Virginia Braun is a New Zealand psychology academic specialising in

thematic analysis Thematic analysis is one of the most common forms of analysis within qualitative research. It emphasizes identifying, analysing and interpreting patterns of meaning (or "themes") within qualitative data. Thematic analysis is often understood as a m ...

and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

. She is particularly known for her scholarship on the social construction of the vagina and designer vagina cosmetic surgery, body hair and heterosexuality. She is perhaps best known for her collaboration with British psychologist

Victoria Clarke Victoria "Torie" Clarke (born May 18, 1959) is an American communications consultant who has served in several private sector positions and in three Republican presidential administrations, most notably as the Assistant Secretary of Defense fo ...

around thematic analysis and

qualitative research methods Qualitative descriptions or distinctions are based on some quality or characteristic rather than on some quantity or measured value. Qualitative may also refer to: * Qualitative property, a property that can be observed but not measured numerical ...

. Together they have published numerous papers, chapters, commentaries and editorials on thematic analysis and qualitative research, and an award-winning and best selling qualitative textbook entitle
Successful qualitative research
They have

at The University of Auckland. More recently - with th

- they have published around the story completion method.

Academic career

After undergraduate and masters studies in psychology at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, Braun received a Commonwealth Scholarship to

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

with Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson as her advisors for her 2000 thesis, ''The vagina: an analysis''. Braun returned to as a lecturer in psychology Auckland in 2001, rising to full professor in 2017. Her 2006 paper " Using thematic analysis in psychology" with

in ''Qualitative Research in Psychology'' has more than 240,000 citations according to

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

. It is also - according to Google Scholar - the most cited academic paper published in 2006, and according to ''Nature'', the 9th most cited research paper of all time. Braun was editor of Feminism & Psychology between 2008 and 2013. She received a Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Psychological Association's Committee on Women in Psychology in 2013. In 2015/2016 Braun went public with her experiences seeking a

tubal ligation Tubal ligation (commonly known as having one's "tubes tied") is a surgical procedure for female sterilization in which the fallopian tubes are permanently blocked, clipped or removed. This prevents the fertilization of eggs by sperm and thus the ...

. In 2021, Braun was awarded the Marsden Medal by the

New Zealand Association of Scientists The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954.Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New ...

, in recognition of "her global impact on the development of qualitative empirical methods and for the generosity of spirit she expresses through this work." She was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

in 2022.

Areas of expertise

* Sex and sexuality *

Sexual health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Sexual and reproductive healt ...

* Gendered bodies * Genital cosmetic surgery *

Body hair Body hair or androgenic hair is terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is different from head hair and also from less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in color. Growth of androgenic hai ...

* Food *

Feminist psychology Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on social structures and gender. Feminist psychology critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm.Crawford, M. & Unger, R. ...

Critical psychology Critical psychology is a perspective on psychology that draws extensively on critical theory. Critical psychology challenges the assumptions, theories and methods of mainstream psychology and attempts to apply psychological understandings in diff ...

Qualitative research Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...

Thematic analysis Thematic analysis is one of the most common forms of analysis within qualitative research. It emphasizes identifying, analysing and interpreting patterns of meaning (or "themes") within qualitative data. Thematic analysis is often understood as a m ...

Books

* Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke
''Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide''
2021. * Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke and Debra Gray,
Collecting qualitative data. A practical guide to textual, media and virtual techniques
''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. 2017. * Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke
Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners
Sage. 2013.

Selected journal articles and book chapters

Using thematic analysis in psychology

Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis

Using thematic analysis in counselling and psychotherapy research: A critical reflection

(Mis)conceptualising themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with Fugard and Potts’ (2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis

Thematic analysis

Feminist qualitative methods and methodologies in psychology: A review and reflection

Innovations in qualitative methods

Reflecting on qualitative research, feminist methodologies and feminist psychology: In conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke

References

External links

ResearchGate

institutional homepage

Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Virginia Living people New Zealand women academics 21st-century New Zealand psychologists New Zealand women psychologists 21st-century New Zealand non-fiction writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of the University of Auckland Gender studies academics Alumni of Loughborough University Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand