Winter, D. G., & McClelland, D. C. (1978). Thematic analysis: An empirically derived measure of the effects of liberal arts education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 70(1), 8-16.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.70.1.8
Describes the rationale and development of the Test of Thematic Analysis, reflecting ability for complex concept formation. 24 male college freshmen and seniors at a traditional liberal arts college were asked to formulate and articulate the differences between 2 groups of stories. Scoring categories were derived from differences in freshman and senior responses and were cross-validated on another sample. In a 2nd and larger-scale study, thematic analysis scores were significantly higher among seniors than among freshman at the traditional liberal arts colleges, but there were no significant differences in 1st and 2nd yr students at 2 more vocationally oriented colleges (2-yr colleges). (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)