Recommended Steps for Thematic Synthesis in Software Engineering
Abstract
Thematic analysis is an approach that is often used for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data in primary qualitative research. 'Thematic synthesis' draws on the principles of thematic analysis and identifies the recurring themes or issues from multiple studies, interprets and explains these themes, and draws conclusions in systematic reviews. This paper conceptualizes the thematic synthesis approach in software engineering as a scientific inquiry involving five steps that parallel those of primary research. The process and outcome associated with each step are described and illustrated with examples from systematic reviews in software engineering.
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“The 54 included posts are analysed following the thematic synthesis procedure [4].”
- Authors
- Cruzes, D. S., & Dyba, T.
- Affiliations
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- SINTEF (NO)
- ORCID
- Cruzes, D. S.
- Venue
- 2011 International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2011-09
- Pages
- 275-284
- ISSN
- 1938-6451 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1969939902
- Cited by
- 960
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 96 · 2025: 122 · 2024: 148 · 2023: 113 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 97 · 2020: 72 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 8.16
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Proceedings of the ... ACM-IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement/International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Software Engineering Techniques and Practices
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Keywords
- thematic synthesis, thematic analysis, software engineering, systematic reviews, qualitative research, research synthesis methodology, software engineering research
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