comparative studies on other research methods (e.g., narrative analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis, and grounded theory research).
    5. Employ design-oriented educational methodologies to support team analysts in better collaboration or developing standardized reporting workflows.

By reviewing a decade of healthcare research literature at CHI, this study provides a clear overview of TA usage and points out directions for improvement, offering significant methodological value to the fields of HCI and healthcare research.