Framework analysis: a worked example of a study exploring young people’s experiences of depression

ABSTRACT

Framework analysis is an approach to qualitative research that is increasingly used across multiple disciplines, including psychology, social policy, and nursing research. The stages of framework analysis have been described in published work, but the literature is lacking in articles describing how to conduct it in practice, particularly in the field of psychology, where researchers may be working as part of a team. Having used framework analysis on a study exploring adolescents’ experiences of depression, we faced various challenges along the way and learned from experience how to use this approach to qualitative analysis. In this reflective article, we describe a worked example of using framework, which we hope will assist other researchers in deciding if this approach is suitable for their own research, and will provide guidance on how one might go about conducting framework analysis when working as part of a research team. We conclude that framework is a valuable contribution to qualitative methods in psychology, offering a pragmatic, flexible and rigorous approach to data analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Data management
• depression
• framework analysis
• lived experience
• qualitative

Additional information

Funding

The authors disclose receipt of financial support from the Monument Trust for the IMPACT-ME study, of which the present is a part.

Notes on contributors

Sally Parkinson

Sally Parkinson (BSc, MSc) is a postgraduate researcher at the Anna Freud Centre, London.

Virginia Eatough

Virginia Eatough (BA, MA, PhD) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London.

Joshua Holmes

Joshua Holmes (MSc) is a PhD student at the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex, postgraduate researcher at the Anna Freud Centre and a trainee child, and adolescent psychotherapist at the British Psychotherapy Foundation.

Emily Stapley

Emily Stapley (BSc, MSc) is a PhD student in the Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology at University College London, and is based at the Anna Freud Centre, London.

Nick Midgley

Nick Midgley (BA Hons, MSc, PsychD, PhD) is a child and adolescent psychotherapist at the Anna Freud Centre, London, and a lecturer in the Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology at University College London, where he is Course Director for the MSc in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice.