I expected my data to show volunteers feeling rewarded and impactful. And many did. But then a few started saying things like:
“I’m not sure it made any difference.”
And I froze.
My instinct was to treat those comments as outliers. But I kept hearing them. And eventually I had to ask: what’s being revealed here that I don’t want to see?
Reflexive thematic analysis reminded me that disconfirming evidence isn’t a disruption—it’s a gift. It pushes you to deepen, expand, and challenge your early assumptions.
So I created a new code: ‘volunteer uncertainty’. And it changed how I saw the entire landscape of my findings.
Don’t ignore what makes you uncomfortable. That’s where the meaning often sits.
Melissa Smith 