Thematic Analysis of Friendship Experiences

The assignment explores the concept of friendship through an interview with Trevor, who shares his experiences and perspectives on various types of friendships. The findings suggest that real friends bring joy and happiness, while fake or superficial friendships can be detrimental to one's mental well-being. Trevor also highlights the importance of evaluating a friend based on their actions during tough times, as true friends will stand by each other through thick and thin.

A Thematic Analysis Of Friendship
Abstract
The entire study will revolve around the qualitative techniques and the research
design by the psychologists. The research topic is entirely based on the subject
matter of friendship and the data obtained for this research is by using the primary
methods. The main topic was more highlighted by conducting an interview with a
person named Trevor who was once an instructor of a fitness center and met a lot of
people of different mentality during that time. Trevor very well discussed and gave
his valuable views on friendship. On the other hand, it was also noticed that he was
thrown out of his duty when he became sick and at that point of time he made a lot of
friends where some were genuine others were not. The specific method used for this
study is qualitative in nature and known as the thematic analysis. It has been also
found out from this study that there are different kinds of friends. The vital conclusion
that can be drawn from this research is friendship has different faces and all of the
friends are not same. Some friends are like family while others are not.
The analysis found in friendship there are different types of friends. The main theme
which was eminent in the entire interview was the theme of emotions within which
there lied several sub-themes like happiness within friendship, upsetting friendships
and controlling of emotions within friendships. The main conclusion drawn this
research study friendship has different facets and not all friends are the same.
Research question
It has been already mentioned that obtaining qualitative data is quite time-consuming
and also it needs to be ethically approved so the data is already provided by the
college. It has been also observed that there are overall 5 interviews in total but only
one form needs to be analyzed. For this study, the Trevor form of interview is taken
into account. However, the data that is collected for this study is completely based
on the Interpretative Phenomenological analysis (IPA). The interview questions are
mainly for encouraging the ongoing participants to reflect and discuss the meaning
and experience of friendship. The nature of friendship is identified as thematic
analysis of friendship.

The research questions for this particular case study are as follows: Why is
friendship important for Trevor? And is he happy to talk about friendship? What
friendship in general means to everyone? What does it mean to be friends with
someone who is just opposite or likeminded? State some of the real-life experiences
that highlight the complete meaning of friendship? How the interviewees met their
friends? What is the nature of friendship in general? Does physical distance affect a
true friendship? Does quarreling necessary in friendship?
Data collection method
In this particular study, the data that has been analyzed was collected completely by
interviewing one individual among the other three. The name of the interviewee was
Trevor. The study is completely between the two individuals namely the interviewer
and the interviewee. However, the interviewee Trevor was an instructor in a fitness
center for the council. It has been observed that in the fitness center Trevor met and
had a conversation with a lot of people. At present, it has been also noticed that
Trevor is not at all working as an instructor because he is lacking the abilities of an
instructor presently. Trevor is not very old but somehow he will be reaching to the old
age soon and semi-structured interview method is used for this study for obtaining
the necessary data. It can be said that this specific method was chosen over the
other methods because it is quite interactive in nature for getting a lot of information
in a correct manner. On the other hand, in this particular research method
clarification can be made at any point of time with regards to any type of information.
Furthermore, an interviewer has all the rights revolving around getting additional
information with regards to the areas of interest. The interviewee was fit for this
specific interview because he has traveled to a lot of places and also his age was
quite appropriate for the interview (Crowley, 2010). Before starting this interviewee
Trevor was briefed about the interview by the interviewer. It was made sure that he
feels quite free so that the information that can be obtained from him remains
unbiased in nature. Moreover, it has been also observed greatly that Trevor was
chosen for this interview because he has also gained a considerable amount of
experience in terms of people he met and had friends as friendship was the main
subject matter for this interview. This particular report uses the analysis that is
thematic in nature where the qualitative data is judged completely. On the other
hand, the thematic analysis is one of the strongest methods that are used for a large

variety of research works. There are also some of the important examples that
suggest that it has been greatly used in the research synthesis. The term thematic
synthesis is accepted as a method that is translated for analyzing the primary
research that is primarily regarded as thematic for using in the thematic examination
(Willig, 2008).
Method of analysis
The interviewee made it clear to the interviewer that friendship generally has many
faces and individual experiences a lot during the friendship. It has been also closely
observed and witnessed that there are a lot of emotions that are closely attached
with a friendship that can be both bad as well as good emotions. It can be also said
that emotions play a vital role in the subject matter of friendship. Furthermore, in a
friendship that matters the most is the relationship that is maintained with one
another. Throwing light on the above-mentioned discussion it can be very well stated
that all of the friendships are not same in nature and each and every friendship goes
through a tough phase where their friendship is itself tested. There are some of the
people with whom an individual feels good in the friendship while there are other
people with whom friendship generally is a bitter experience. In both of the cases, an
individual tends to learn something (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). It has been
closely witnessed in the interview that the interviewee namely Trevor acknowledges
that there are a large variety of friendships, for instance, some friends are more like
a family while some individuals are only meant for going to clubs, and parties. There
is a huge difference between the two of the people that are mentioned in the above
statement. Then there are also some of the friends or the so call friends he stated
where the individual will not be free enough to do some of the stuff. Furthermore,
Trevor also elaborated that to some people an individual will be more open to
sharing their life while with the other people the individual will give partial details with
regards to what exactly is going on in their life. Arguably, an individual also creates a
lot of time for the people who they as their real friends and they tend to spend hardly
any time with the people who are not their real friends.

Findings/results
After analyzing the entire interview there are some findings/results that will be
discussed in this entire segment. One of the main findings from the interview is that
friends that are real tend to bring ultimate joy/happiness to an individual while the
friends who only pretends to befriend they do not bring any kind of joy instead one
feels down and upset spending time with them. In the interview, Trevor stated that he
used to have a very good friendship with an individual who he had known for a long
time. There was a time when his friend wanted him as the best man beside him
during his wedding but due to his illness he could not attend instead he requested
another friend who was also quite dear to him for taking his position. The friend
canceled at the last minute after assuring Trevor that he will not fail him no matter
what but this incident shocked him a lot and left him shattered. It can be said that it
was one of the most disappointing as well as a bad moment where a person has no
choice but to walk away from the friendship due to a bad experience in the
friendship. In the interview, Trevor also mentioned that most of the times he tries to
control certain type of situations that occur for ensuring that the friendship does not
break as friendship is quite dear to everyone and no one wants to break a friendship
until and unless there is some strong reason behind it. In the interview, he also
stated that a person also tends to weight the positive and negative things both side
by side in the matter of friendship and it is also a right thing to do. It has been also
stated by him that if in the future Trevor thinks about quitting a certain friendship then
he will be judging the friendship as a whole Throwing light on the above-mentioned
statement it can be also said that Trevor walked away from that friend when he failed
him in one of the most vital and toughest phases of life that is when Trevor
requested his friend to be the best man for one his dear friend's wedding but he did
not show up. Hence, he states that the real examination of friendship comes in the
toughest phases of life and it is the time when one can exactly judge if an individual
is their true friend or not at that point of time. On the contrary, Trevor also highlighted
the fact that he did not want to walk away from the friendship but when he realized
that the friendship was becoming more damaging then Trevor thought that it was a
wise decision to walk away from it. Additionally, it has been also found out that some
friendships are so good that they tend to develop a person positively by providing
immense happiness and joy. It is mainly highlighted in the friendship of Trevor and
his friend Tom. In the interview, Trevor stated that the kind of friendship he had with

Tom made him feel like he has known him forever and they are also a part of the
family. It has been also said that there was a lot of time when they quarreled a lot but
their bond is so true and strong that did not break their friendship instead they forgot
their differences and moved on. It can be also concluded from this that friendship
that is true in nature never fades away for anything.
Discussion
The entire study and the theme are completely based on the emotions to a great
extent. It has been also highlighted in the entire report that how friendship is based
on the various situations and how a person feels when they are deeply involved in
this sacred bond known as friendship. However, it was also observed that friendship
can be good or bad in both ways it teaches everyone something. Trevor gave a
perfect example of what friendship is when he highlighted both of his good and bad
experience with regards to friendship. It has been also noticed that there are some
of the friends who also tends to upset an individual by taking away their mental
peace. In this situation even if a person tries to mend the situation nothing can be
done if the situation becomes toxic and unbearable one has to walk away. The
conclusion of these findings can be practiced by the individual for creating happiness
in their friendships otherwise one day they might wake up and find out that they have
lost one of their dear friends and when they realize it will be very late. It can be also
said that disagreements are part of any kind of relationship but a person who really
values a friendship will always make a sincere effort and control the particular
situation (Frost, 2011). The above-mentioned elements are some of the useful
findings and the research in future should strongly stress on the efforts which can be
made to return joyfulness to the friendships which go bitter.

References
Badhwar, N. (1987) "Friends As Ends In Themselves". Philosophy And
Phenomenological Research 48 (1), 1
Boyatzis, R. (1998) Thematic Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Crowley, C. (2010). Writing up the qualitative methods research report. In M.
Forrester (Ed.) Doing Qualitative Research in Psychology: A practical guide. London:
Sage.
Frost, N., 2011. Qualitative research methods in psychology: Combining core
approaches. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Marsh, P., Allen, J., Ho, M., Porter, M. and McFarland, F. (2006) "The Changing
Nature Of Adolescent Friendships". The Journal Of Early Adolescence 26 (4), 414-
431

Smith, JA., Flowers, P. and Larkin M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis. London: Sage.
Sandelowski, M. and Barroso, J. (2010) Handbook For Synthesizing Qualitative
Research. New York: Springer
Thomas, L. (1987) "Friendship". Synthese 72 (2), 217-236
Willig, C. (2008). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in
theory and method. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.