Reference table
Codes vs categories vs themes
How the three levels of qualitative analysis differ, with one example running through them
A reference table for qualitative researchers that separates the three levels of analysis: codes label single excerpts, categories group related codes, and themes make a claim about what the data means for the research question. Use it to check whether the headings in your report are themes or only topics. It follows the definitions in Saldaña's coding manual and Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis, and matches how Koji groups codes from AI interviews before you write themes.
Where this appears
What's in this reference table
| Code | Category | Theme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A label for one excerpt | A group of related codes | A claim about meaning across the data |
| Typical form | A word or short phrase | A short noun phrase | A sentence you could argue with |
| Question it answers | What is this excerpt about? | Which codes belong together? | What does this mean for the research question? |
| How you get there | Reading line by line | Sorting and comparing codes | Interpreting across categories and cases |
| Example | Waiting on IT | Setup friction | People stall when setup needs someone else's approval |
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/codes-vs-categories-vs-themes-table"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/codes-vs-categories-vs-themes-table/codes-vs-categories-vs-themes-table.png" alt="Table comparing codes, categories and themes by what each is, its typical form, the question it answers, how you get there and an example." width="1200" height="770" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/codes-vs-categories-vs-themes-table">Codes vs categories vs themes</a>, Koji</p>
