When is the Thematic Trajectory Plot appropriate?
Overview
The plot shows how coded themes vary across an ordered series of documents, stages, waves, or cases. With Automatic order it looks for a time-like variable. If none is found it falls back to the first variable that splits your documents into groups and shows a note saying so, so check that this order is meaningful before you read the lines. You can also choose the ordering variable yourself. Find it under Analysis › Frequencies & Comparison › Thematic Trajectory.
What to do
- State what the horizontal order represents and why it is meaningful.
- Read the note under the plot to see which variable set the order.
- Check whether source length or coding opportunity explains an apparent movement.
- Review the evidence around turning points before describing a trajectory.
- Codes shown offers 3, 5, 8, 11, 13 or 15 lines, or All main codes. All is available for main codes only; with subcodes shown the limit stays at 15 so that every line can be read.
When to use it
- To see how themes change across stages, waves or sessions.