Using Rayyan to Code Studies for Thematic Analysis

Rayyan makes coding studies for thematic analysis easy. Please follow these steps:

 
Step 1: Turn Off Blind Mode

If you do not require blinding, then we recommend that you turn Blinding Off. This will allow your team members to view each other's work. 

Step 2: Enter Keywords

Start by entering your keywords into the Keyword for Inclusion facet in the Rayyan Workbench. This will give you the ability to create indices by each set of keywords. Note: You can delete any irrelevant keywords that are there so you can start with a fresh set of keywords. Keywords include individual terms as well as phrases. 

Step 3: Document Codes

Once you have completed entering the keywords, then decide on the grouping of keywords into thematic codes. Document the codes in the Overview page in Description. 

Step 4: Apply Bulk Action

Using the Keywords facet, select the indices for the first code, and then using Bulk Actions select all and assign the corresponding label. This will label all the articles with that code. This method allows for overlap in case a single reference qualifies for multiple codes. See the example below depicting the labeling of SDG goals.

Image: Example of labeling for SDG goals. Note the use of Keywords relating to poverty, then the use of bulk actions to select all indices related to poverty and assigning theme (or goal) "No Poverty".

Step 5: Assign Labels

As you assign labels, a Labels facet will also be populated to filter your results by label. Please note, a label must be assigned to at least one reference to appear as a label option or remain in the Labels facet. 

Step 6: Filter Results.

If you want to filter your studies by labels (codes), you can simple use the Labels facet to select one or more labels to filter the results. You then have the option to assign a label to each set of coded studies. For this, we suggest that you might consider adding the prefix Theme to each of the theme labels to distinguish them from Codes that correspond to keywords. 

Step 7: Copy or Export.

At any point in time, you can filter and copy references to a new review to separate out references by theme, or export them to .csv to work in Excel.   

We hope you find this helpful. If you would like to schedule a training or have any questions, we would be happy to discuss this with you live.