qualitative research study title

Home » 500+ Qualitative Research Titles and Topics

500+ Qualitative Research Titles and Topics

Table of Contents

Qualitative research is a methodological approach that involves gathering and analyzing non-numerical data to understand and interpret social phenomena. Unlike quantitative research , which emphasizes the collection of numerical data through surveys and experiments, qualitative research is concerned with exploring the subjective experiences, perspectives, and meanings of individuals and groups. As such, qualitative research topics can be diverse and encompass a wide range of social issues and phenomena. From exploring the impact of culture on identity formation to examining the experiences of marginalized communities, qualitative research offers a rich and nuanced perspective on complex social issues. In this post, we will explore some of the most compelling qualitative research topics and provide some tips on how to conduct effective qualitative research.

Qualitative Research Titles

Qualitative research titles often reflect the study’s focus on understanding the depth and complexity of human behavior, experiences, or social phenomena. Here are some examples across various fields:

“Understanding the Impact of Project-Based Learning on Student Engagement in High School Classrooms: A Qualitative Study”
“Navigating the Transition: Experiences of International Students in American Universities”
“The Role of Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education: Perspectives from Teachers and Parents”
“Exploring the Effects of Teacher Feedback on Student Motivation and Self-Efficacy in Middle Schools”
“Digital Literacy in the Classroom: Teacher Strategies for Integrating Technology in Elementary Education”
“Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices: A Case Study in Diverse Urban Schools”
“The Influence of Extracurricular Activities on Academic Achievement: Student Perspectives”
“Barriers to Implementing Inclusive Education in Public Schools: A Qualitative Inquiry”
“Teacher Professional Development and Its Impact on Classroom Practice: A Qualitative Exploration”
“Student-Centered Learning Environments: A Qualitative Study of Classroom Dynamics and Outcomes”
“The Experience of First-Year Teachers: Challenges, Support Systems, and Professional Growth”
“Exploring the Role of School Leadership in Fostering a Positive School Culture”
“Peer Relationships and Learning Outcomes in Cooperative Learning Settings: A Qualitative Analysis”
“The Impact of Social Media on Student Learning and Engagement: Teacher and Student Perspectives”
“Understanding Special Education Needs: Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Support Services in Schools

Health Science

“Living with Chronic Pain: Patient Narratives and Coping Strategies in Managing Daily Life”
“Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives on the Challenges of Rural Healthcare Delivery”
“Exploring the Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Frontline Healthcare Workers: A Qualitative Study”
“Patient and Family Experiences of Palliative Care: Understanding Needs and Preferences”
“The Role of Community Health Workers in Improving Access to Maternal Healthcare in Rural Areas”
“Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Ethnic Minorities: A Qualitative Exploration”
“Understanding Patient Satisfaction in Telemedicine Services: A Qualitative Study of User Experiences”
“The Impact of Cultural Competence Training on Healthcare Provider-Patient Communication”
“Navigating the Transition to Adult Healthcare Services: Experiences of Adolescents with Chronic Conditions”
“Exploring the Use of Alternative Medicine Among Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Qualitative Inquiry”
“The Role of Social Support in the Rehabilitation Process of Stroke Survivors”
“Healthcare Decision-Making Among Elderly Patients: A Qualitative Study of Preferences and Influences”
“Nurse Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture in Hospital Settings: A Qualitative Analysis”
“Experiences of Women with Postpartum Depression: Barriers to Seeking Help”
“The Impact of Nutrition Education on Eating Behaviors Among College Students: A Qualitative Approach”
“Understanding Resilience in Survivors of Childhood Trauma: A Narrative Inquiry”
“The Role of Mindfulness in Managing Work-Related Stress Among Corporate Employees: A Qualitative Study”
“Coping Mechanisms Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
“Exploring the Psychological Impact of Social Isolation in the Elderly: A Phenomenological Study”
“Identity Formation in Adolescence: The Influence of Social Media and Peer Groups”
“The Experience of Forgiveness in Interpersonal Relationships: A Qualitative Exploration”
“Perceptions of Happiness and Well-Being Among University Students: A Cultural Perspective”
“The Impact of Art Therapy on Anxiety and Depression in Adult Cancer Patients”
“Narratives of Recovery: A Qualitative Study on the Journey Through Addiction Rehabilitation”
“Exploring the Psychological Effects of Long-Term Unemployment: A Grounded Theory Approach”
“Attachment Styles and Their Influence on Adult Romantic Relationships: A Qualitative Analysis”
“The Role of Personal Values in Career Decision-Making Among Young Adults”
“Understanding the Stigma of Mental Illness in Rural Communities: A Qualitative Inquiry”
“Exploring the Use of Digital Mental Health Interventions Among Adolescents: A Qualitative Study”
“The Psychological Impact of Climate Change on Young Adults: An Exploration of Anxiety and Action”
“Navigating Identity: The Role of Social Media in Shaping Youth Culture and Self-Perception”
“Community Resilience in the Face of Urban Gentrification: A Case Study of Neighborhood Change”
“The Dynamics of Intergenerational Relationships in Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Analysis”
“Social Capital and Economic Mobility in Low-Income Neighborhoods: An Ethnographic Approach”
“Gender Roles and Career Aspirations Among Young Adults in Conservative Societies”
“The Stigma of Mental Health in the Workplace: Employee Narratives and Organizational Culture”
“Exploring the Intersection of Race, Class, and Education in Urban School Systems”
“The Impact of Digital Divide on Access to Healthcare Information in Rural Communities”
“Social Movements and Political Engagement Among Millennials: A Qualitative Study”
“Cultural Adaptation and Identity Among Second-Generation Immigrants: A Phenomenological Inquiry”
“The Role of Religious Institutions in Providing Community Support and Social Services”
“Negotiating Public Space: Experiences of LGBTQ+ Individuals in Urban Environments”
“The Sociology of Food: Exploring Eating Habits and Food Practices Across Cultures”
“Work-Life Balance Challenges Among Dual-Career Couples: A Qualitative Exploration”
“The Influence of Peer Networks on Substance Use Among Adolescents: A Community Study”

Business and Management

“Navigating Organizational Change: Employee Perceptions and Adaptation Strategies in Mergers and Acquisitions”
“Corporate Social Responsibility: Consumer Perceptions and Brand Loyalty in the Retail Sector”
“Leadership Styles and Organizational Culture: A Comparative Study of Tech Startups”
“Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: Best Practices and Challenges in Multinational Corporations”
“Consumer Trust in E-commerce: A Qualitative Study of Online Shopping Behaviors”
“The Gig Economy and Worker Satisfaction: Exploring the Experiences of Freelance Professionals”
“Entrepreneurial Resilience: Success Stories and Lessons Learned from Failed Startups”
“Employee Engagement and Productivity in Remote Work Settings: A Post-Pandemic Analysis”
“Brand Storytelling: How Narrative Strategies Influence Consumer Engagement”
“Sustainable Business Practices: Stakeholder Perspectives in the Fashion Industry”
“Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges in Global Teams: Strategies for Effective Collaboration”
“Innovative Workspaces: The Impact of Office Design on Creativity and Collaboration”
“Consumer Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Service: A Qualitative Exploration”
“The Role of Mentoring in Career Development: Insights from Women in Leadership Positions”
“Agile Management Practices: Adoption and Impact in Traditional Industries”

Environmental Studies

“Community-Based Conservation Efforts in Tropical Rainforests: A Qualitative Study of Local Perspectives and Practices”
“Urban Sustainability Initiatives: Exploring Resident Participation and Impact in Green City Projects”
“Perceptions of Climate Change Among Indigenous Populations: Insights from Traditional Ecological Knowledge”
“Environmental Justice and Industrial Pollution: A Case Study of Community Advocacy and Response”
“The Role of Eco-Tourism in Promoting Conservation Awareness: Perspectives from Tour Operators and Visitors”
“Sustainable Agriculture Practices Among Smallholder Farmers: Challenges and Opportunities”
“Youth Engagement in Climate Action Movements: Motivations, Perceptions, and Outcomes”
“Corporate Environmental Responsibility: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Expectations and Company Practices”
“The Impact of Plastic Pollution on Marine Ecosystems: Community Awareness and Behavioral Change”
“Renewable Energy Adoption in Rural Communities: Barriers, Facilitators, and Social Implications”
“Water Scarcity and Community Adaptation Strategies in Arid Regions: A Grounded Theory Approach”
“Urban Green Spaces: Public Perceptions and Use Patterns in Megacities”
“Environmental Education in Schools: Teachers’ Perspectives on Integrating Sustainability into Curricula”
“The Influence of Environmental Activism on Policy Change: Case Studies of Grassroots Campaigns”
“Cultural Practices and Natural Resource Management: A Qualitative Study of Indigenous Stewardship Models”

Anthropology

“Kinship and Social Organization in Matrilineal Societies: An Ethnographic Study”
“Rituals and Beliefs Surrounding Death and Mourning in Diverse Cultures: A Comparative Analysis”
“The Impact of Globalization on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Identity”
“Food Sovereignty and Traditional Agricultural Practices Among Indigenous Communities”
“Navigating Modernity: The Integration of Traditional Healing Practices in Contemporary Healthcare Systems”
“Gender Roles and Equality in Hunter-Gatherer Societies: An Anthropological Perspective”
“Sacred Spaces and Religious Practices: An Ethnographic Study of Pilgrimage Sites”
“Youth Subcultures and Resistance: An Exploration of Identity and Expression in Urban Environments”
“Cultural Constructions of Disability and Inclusion: A Cross-Cultural Analysis”
“Interethnic Marriages and Cultural Syncretism: Case Studies from Multicultural Societies”
“The Role of Folklore and Storytelling in Preserving Cultural Heritage”
“Economic Anthropology of Gift-Giving and Reciprocity in Tribal Communities”
“Digital Anthropology: The Role of Social Media in Shaping Political Movements”
“Migration and Diaspora: Maintaining Cultural Identity in Transnational Communities”
“Cultural Adaptations to Climate Change Among Coastal Fishing Communities”

Communication Studies

“The Dynamics of Family Communication in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Inquiry”
“Narratives of Identity and Belonging in Diaspora Communities Through Social Media”
“Organizational Communication and Employee Engagement: A Case Study in the Non-Profit Sector”
“Cultural Influences on Communication Styles in Multinational Teams: An Ethnographic Approach”
“Media Representation of Women in Politics: A Content Analysis and Audience Perception Study”
“The Role of Communication in Building Sustainable Community Development Projects”
“Interpersonal Communication in Online Dating: Strategies, Challenges, and Outcomes”
“Public Health Messaging During Pandemics: A Qualitative Study of Community Responses”
“The Impact of Mobile Technology on Parent-Child Communication in the Digital Era”
“Crisis Communication Strategies in the Hospitality Industry: A Case Study of Reputation Management”
“Narrative Analysis of Personal Stories Shared on Mental Health Blogs”
“The Influence of Podcasts on Political Engagement Among Young Adults”
“Visual Communication and Brand Identity: A Qualitative Study of Consumer Interpretations”
“Communication Barriers in Cross-Cultural Healthcare Settings: Patient and Provider Perspectives”
“The Role of Internal Communication in Managing Organizational Change: Employee Experiences”

Information Technology

“User Experience Design in Augmented Reality Applications: A Qualitative Study of Best Practices”
“The Human Factor in Cybersecurity: Understanding Employee Behaviors and Attitudes Towards Phishing”
“Adoption of Cloud Computing in Small and Medium Enterprises: Challenges and Success Factors”
“Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management: A Qualitative Exploration of Potential Impacts”
“The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Personalizing User Experiences on E-commerce Platforms”
“Digital Transformation in Traditional Industries: A Case Study of Technology Adoption Challenges”
“Ethical Considerations in the Development of Smart Home Technologies: A Stakeholder Analysis”
“The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on News Consumption and Public Opinion”
“Collaborative Software Development: Practices and Challenges in Open Source Projects”
“Understanding the Digital Divide: Access to Information Technology in Rural Communities”
“Data Privacy Concerns and User Trust in Internet of Things (IoT) Devices”
“The Effectiveness of Gamification in Educational Software: A Qualitative Study of Engagement and Motivation”
“Virtual Teams and Remote Work: Communication Strategies and Tools for Effectiveness”
“User-Centered Design in Mobile Health Applications: Evaluating Usability and Accessibility”
“The Influence of Technology on Work-Life Balance: Perspectives from IT Professionals”

Tourism and Hospitality

“Exploring the Authenticity of Cultural Heritage Tourism in Indigenous Communities”
“Sustainable Tourism Practices: Perceptions and Implementations in Small Island Destinations”
“The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Destination Choice Among Millennials”
“Gastronomy Tourism: Exploring the Culinary Experiences of International Visitors in Rural Regions”
“Eco-Tourism and Conservation: Stakeholder Perspectives on Balancing Tourism and Environmental Protection”
“The Role of Hospitality in Enhancing the Cultural Exchange Experience of Exchange Students”
“Dark Tourism: Visitor Motivations and Experiences at Historical Conflict Sites”
“Customer Satisfaction in Luxury Hotels: A Qualitative Study of Service Excellence and Personalization”
“Adventure Tourism: Understanding the Risk Perception and Safety Measures Among Thrill-Seekers”
“The Influence of Local Communities on Tourist Experiences in Ecotourism Sites”
“Event Tourism: Economic Impacts and Community Perspectives on Large-Scale Music Festivals”
“Heritage Tourism and Identity: Exploring the Connections Between Historic Sites and National Identity”
“Tourist Perceptions of Sustainable Accommodation Practices: A Study of Green Hotels”
“The Role of Language in Shaping the Tourist Experience in Multilingual Destinations”
“Health and Wellness Tourism: Motivations and Experiences of Visitors to Spa and Retreat Centers”

Qualitative Research Topics

Qualitative Research Topics are as follows:

Understanding the lived experiences of first-generation college students
Exploring the impact of social media on self-esteem among adolescents
Investigating the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress reduction
Analyzing the perceptions of employees regarding organizational culture
Examining the impact of parental involvement on academic achievement of elementary school students
Investigating the role of music therapy in managing symptoms of depression
Understanding the experience of women in male-dominated industries
Exploring the factors that contribute to successful leadership in non-profit organizations
Analyzing the effects of peer pressure on substance abuse among adolescents
Investigating the experiences of individuals with disabilities in the workplace
Understanding the factors that contribute to burnout among healthcare professionals
Examining the impact of social support on mental health outcomes
Analyzing the perceptions of parents regarding sex education in schools
Investigating the experiences of immigrant families in the education system
Understanding the impact of trauma on mental health outcomes
Exploring the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy for individuals with anxiety
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful intergenerational relationships
Investigating the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace
Understanding the impact of online gaming on social skills development among adolescents
Examining the perceptions of teachers regarding technology integration in the classroom
Analyzing the experiences of women in leadership positions
Investigating the factors that contribute to successful marriage and long-term relationships
Understanding the impact of social media on political participation
Exploring the experiences of individuals with mental health disorders in the criminal justice system
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful community-based programs for youth development
Investigating the experiences of veterans in accessing mental health services
Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health outcomes
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood obesity prevention
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful multicultural education programs
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in the workplace
Understanding the impact of poverty on academic achievement
Exploring the experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful employee retention strategies
Investigating the experiences of caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease
Understanding the impact of parent-child communication on adolescent sexual behavior
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding mental health services on campus
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful team building in the workplace
Investigating the experiences of individuals with eating disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of mentorship on career success
Exploring the experiences of individuals with physical disabilities in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful community-based programs for mental health
Investigating the experiences of individuals with substance use disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of social media on romantic relationships
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding child discipline strategies
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful cross-cultural communication in the workplace
Investigating the experiences of individuals with anxiety disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on healthcare delivery
Exploring the experiences of individuals with hearing loss in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful parent-teacher communication
Investigating the experiences of individuals with depression in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of childhood trauma on adult mental health outcomes
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding alcohol and drug use on campus
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful mentor-mentee relationships
Investigating the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the workplace
Understanding the impact of work-family balance on employee satisfaction and well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in vocational rehabilitation programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful project management in the construction industry
Investigating the experiences of individuals with substance use disorders in peer support groups
Understanding the impact of mindfulness meditation on stress reduction and mental health
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood nutrition
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful environmental sustainability initiatives in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with bipolar disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of job stress on employee burnout and turnover
Exploring the experiences of individuals with physical disabilities in recreational activities
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful strategic planning in nonprofit organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with hoarding disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of culture on leadership styles and effectiveness
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding sexual health education on campus
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain management in the retail industry
Investigating the experiences of individuals with personality disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of multiculturalism on group dynamics in the workplace
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in mindfulness-based pain management programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful employee engagement strategies in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with internet addiction disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of social comparison on body dissatisfaction and self-esteem
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood sleep habits
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful diversity and inclusion initiatives in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with schizophrenia in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of job crafting on employee motivation and job satisfaction
Exploring the experiences of individuals with vision impairments in navigating public spaces
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful customer relationship management strategies in the service industry
Investigating the experiences of individuals with dissociative amnesia in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of cultural intelligence on intercultural communication and collaboration
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding campus diversity and inclusion efforts
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain sustainability initiatives in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of transformational leadership on organizational performance and employee well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with mobility impairments in public transportation
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful talent management strategies in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with substance use disorders in harm reduction programs
Understanding the impact of gratitude practices on well-being and resilience
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood mental health and well-being
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful corporate social responsibility initiatives in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with borderline personality disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of emotional labor on job stress and burnout
Exploring the experiences of individuals with hearing impairments in healthcare settings
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful customer experience strategies in the hospitality industry
Investigating the experiences of individuals with gender dysphoria in gender-affirming healthcare
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on cross-cultural negotiation in the global marketplace
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding academic stress and mental health
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain agility in organizations
Understanding the impact of music therapy on mental health and well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with dyslexia in educational settings
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful leadership in nonprofit organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in online support groups
Understanding the impact of exercise on mental health and well-being
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood screen time
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful change management strategies in organizations
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on international business negotiations
Exploring the experiences of individuals with hearing impairments in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful team building in corporate settings
Understanding the impact of technology on communication in romantic relationships
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful community engagement strategies for local governments
Investigating the experiences of individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of financial stress on mental health and well-being
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful mentorship programs in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with gambling addictions in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of social media on body image and self-esteem
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood education
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful virtual team management strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with dissociative identity disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on cross-cultural communication in healthcare settings
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in cognitive-behavioral therapy programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful community-building strategies in urban neighborhoods
Investigating the experiences of individuals with alcohol use disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of personality traits on romantic relationships
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding mental health stigma on campus
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful fundraising strategies for political campaigns
Investigating the experiences of individuals with traumatic brain injuries in rehabilitation programs
Understanding the impact of social support on mental health and well-being among the elderly
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in medical treatment decision-making processes
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful innovation strategies in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with dissociative disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on cross-cultural communication in education settings
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood physical activity
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful conflict resolution in family relationships
Investigating the experiences of individuals with opioid use disorders in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership effectiveness
Exploring the experiences of individuals with learning disabilities in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful change management in educational institutions
Investigating the experiences of individuals with eating disorders in recovery support groups
Understanding the impact of self-compassion on mental health and well-being
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding campus safety and security measures
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful marketing strategies for nonprofit organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with postpartum depression in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of ageism in the workplace
Exploring the experiences of individuals with dyslexia in the education system
Investigating the experiences of individuals with anxiety disorders in cognitive-behavioral therapy programs
Understanding the impact of socioeconomic status on access to healthcare
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood screen time usage
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain management strategies
Understanding the impact of parenting styles on child development
Exploring the experiences of individuals with addiction in harm reduction programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful crisis management strategies in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with trauma in trauma-focused therapy programs
Examining the perceptions of healthcare providers regarding patient-centered care
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful product development strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in employment programs
Understanding the impact of cultural competence on healthcare outcomes
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in healthcare navigation
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful community engagement strategies for non-profit organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with physical disabilities in the workplace
Understanding the impact of childhood trauma on adult mental health
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain sustainability strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with personality disorders in dialectical behavior therapy programs
Understanding the impact of gender identity on mental health treatment seeking behaviors
Exploring the experiences of individuals with schizophrenia in community-based treatment programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful project team management strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder in exposure and response prevention therapy programs
Understanding the impact of cultural competence on academic achievement and success
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding academic integrity
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful social media marketing strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with bipolar disorder in community-based treatment programs
Understanding the impact of mindfulness on academic achievement and success
Exploring the experiences of individuals with substance use disorders in medication-assisted treatment programs
Investigating the experiences of individuals with anxiety disorders in exposure therapy programs
Understanding the impact of healthcare disparities on health outcomes
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain optimization strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with borderline personality disorder in schema therapy programs
Understanding the impact of culture on perceptions of mental health stigma
Exploring the experiences of individuals with trauma in art therapy programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful digital marketing strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with eating disorders in online support groups
Understanding the impact of workplace bullying on job satisfaction and performance
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding mental health resources on campus
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful supply chain risk management strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in mindfulness-based pain management programs
Understanding the impact of cognitive-behavioral therapy on social anxiety disorder
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with eating disorders in treatment programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful leadership in business organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in cognitive-behavioral therapy programs
Understanding the impact of cultural differences on intercultural communication
Examining the perceptions of teachers regarding inclusive education for students with disabilities
Investigating the experiences of individuals with depression in therapy programs
Understanding the impact of workplace culture on employee retention and turnover
Exploring the experiences of individuals with traumatic brain injuries in rehabilitation programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful crisis communication strategies in organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with anxiety disorders in mindfulness-based interventions
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in healthcare settings
Understanding the impact of technology on work-life balance
Exploring the experiences of individuals with learning disabilities in academic settings
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful entrepreneurship in small businesses
Understanding the impact of gender identity on mental health and well-being
Examining the perceptions of individuals with disabilities regarding accessibility in public spaces
Understanding the impact of religion on coping strategies for stress and anxiety
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in complementary and alternative medicine treatments
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful customer retention strategies in business organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with postpartum depression in therapy programs
Understanding the impact of ageism on older adults in healthcare settings
Examining the perceptions of students regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful team building in virtual work environments
Investigating the experiences of individuals with gambling disorders in treatment programs
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in peer support groups
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful social media marketing strategies for businesses
Investigating the experiences of individuals with ADHD in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of sleep on cognitive and emotional functioning
Examining the perceptions of individuals with chronic illnesses regarding healthcare access and affordability
Investigating the experiences of individuals with borderline personality disorder in dialectical behavior therapy programs
Understanding the impact of social support on caregiver well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in disability activism
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful cultural competency training programs in healthcare settings
Understanding the impact of personality disorders on interpersonal relationships
Examining the perceptions of healthcare providers regarding the use of telehealth services
Investigating the experiences of individuals with dissociative disorders in therapy programs
Understanding the impact of gender bias in hiring practices
Exploring the experiences of individuals with visual impairments in the workplace
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful diversity and inclusion programs in the workplace
Understanding the impact of online dating on romantic relationships
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood vaccination
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful communication in healthcare settings
Understanding the impact of cultural stereotypes on academic achievement
Exploring the experiences of individuals with substance use disorders in sober living programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful classroom management strategies
Understanding the impact of social support on addiction recovery
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding mental health stigma
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful conflict resolution in the workplace
Understanding the impact of race and ethnicity on healthcare access and outcomes
Exploring the experiences of individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder in treatment programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful project management strategies
Understanding the impact of teacher-student relationships on academic achievement
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful customer service strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with social anxiety disorder in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of workplace stress on job satisfaction and performance
Exploring the experiences of individuals with disabilities in sports and recreation
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful marketing strategies for small businesses
Investigating the experiences of individuals with phobias in treatment programs
Understanding the impact of culture on attitudes towards mental health and illness
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding sexual assault prevention
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful time management strategies
Investigating the experiences of individuals with addiction in recovery support groups
Understanding the impact of mindfulness on emotional regulation and well-being
Exploring the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in treatment programs
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful conflict resolution in romantic relationships
Investigating the experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in social skills training programs
Understanding the impact of parent-child communication on adolescent substance use
Examining the perceptions of parents regarding childhood mental health services
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful fundraising strategies for non-profit organizations
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic illnesses in support groups
Understanding the impact of personality traits on career success and satisfaction
Exploring the experiences of individuals with disabilities in accessing public transportation
Analyzing the factors that contribute to successful team building in sports teams
Investigating the experiences of individuals with chronic pain in alternative medicine treatments
Understanding the impact of stigma on mental health treatment seeking behaviors
Examining the perceptions of college students regarding diversity and inclusion on campus.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

200+ Funny Research Topics

500+ Sports Research Topics

300+ American History Research Paper Topics

500+ Cyber Security Research Topics

500+ Environmental Research Topics

500+ Economics Research Topics

Write my thesis
Thesis writers
Buy thesis papers
Bachelor thesis
Master's thesis
Thesis editing services
Thesis proofreading services
Buy a thesis online
Write my dissertation
Dissertation proposal help
Pay for dissertation
Custom dissertation
Dissertation help online
Buy dissertation online
Cheap dissertation
Dissertation editing services
Write my research paper
Buy research paper online
Pay for research paper
Research paper help
Order research paper
Custom research paper
Cheap research paper
Research papers for sale
Thesis subjects
How It Works

Qualitative Research Topics & Ideas For Students

The Best Qualitative Research Topics For Students

Do you have difficulty finding a qualitative research title for your project? If you are, you need not worry because you are not alone. However, there are many unique qualitative titles you can explore for your research. You just need a few qualitative research title examples to get you started. Qualitative research is focused on data obtained through a researcher’s first-hand observations, natural setting recording, artifacts, case studies, documents, questionnaires, and interviews. The findings in qualitative research are usually non-numerical. Also, it is common in humanities and social sciences. This post provides over 100 qualitative research topics you can consider.

The Best Qualitative Research Topics That Impress the Teacher

Exceptional Qualitative Research Topics In Social Science

Qualitative research title examples for students, fantastic examples of qualitative research titles, good topics to start for qualitative research, qualitative research topics in education, quick examples of qualitative research topics, qualitative research topics in the philippines, qualitative researches topics about humanity & social science, great choices of qualitative research title examples, qualitative research topics for students to think about, our examples of the best qualitative research topics that impress the teacher.

An excellent research topic will help you earn a good grade. Consider any example of a qualitative research title from the following options:

The impacts of social media on physical social engagement in society
The benefits of treating mental disorders with medication
The effects of Gender-Based Violence on women’s social lives in rural areas
The decline of academic pursuit in third-world countries
Sexual workers: the stigma they experience
How has the promotion of feminist values influenced workplaces?
Free education: its impact in third-world countries
What is the correlation between education and success?
Ableism: its effects on disabled people in society
Food insecurity in third-world nations

The topic of your research paper can influence how easily you can conduct your study and draw conclusions.

Here are fantastic examples of qualitative research titles:

Female harm: how it is influenced by culture
The socioeconomic impacts of free education
The link between food insecurity and poor performance in schools
Alcoholism among college students: a critical study
How to mitigate child labor in our society
The root causes of child labor in Latin America
The stigma of living with transmissive medical conditions
The root cause of the stigma of people living with disabilities
How to identify depression in small children
Signs of autism in kids below two years old

Choosing a qualitative research topic is not a task you should take lightly because it can influence your performance. Here are some noteworthy qualitative research titles examples:

Basic patient care policies in developing nations
The impacts of alcoholism on education
Adult learning: what does it entail?
Homeschooling: Is it the latest trend after the pandemic?
Does computer literacy influence the quality of education kids enjoy?
How to effectively teach students with learning disabilities
The relationship between poor education systems and crime rates in third-world countries
Student bullying: the psychological impacts
Should high school students go through university preparedness programs?
research writing in high schools: its significance

Are you looking for qualitative research topic examples to start your study? Below are some creative examples to consider:

Remote tests: are they as effective as in-class tests?
The value of social activities in academic institutions
Why should healthcare be free in all countries?
The implications of racist laws on society
The reception of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments
What is the difference between foreign policies in first-world and third-world nations?
Racism and Colorism: what is the difference?
Dissecting the causes of low voter turnouts in the 21 st century
The challenges of social media on kid’s brain development
The inclusion of black women in American politics and its impacts

When competing with several brilliant minds, a good research topic can do you greatly. The following qualitative research examples titles are a great place to start:

Should school uniforms be discarded for high schoolers?
The need for equal representation in global politics
The implications of police brutality on politics
The role of parental care in foster kids
The distinction between Islamic values and Christian values
The correlation between political instability and migration
Sex trafficking and violence against women: what is the link?
How can global governments eradicate homelessness?
Fraternities and sororities: are they still relevant?
The role of literature in promoting societal changes

Qualitative research is popular in the education field and other social sciences. Choose a qualitative research title example on the subject of education from the following list:

Effectively introducing foreign languages in the high school curriculum
How can teachers help students with disabilities improve their learning?
The link between social activities and comprehension among students
Research writing in high schools: is it necessary?
How has virtual learning influenced teacher-student relationships?
The implications of allowing smartphones in classes
Should all schools introduce sign language lessons in their curriculum?
Student loans: their impacts on black students
The impacts of race on college acceptance rates
Poverty and education: what is the link?
Ethnic and socioeconomic causes of poor school attendance in developing worlds
Various teaching methods and their efficiency
Efficient teaching methods for children below two years
Why do students perform better in humanities than in sciences?
The difference between college acceptance and completion in most nations
Remote learning in developing countries
What are the best ways of approaching bullying in schools?
How do teachers promote inequality among students?
Does social class influence academic performance negatively or positively?
How do teachers shape their students’ personalities?

Coming up with a qualitative research title can be hard because of the numerous subject areas and the issue of uniqueness. Therefore, we have prepared the following qualitative title examples for you:

How to promote oral learning in classrooms
Political instability in developing countries: its economic impacts
The impacts of weather on social activities
Boredom and poor-decision making: the connection
Exploring the connection between attachment types and love languages
Socioeconomic impacts of instability on a country
How does social media impact the perception of reality
Reality TV shows: are they a true reflection of reality?
How culture applies to different age groups
Is social media influencing the loss of cultural values?

You can base your research topic on a specific region or nation, like the Philippines. A sample qualitative research title can get you started. You can pick a sample qualitative research title from the ideas below:

Why are so many Philippines residents migrating to America?
The impact of politics on migration in the Philippines
How has violence led to food insecurity in rural areas in the Philippines?
The Philippine education system: an overview
How cultural norms influence social activities in the Philippines
Gender roles in the Philippines society
How popular Filipino cultures have served as agents of social change in the nation
The link between male dominance and GBV in the Philippines
Barriers to clean hygiene in health centers in the Philippines
The spread of COVID in rural areas in the Philippines

Most top performers in research subjects attribute their success to choosing the best title for qualitative research. Here are some qualitative research topics about humanities and social science to promote good performance:

The impact of poor market rivalry on supply and demand
The role of parents in shaping kids’ morals
Is social media the root cause of poor societal morals?
How does alcohol impact a person’s normal behavior?
How often should adults engage in sporting activities?
Children’s eating habits and their influences
Low socioeconomic backgrounds and their impacts on self-esteem
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world’s views on viral diseases
How can school-going kids manage depression
Causes of mental challenges among school-going kids

Finding a good topic for qualitative research is a critical task that requires a lot of thought and research. However, we have simplified the process with the following qualitative topic ideas:

Pop music and erratic youth behavior: is there a link?
How do public figures influence cultures?
Ideas for improving healthcare in developing nations
Possible solutions for alleviating the food crisis in developing nations
New ways of mitigating viral diseases
Social media trends among the elderly
Quarantine as a mitigation approach for infectious diseases
Promoting social justice in patriarchal societies
Worrying trends among the young population
Emerging marketing trends in 2023

Qualitative research for college and high school students helps improve reading, writing, and intellectual skills. Here are some qualitative research examples and topic ideas for students :

How to detect and prevent natural disasters beforehand
Can the whole world have the same education system?
What is the most effective therapy for patients recuperating from brain surgery?
Possible solutions for promoting ethical practices in telehealth
Can addicts overcome addiction without therapy?
The latest technology trends and their impacts?
How can global governments promote mental health awareness?
Have smartphones caused reduced attention spans among users?
Sexual violence in rural areas
The introduction of Islam in African nations

We Are Here for You

Qualitative research is an investigative analysis of intangible or inexact data, mostly non-numerical. The title of qualitative research you choose will guide your entire research process and influence its conclusions. Do you need a paper or an example of a research title qualitative topic? Our expert team is ready to write it for you.

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

Qualitative Methods
Purpose of Guide
Design Flaws to Avoid
Independent and Dependent Variables
Glossary of Research Terms
Reading Research Effectively
Narrowing a Topic Idea
Broadening a Topic Idea
Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
Academic Writing Style
Applying Critical Thinking
Choosing a Title
Making an Outline
Paragraph Development
Research Process Video Series
Executive Summary
The C.A.R.S. Model
Background Information
The Research Problem/Question
Theoretical Framework
Citation Tracking
Content Alert Services
Evaluating Sources
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Tiertiary Sources
Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
Quantitative Methods
Insiderness
Using Non-Textual Elements
Limitations of the Study
Common Grammar Mistakes
Writing Concisely
Avoiding Plagiarism
Footnotes or Endnotes?
Further Readings
Generative AI and Writing
USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
Bibliography

The word qualitative implies an emphasis on the qualities of entities and on processes and meanings that are not experimentally examined or measured [if measured at all] in terms of quantity, amount, intensity, or frequency. Qualitative researchers stress the socially constructed nature of reality, the intimate relationship between the researcher and what is studied, and the situational constraints that shape inquiry. Such researchers emphasize the value-laden nature of inquiry. They seek answers to questions that stress how social experience is created and given meaning. In contrast, quantitative studies emphasize the measurement and analysis of causal relationships between variables, not processes. Qualitative forms of inquiry are considered by many social and behavioral scientists to be as much a perspective on how to approach investigating a research problem as it is a method.

Denzin, Norman. K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln. “Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research.” In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research . Norman. K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln, eds. 3 rd edition. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005), p. 10.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Below are the three key elements that define a qualitative research study and the applied forms each take in the investigation of a research problem.

Naturalistic -- refers to studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-manipulative and non-controlling; the researcher is open to whatever emerges [i.e., there is a lack of predetermined constraints on findings].
Emergent -- acceptance of adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations change; the researcher avoids rigid designs that eliminate responding to opportunities to pursue new paths of discovery as they emerge.
Purposeful -- cases for study [e.g., people, organizations, communities, cultures, events, critical incidences] are selected because they are “information rich” and illuminative. That is, they offer useful manifestations of the phenomenon of interest; sampling is aimed at insight about the phenomenon, not empirical generalization derived from a sample and applied to a population.

The Collection of Data

Data -- observations yield a detailed, "thick description" [in-depth understanding]; interviews capture direct quotations about people’s personal perspectives and lived experiences; often derived from carefully conducted case studies and review of material culture.
Personal experience and engagement -- researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the people, situation, and phenomenon under investigation; the researcher’s personal experiences and insights are an important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding the phenomenon.
Empathic neutrality -- an empathic stance in working with study respondents seeks vicarious understanding without judgment [neutrality] by showing openness, sensitivity, respect, awareness, and responsiveness; in observation, it means being fully present [mindfulness].
Dynamic systems -- there is attention to process; assumes change is ongoing, whether the focus is on an individual, an organization, a community, or an entire culture, therefore, the researcher is mindful of and attentive to system and situational dynamics.

The Analysis

Unique case orientation -- assumes that each case is special and unique; the first level of analysis is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends upon the quality of individual case studies.
Inductive analysis -- immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important patterns, themes, and inter-relationships; begins by exploring, then confirming findings, guided by analytical principles rather than rules.
Holistic perspective -- the whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts; the focus is on complex interdependencies and system dynamics that cannot be reduced in any meaningful way to linear, cause and effect relationships and/or a few discrete variables.
Context sensitive -- places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; researcher is careful about [even dubious of] the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space; emphasizes careful comparative case study analysis and extrapolating patterns for possible transferability and adaptation in new settings.
Voice, perspective, and reflexivity -- the qualitative methodologist owns and is reflective about her or his own voice and perspective; a credible voice conveys authenticity and trustworthiness; complete objectivity being impossible and pure subjectivity undermining credibility, the researcher's focus reflects a balance between understanding and depicting the world authentically in all its complexity and of being self-analytical, politically aware, and reflexive in consciousness.

Berg, Bruce Lawrence. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences . 8th edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2012; Denzin, Norman. K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln. Handbook of Qualitative Research . 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000; Marshall, Catherine and Gretchen B. Rossman. Designing Qualitative Research . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Basic Research Design for Qualitative Studies

Unlike positivist or experimental research that utilizes a linear and one-directional sequence of design steps, there is considerable variation in how a qualitative research study is organized. In general, qualitative researchers attempt to describe and interpret human behavior based primarily on the words of selected individuals [a.k.a., “informants” or “respondents”] and/or through the interpretation of their material culture or occupied space. There is a reflexive process underpinning every stage of a qualitative study to ensure that researcher biases, presuppositions, and interpretations are clearly evident, thus ensuring that the reader is better able to interpret the overall validity of the research. According to Maxwell (2009), there are five, not necessarily ordered or sequential, components in qualitative research designs. How they are presented depends upon the research philosophy and theoretical framework of the study, the methods chosen, and the general assumptions underpinning the study. Goals Describe the central research problem being addressed but avoid describing any anticipated outcomes. Questions to ask yourself are: Why is your study worth doing? What issues do you want to clarify, and what practices and policies do you want it to influence? Why do you want to conduct this study, and why should the reader care about the results? Conceptual Framework Questions to ask yourself are: What do you think is going on with the issues, settings, or people you plan to study? What theories, beliefs, and prior research findings will guide or inform your research, and what literature, preliminary studies, and personal experiences will you draw upon for understanding the people or issues you are studying? Note to not only report the results of other studies in your review of the literature, but note the methods used as well. If appropriate, describe why earlier studies using quantitative methods were inadequate in addressing the research problem. Research Questions Usually there is a research problem that frames your qualitative study and that influences your decision about what methods to use, but qualitative designs generally lack an accompanying hypothesis or set of assumptions because the findings are emergent and unpredictable. In this context, more specific research questions are generally the result of an interactive design process rather than the starting point for that process. Questions to ask yourself are: What do you specifically want to learn or understand by conducting this study? What do you not know about the things you are studying that you want to learn? What questions will your research attempt to answer, and how are these questions related to one another? Methods Structured approaches to applying a method or methods to your study help to ensure that there is comparability of data across sources and researchers and, thus, they can be useful in answering questions that deal with differences between phenomena and the explanation for these differences [variance questions]. An unstructured approach allows the researcher to focus on the particular phenomena studied. This facilitates an understanding of the processes that led to specific outcomes, trading generalizability and comparability for internal validity and contextual and evaluative understanding. Questions to ask yourself are: What will you actually do in conducting this study? What approaches and techniques will you use to collect and analyze your data, and how do these constitute an integrated strategy? Validity In contrast to quantitative studies where the goal is to design, in advance, “controls” such as formal comparisons, sampling strategies, or statistical manipulations to address anticipated and unanticipated threats to validity, qualitative researchers must attempt to rule out most threats to validity after the research has begun by relying on evidence collected during the research process itself in order to effectively argue that any alternative explanations for a phenomenon are implausible. Questions to ask yourself are: How might your results and conclusions be wrong? What are the plausible alternative interpretations and validity threats to these, and how will you deal with these? How can the data that you have, or that you could potentially collect, support or challenge your ideas about what’s going on? Why should we believe your results? Conclusion Although Maxwell does not mention a conclusion as one of the components of a qualitative research design, you should formally conclude your study. Briefly reiterate the goals of your study and the ways in which your research addressed them. Discuss the benefits of your study and how stakeholders can use your results. Also, note the limitations of your study and, if appropriate, place them in the context of areas in need of further research.

Chenail, Ronald J. Introduction to Qualitative Research Design. Nova Southeastern University; Heath, A. W. The Proposal in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report 3 (March 1997); Marshall, Catherine and Gretchen B. Rossman. Designing Qualitative Research . 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999; Maxwell, Joseph A. "Designing a Qualitative Study." In The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods . Leonard Bickman and Debra J. Rog, eds. 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2009), p. 214-253; Qualitative Research Methods. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Yin, Robert K. Qualitative Research from Start to Finish . 2nd edition. New York: Guilford, 2015.

Strengths of Using Qualitative Methods

The advantage of using qualitative methods is that they generate rich, detailed data that leave the participants' perspectives intact and provide multiple contexts for understanding the phenomenon under study. In this way, qualitative research can be used to vividly demonstrate phenomena or to conduct cross-case comparisons and analysis of individuals or groups.

Among the specific strengths of using qualitative methods to study social science research problems is the ability to:

Obtain a more realistic view of the lived world that cannot be understood or experienced in numerical data and statistical analysis;
Provide the researcher with the perspective of the participants of the study through immersion in a culture or situation and as a result of direct interaction with them;
Allow the researcher to describe existing phenomena and current situations;
Develop flexible ways to perform data collection, subsequent analysis, and interpretation of collected information;
Yield results that can be helpful in pioneering new ways of understanding;
Respond to changes that occur while conducting the study ]e.g., extended fieldwork or observation] and offer the flexibility to shift the focus of the research as a result;
Provide a holistic view of the phenomena under investigation;
Respond to local situations, conditions, and needs of participants;
Interact with the research subjects in their own language and on their own terms; and,
Create a descriptive capability based on primary and unstructured data.

Anderson, Claire. “Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 74 (2010): 1-7; Denzin, Norman. K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln. Handbook of Qualitative Research . 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Limitations of Using Qualitative Methods

It is very much true that most of the limitations you find in using qualitative research techniques also reflect their inherent strengths . For example, small sample sizes help you investigate research problems in a comprehensive and in-depth manner. However, small sample sizes undermine opportunities to draw useful generalizations from, or to make broad policy recommendations based upon, the findings. Additionally, as the primary instrument of investigation, qualitative researchers are often embedded in the cultures and experiences of others. However, cultural embeddedness increases the opportunity for bias generated from conscious or unconscious assumptions about the study setting to enter into how data is gathered, interpreted, and reported.

Some specific limitations associated with using qualitative methods to study research problems in the social sciences include the following:

Drifting away from the original objectives of the study in response to the changing nature of the context under which the research is conducted;
Arriving at different conclusions based on the same information depending on the personal characteristics of the researcher;
Replication of a study is very difficult;
Research using human subjects increases the chance of ethical dilemmas that undermine the overall validity of the study;
An inability to investigate causality between different research phenomena;
Difficulty in explaining differences in the quality and quantity of information obtained from different respondents and arriving at different, non-consistent conclusions;
Data gathering and analysis is often time consuming and/or expensive;
Requires a high level of experience from the researcher to obtain the targeted information from the respondent;
May lack consistency and reliability because the researcher can employ different probing techniques and the respondent can choose to tell some particular stories and ignore others; and,
Generation of a significant amount of data that cannot be randomized into manageable parts for analysis.

Research Tip

Human Subject Research and Institutional Review Board Approval

Almost every socio-behavioral study requires you to submit your proposed research plan to an Institutional Review Board. The role of the Board is to evaluate your research proposal and determine whether it will be conducted ethically and under the regulations, institutional polices, and Code of Ethics set forth by the university. The purpose of the review is to protect the rights and welfare of individuals participating in your study. The review is intended to ensure equitable selection of respondents, that you have met the requirements for obtaining informed consent , that there is clear assessment and minimization of risks to participants and to the university [read: no lawsuits!], and that privacy and confidentiality are maintained throughout the research process and beyond. Go to the USC IRB website for detailed information and templates of forms you need to submit before you can proceed. If you are unsure whether your study is subject to IRB review, consult with your professor or academic advisor.

Chenail, Ronald J. Introduction to Qualitative Research Design. Nova Southeastern University; Labaree, Robert V. "Working Successfully with Your Institutional Review Board: Practical Advice for Academic Librarians." College and Research Libraries News 71 (April 2010): 190-193.

Another Research Tip

Finding Examples of How to Apply Different Types of Research Methods

SAGE publications is a major publisher of studies about how to design and conduct research in the social and behavioral sciences. Their SAGE Research Methods Online and Cases database includes contents from books, articles, encyclopedias, handbooks, and videos covering social science research design and methods including the complete Little Green Book Series of Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences and the Little Blue Book Series of Qualitative Research techniques. The database also includes case studies outlining the research methods used in real research projects. This is an excellent source for finding definitions of key terms and descriptions of research design and practice, techniques of data gathering, analysis, and reporting, and information about theories of research [e.g., grounded theory]. The database covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as mixed methods approaches to conducting research.

SAGE Research Methods Online and Cases

NOTE : For a list of online communities, research centers, indispensable learning resources, and personal websites of leading qualitative researchers, GO HERE .

For a list of scholarly journals devoted to the study and application of qualitative research methods, GO HERE .

<< Previous: 6. The Methodology
Next: Quantitative Methods >>
Last Updated: May 18, 2024 11:38 AM
URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

Criteria for Good Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Review

Regular Article
Open access
Published: 18 September 2021
Volume 31 , pages 679–689, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

Drishti Yadav ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2974-0323 1

83k Accesses

27 Citations

72 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This review aims to synthesize a published set of evaluative criteria for good qualitative research. The aim is to shed light on existing standards for assessing the rigor of qualitative research encompassing a range of epistemological and ontological standpoints. Using a systematic search strategy, published journal articles that deliberate criteria for rigorous research were identified. Then, references of relevant articles were surveyed to find noteworthy, distinct, and well-defined pointers to good qualitative research. This review presents an investigative assessment of the pivotal features in qualitative research that can permit the readers to pass judgment on its quality and to condemn it as good research when objectively and adequately utilized. Overall, this review underlines the crux of qualitative research and accentuates the necessity to evaluate such research by the very tenets of its being. It also offers some prospects and recommendations to improve the quality of qualitative research. Based on the findings of this review, it is concluded that quality criteria are the aftereffect of socio-institutional procedures and existing paradigmatic conducts. Owing to the paradigmatic diversity of qualitative research, a single and specific set of quality criteria is neither feasible nor anticipated. Since qualitative research is not a cohesive discipline, researchers need to educate and familiarize themselves with applicable norms and decisive factors to evaluate qualitative research from within its theoretical and methodological framework of origin.

Good Qualitative Research: Opening up the Debate

Beyond qualitative/quantitative structuralism: the positivist qualitative research and the paradigmatic disclaimer.

What is Qualitative in Research

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

“… It is important to regularly dialogue about what makes for good qualitative research” (Tracy, 2010 , p. 837)

To decide what represents good qualitative research is highly debatable. There are numerous methods that are contained within qualitative research and that are established on diverse philosophical perspectives. Bryman et al., ( 2008 , p. 262) suggest that “It is widely assumed that whereas quality criteria for quantitative research are well‐known and widely agreed, this is not the case for qualitative research.” Hence, the question “how to evaluate the quality of qualitative research” has been continuously debated. There are many areas of science and technology wherein these debates on the assessment of qualitative research have taken place. Examples include various areas of psychology: general psychology (Madill et al., 2000 ); counseling psychology (Morrow, 2005 ); and clinical psychology (Barker & Pistrang, 2005 ), and other disciplines of social sciences: social policy (Bryman et al., 2008 ); health research (Sparkes, 2001 ); business and management research (Johnson et al., 2006 ); information systems (Klein & Myers, 1999 ); and environmental studies (Reid & Gough, 2000 ). In the literature, these debates are enthused by the impression that the blanket application of criteria for good qualitative research developed around the positivist paradigm is improper. Such debates are based on the wide range of philosophical backgrounds within which qualitative research is conducted (e.g., Sandberg, 2000 ; Schwandt, 1996 ). The existence of methodological diversity led to the formulation of different sets of criteria applicable to qualitative research.

Among qualitative researchers, the dilemma of governing the measures to assess the quality of research is not a new phenomenon, especially when the virtuous triad of objectivity, reliability, and validity (Spencer et al., 2004 ) are not adequate. Occasionally, the criteria of quantitative research are used to evaluate qualitative research (Cohen & Crabtree, 2008 ; Lather, 2004 ). Indeed, Howe ( 2004 ) claims that the prevailing paradigm in educational research is scientifically based experimental research. Hypotheses and conjectures about the preeminence of quantitative research can weaken the worth and usefulness of qualitative research by neglecting the prominence of harmonizing match for purpose on research paradigm, the epistemological stance of the researcher, and the choice of methodology. Researchers have been reprimanded concerning this in “paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences” (Lincoln & Guba, 2000 ).

In general, qualitative research tends to come from a very different paradigmatic stance and intrinsically demands distinctive and out-of-the-ordinary criteria for evaluating good research and varieties of research contributions that can be made. This review attempts to present a series of evaluative criteria for qualitative researchers, arguing that their choice of criteria needs to be compatible with the unique nature of the research in question (its methodology, aims, and assumptions). This review aims to assist researchers in identifying some of the indispensable features or markers of high-quality qualitative research. In a nutshell, the purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze the existing knowledge on high-quality qualitative research and to verify the existence of research studies dealing with the critical assessment of qualitative research based on the concept of diverse paradigmatic stances. Contrary to the existing reviews, this review also suggests some critical directions to follow to improve the quality of qualitative research in different epistemological and ontological perspectives. This review is also intended to provide guidelines for the acceleration of future developments and dialogues among qualitative researchers in the context of assessing the qualitative research.

The rest of this review article is structured in the following fashion: Sect. Methods describes the method followed for performing this review. Section Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Studies provides a comprehensive description of the criteria for evaluating qualitative studies. This section is followed by a summary of the strategies to improve the quality of qualitative research in Sect. Improving Quality: Strategies . Section How to Assess the Quality of the Research Findings? provides details on how to assess the quality of the research findings. After that, some of the quality checklists (as tools to evaluate quality) are discussed in Sect. Quality Checklists: Tools for Assessing the Quality . At last, the review ends with the concluding remarks presented in Sect. Conclusions, Future Directions and Outlook . Some prospects in qualitative research for enhancing its quality and usefulness in the social and techno-scientific research community are also presented in Sect. Conclusions, Future Directions and Outlook .

For this review, a comprehensive literature search was performed from many databases using generic search terms such as Qualitative Research , Criteria , etc . The following databases were chosen for the literature search based on the high number of results: IEEE Explore, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The following keywords (and their combinations using Boolean connectives OR/AND) were adopted for the literature search: qualitative research, criteria, quality, assessment, and validity. The synonyms for these keywords were collected and arranged in a logical structure (see Table 1 ). All publications in journals and conference proceedings later than 1950 till 2021 were considered for the search. Other articles extracted from the references of the papers identified in the electronic search were also included. A large number of publications on qualitative research were retrieved during the initial screening. Hence, to include the searches with the main focus on criteria for good qualitative research, an inclusion criterion was utilized in the search string.

From the selected databases, the search retrieved a total of 765 publications. Then, the duplicate records were removed. After that, based on the title and abstract, the remaining 426 publications were screened for their relevance by using the following inclusion and exclusion criteria (see Table 2 ). Publications focusing on evaluation criteria for good qualitative research were included, whereas those works which delivered theoretical concepts on qualitative research were excluded. Based on the screening and eligibility, 45 research articles were identified that offered explicit criteria for evaluating the quality of qualitative research and were found to be relevant to this review.

Figure 1 illustrates the complete review process in the form of PRISMA flow diagram. PRISMA, i.e., “preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses” is employed in systematic reviews to refine the quality of reporting.

PRISMA flow diagram illustrating the search and inclusion process. N represents the number of records

Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Studies

Fundamental criteria: general research quality.

Various researchers have put forward criteria for evaluating qualitative research, which have been summarized in Table 3 . Also, the criteria outlined in Table 4 effectively deliver the various approaches to evaluate and assess the quality of qualitative work. The entries in Table 4 are based on Tracy’s “Eight big‐tent criteria for excellent qualitative research” (Tracy, 2010 ). Tracy argues that high-quality qualitative work should formulate criteria focusing on the worthiness, relevance, timeliness, significance, morality, and practicality of the research topic, and the ethical stance of the research itself. Researchers have also suggested a series of questions as guiding principles to assess the quality of a qualitative study (Mays & Pope, 2020 ). Nassaji ( 2020 ) argues that good qualitative research should be robust, well informed, and thoroughly documented.

Qualitative Research: Interpretive Paradigms

All qualitative researchers follow highly abstract principles which bring together beliefs about ontology, epistemology, and methodology. These beliefs govern how the researcher perceives and acts. The net, which encompasses the researcher’s epistemological, ontological, and methodological premises, is referred to as a paradigm, or an interpretive structure, a “Basic set of beliefs that guides action” (Guba, 1990 ). Four major interpretive paradigms structure the qualitative research: positivist and postpositivist, constructivist interpretive, critical (Marxist, emancipatory), and feminist poststructural. The complexity of these four abstract paradigms increases at the level of concrete, specific interpretive communities. Table 5 presents these paradigms and their assumptions, including their criteria for evaluating research, and the typical form that an interpretive or theoretical statement assumes in each paradigm. Moreover, for evaluating qualitative research, quantitative conceptualizations of reliability and validity are proven to be incompatible (Horsburgh, 2003 ). In addition, a series of questions have been put forward in the literature to assist a reviewer (who is proficient in qualitative methods) for meticulous assessment and endorsement of qualitative research (Morse, 2003 ). Hammersley ( 2007 ) also suggests that guiding principles for qualitative research are advantageous, but methodological pluralism should not be simply acknowledged for all qualitative approaches. Seale ( 1999 ) also points out the significance of methodological cognizance in research studies.

Table 5 reflects that criteria for assessing the quality of qualitative research are the aftermath of socio-institutional practices and existing paradigmatic standpoints. Owing to the paradigmatic diversity of qualitative research, a single set of quality criteria is neither possible nor desirable. Hence, the researchers must be reflexive about the criteria they use in the various roles they play within their research community.

Improving Quality: Strategies

Another critical question is “How can the qualitative researchers ensure that the abovementioned quality criteria can be met?” Lincoln and Guba ( 1986 ) delineated several strategies to intensify each criteria of trustworthiness. Other researchers (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016 ; Shenton, 2004 ) also presented such strategies. A brief description of these strategies is shown in Table 6 .

It is worth mentioning that generalizability is also an integral part of qualitative research (Hays & McKibben, 2021 ). In general, the guiding principle pertaining to generalizability speaks about inducing and comprehending knowledge to synthesize interpretive components of an underlying context. Table 7 summarizes the main metasynthesis steps required to ascertain generalizability in qualitative research.

Figure 2 reflects the crucial components of a conceptual framework and their contribution to decisions regarding research design, implementation, and applications of results to future thinking, study, and practice (Johnson et al., 2020 ). The synergy and interrelationship of these components signifies their role to different stances of a qualitative research study.

Essential elements of a conceptual framework

In a nutshell, to assess the rationale of a study, its conceptual framework and research question(s), quality criteria must take account of the following: lucid context for the problem statement in the introduction; well-articulated research problems and questions; precise conceptual framework; distinct research purpose; and clear presentation and investigation of the paradigms. These criteria would expedite the quality of qualitative research.

How to Assess the Quality of the Research Findings?

The inclusion of quotes or similar research data enhances the confirmability in the write-up of the findings. The use of expressions (for instance, “80% of all respondents agreed that” or “only one of the interviewees mentioned that”) may also quantify qualitative findings (Stenfors et al., 2020 ). On the other hand, the persuasive reason for “why this may not help in intensifying the research” has also been provided (Monrouxe & Rees, 2020 ). Further, the Discussion and Conclusion sections of an article also prove robust markers of high-quality qualitative research, as elucidated in Table 8 .

Quality Checklists: Tools for Assessing the Quality

Numerous checklists are available to speed up the assessment of the quality of qualitative research. However, if used uncritically and recklessly concerning the research context, these checklists may be counterproductive. I recommend that such lists and guiding principles may assist in pinpointing the markers of high-quality qualitative research. However, considering enormous variations in the authors’ theoretical and philosophical contexts, I would emphasize that high dependability on such checklists may say little about whether the findings can be applied in your setting. A combination of such checklists might be appropriate for novice researchers. Some of these checklists are listed below:

The most commonly used framework is Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) (Tong et al., 2007 ). This framework is recommended by some journals to be followed by the authors during article submission.

Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) is another checklist that has been created particularly for medical education (O’Brien et al., 2014 ).

Also, Tracy ( 2010 ) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2021 ) offer criteria for qualitative research relevant across methods and approaches.

Further, researchers have also outlined different criteria as hallmarks of high-quality qualitative research. For instance, the “Road Trip Checklist” (Epp & Otnes, 2021 ) provides a quick reference to specific questions to address different elements of high-quality qualitative research.

Conclusions, Future Directions, and Outlook

This work presents a broad review of the criteria for good qualitative research. In addition, this article presents an exploratory analysis of the essential elements in qualitative research that can enable the readers of qualitative work to judge it as good research when objectively and adequately utilized. In this review, some of the essential markers that indicate high-quality qualitative research have been highlighted. I scope them narrowly to achieve rigor in qualitative research and note that they do not completely cover the broader considerations necessary for high-quality research. This review points out that a universal and versatile one-size-fits-all guideline for evaluating the quality of qualitative research does not exist. In other words, this review also emphasizes the non-existence of a set of common guidelines among qualitative researchers. In unison, this review reinforces that each qualitative approach should be treated uniquely on account of its own distinctive features for different epistemological and disciplinary positions. Owing to the sensitivity of the worth of qualitative research towards the specific context and the type of paradigmatic stance, researchers should themselves analyze what approaches can be and must be tailored to ensemble the distinct characteristics of the phenomenon under investigation. Although this article does not assert to put forward a magic bullet and to provide a one-stop solution for dealing with dilemmas about how, why, or whether to evaluate the “goodness” of qualitative research, it offers a platform to assist the researchers in improving their qualitative studies. This work provides an assembly of concerns to reflect on, a series of questions to ask, and multiple sets of criteria to look at, when attempting to determine the quality of qualitative research. Overall, this review underlines the crux of qualitative research and accentuates the need to evaluate such research by the very tenets of its being. Bringing together the vital arguments and delineating the requirements that good qualitative research should satisfy, this review strives to equip the researchers as well as reviewers to make well-versed judgment about the worth and significance of the qualitative research under scrutiny. In a nutshell, a comprehensive portrayal of the research process (from the context of research to the research objectives, research questions and design, speculative foundations, and from approaches of collecting data to analyzing the results, to deriving inferences) frequently proliferates the quality of a qualitative research.

Prospects : A Road Ahead for Qualitative Research

Irrefutably, qualitative research is a vivacious and evolving discipline wherein different epistemological and disciplinary positions have their own characteristics and importance. In addition, not surprisingly, owing to the sprouting and varied features of qualitative research, no consensus has been pulled off till date. Researchers have reflected various concerns and proposed several recommendations for editors and reviewers on conducting reviews of critical qualitative research (Levitt et al., 2021 ; McGinley et al., 2021 ). Following are some prospects and a few recommendations put forward towards the maturation of qualitative research and its quality evaluation:

In general, most of the manuscript and grant reviewers are not qualitative experts. Hence, it is more likely that they would prefer to adopt a broad set of criteria. However, researchers and reviewers need to keep in mind that it is inappropriate to utilize the same approaches and conducts among all qualitative research. Therefore, future work needs to focus on educating researchers and reviewers about the criteria to evaluate qualitative research from within the suitable theoretical and methodological context.

There is an urgent need to refurbish and augment critical assessment of some well-known and widely accepted tools (including checklists such as COREQ, SRQR) to interrogate their applicability on different aspects (along with their epistemological ramifications).

Efforts should be made towards creating more space for creativity, experimentation, and a dialogue between the diverse traditions of qualitative research. This would potentially help to avoid the enforcement of one's own set of quality criteria on the work carried out by others.

Moreover, journal reviewers need to be aware of various methodological practices and philosophical debates.

It is pivotal to highlight the expressions and considerations of qualitative researchers and bring them into a more open and transparent dialogue about assessing qualitative research in techno-scientific, academic, sociocultural, and political rooms.

Frequent debates on the use of evaluative criteria are required to solve some potentially resolved issues (including the applicability of a single set of criteria in multi-disciplinary aspects). Such debates would not only benefit the group of qualitative researchers themselves, but primarily assist in augmenting the well-being and vivacity of the entire discipline.

To conclude, I speculate that the criteria, and my perspective, may transfer to other methods, approaches, and contexts. I hope that they spark dialog and debate – about criteria for excellent qualitative research and the underpinnings of the discipline more broadly – and, therefore, help improve the quality of a qualitative study. Further, I anticipate that this review will assist the researchers to contemplate on the quality of their own research, to substantiate research design and help the reviewers to review qualitative research for journals. On a final note, I pinpoint the need to formulate a framework (encompassing the prerequisites of a qualitative study) by the cohesive efforts of qualitative researchers of different disciplines with different theoretic-paradigmatic origins. I believe that tailoring such a framework (of guiding principles) paves the way for qualitative researchers to consolidate the status of qualitative research in the wide-ranging open science debate. Dialogue on this issue across different approaches is crucial for the impending prospects of socio-techno-educational research.

Amin, M. E. K., Nørgaard, L. S., Cavaco, A. M., Witry, M. J., Hillman, L., Cernasev, A., & Desselle, S. P. (2020). Establishing trustworthiness and authenticity in qualitative pharmacy research. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 16 (10), 1472–1482.

Article Google Scholar

Barker, C., & Pistrang, N. (2005). Quality criteria under methodological pluralism: Implications for conducting and evaluating research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 35 (3–4), 201–212.

Bryman, A., Becker, S., & Sempik, J. (2008). Quality criteria for quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research: A view from social policy. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 11 (4), 261–276.

Caelli, K., Ray, L., & Mill, J. (2003). ‘Clear as mud’: Toward greater clarity in generic qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2 (2), 1–13.

CASP (2021). CASP checklists. Retrieved May 2021 from https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/

Cohen, D. J., & Crabtree, B. F. (2008). Evaluative criteria for qualitative research in health care: Controversies and recommendations. The Annals of Family Medicine, 6 (4), 331–339.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 1–32). Sage Publications Ltd.

Google Scholar

Elliott, R., Fischer, C. T., & Rennie, D. L. (1999). Evolving guidelines for publication of qualitative research studies in psychology and related fields. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38 (3), 215–229.

Epp, A. M., & Otnes, C. C. (2021). High-quality qualitative research: Getting into gear. Journal of Service Research . https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520961445

Guba, E. G. (1990). The paradigm dialog. In Alternative paradigms conference, mar, 1989, Indiana u, school of education, San Francisco, ca, us . Sage Publications, Inc.

Hammersley, M. (2007). The issue of quality in qualitative research. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 30 (3), 287–305.

Haven, T. L., Errington, T. M., Gleditsch, K. S., van Grootel, L., Jacobs, A. M., Kern, F. G., & Mokkink, L. B. (2020). Preregistering qualitative research: A Delphi study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19 , 1609406920976417.

Hays, D. G., & McKibben, W. B. (2021). Promoting rigorous research: Generalizability and qualitative research. Journal of Counseling and Development, 99 (2), 178–188.

Horsburgh, D. (2003). Evaluation of qualitative research. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 12 (2), 307–312.

Howe, K. R. (2004). A critique of experimentalism. Qualitative Inquiry, 10 (1), 42–46.

Johnson, J. L., Adkins, D., & Chauvin, S. (2020). A review of the quality indicators of rigor in qualitative research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84 (1), 7120.

Johnson, P., Buehring, A., Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (2006). Evaluating qualitative management research: Towards a contingent criteriology. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8 (3), 131–156.

Klein, H. K., & Myers, M. D. (1999). A set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive field studies in information systems. MIS Quarterly, 23 (1), 67–93.

Lather, P. (2004). This is your father’s paradigm: Government intrusion and the case of qualitative research in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 10 (1), 15–34.

Levitt, H. M., Morrill, Z., Collins, K. M., & Rizo, J. L. (2021). The methodological integrity of critical qualitative research: Principles to support design and research review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68 (3), 357.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1986). But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. New Directions for Program Evaluation, 1986 (30), 73–84.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 163–188). Sage Publications.

Madill, A., Jordan, A., & Shirley, C. (2000). Objectivity and reliability in qualitative analysis: Realist, contextualist and radical constructionist epistemologies. British Journal of Psychology, 91 (1), 1–20.

Mays, N., & Pope, C. (2020). Quality in qualitative research. Qualitative Research in Health Care . https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119410867.ch15

McGinley, S., Wei, W., Zhang, L., & Zheng, Y. (2021). The state of qualitative research in hospitality: A 5-year review 2014 to 2019. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 62 (1), 8–20.

Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, US.

Meyer, M., & Dykes, J. (2019). Criteria for rigor in visualization design study. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 26 (1), 87–97.

Monrouxe, L. V., & Rees, C. E. (2020). When I say… quantification in qualitative research. Medical Education, 54 (3), 186–187.

Morrow, S. L. (2005). Quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52 (2), 250.

Morse, J. M. (2003). A review committee’s guide for evaluating qualitative proposals. Qualitative Health Research, 13 (6), 833–851.

Nassaji, H. (2020). Good qualitative research. Language Teaching Research, 24 (4), 427–431.

O’Brien, B. C., Harris, I. B., Beckman, T. J., Reed, D. A., & Cook, D. A. (2014). Standards for reporting qualitative research: A synthesis of recommendations. Academic Medicine, 89 (9), 1245–1251.

O’Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: Debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19 , 1609406919899220.

Reid, A., & Gough, S. (2000). Guidelines for reporting and evaluating qualitative research: What are the alternatives? Environmental Education Research, 6 (1), 59–91.

Rocco, T. S. (2010). Criteria for evaluating qualitative studies. Human Resource Development International . https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2010.501959

Sandberg, J. (2000). Understanding human competence at work: An interpretative approach. Academy of Management Journal, 43 (1), 9–25.

Schwandt, T. A. (1996). Farewell to criteriology. Qualitative Inquiry, 2 (1), 58–72.

Seale, C. (1999). Quality in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 5 (4), 465–478.

Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22 (2), 63–75.

Sparkes, A. C. (2001). Myth 94: Qualitative health researchers will agree about validity. Qualitative Health Research, 11 (4), 538–552.

Spencer, L., Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., & Dillon, L. (2004). Quality in qualitative evaluation: A framework for assessing research evidence.

Stenfors, T., Kajamaa, A., & Bennett, D. (2020). How to assess the quality of qualitative research. The Clinical Teacher, 17 (6), 596–599.

Taylor, E. W., Beck, J., & Ainsworth, E. (2001). Publishing qualitative adult education research: A peer review perspective. Studies in the Education of Adults, 33 (2), 163–179.

Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19 (6), 349–357.

Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16 (10), 837–851.

Download references

Open access funding provided by TU Wien (TUW).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Informatics, Technische Universität Wien, 1040, Vienna, Austria

Drishti Yadav

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Drishti Yadav .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Yadav, D. Criteria for Good Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Review. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 31 , 679–689 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00619-0

Download citation

Accepted : 28 August 2021

Published : 18 September 2021

Issue Date : December 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00619-0

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Qualitative research
Evaluative criteria
Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research

Search Menu
Browse content in Arts and Humanities
Browse content in Archaeology
Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
Archaeology by Region
Archaeology of Religion
Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
Biblical Archaeology
Contemporary and Public Archaeology
Environmental Archaeology
Historical Archaeology
History and Theory of Archaeology
Industrial Archaeology
Landscape Archaeology
Mortuary Archaeology
Prehistoric Archaeology
Underwater Archaeology
Urban Archaeology
Zooarchaeology
Browse content in Architecture
Architectural Structure and Design
History of Architecture
Residential and Domestic Buildings
Theory of Architecture
Browse content in Art
Art Subjects and Themes
History of Art
Industrial and Commercial Art
Theory of Art
Biographical Studies
Byzantine Studies
Browse content in Classical Studies
Classical Literature
Classical Reception
Classical History
Classical Philosophy
Classical Mythology
Classical Art and Architecture
Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
Greek and Roman Archaeology
Greek and Roman Epigraphy
Greek and Roman Law
Greek and Roman Papyrology
Late Antiquity
Religion in the Ancient World
Digital Humanities
Browse content in History
Colonialism and Imperialism
Diplomatic History
Environmental History
Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
Historical Geography
History by Period
History of Agriculture
History of Education
History of Emotions
History of Gender and Sexuality
Industrial History
Intellectual History
International History
Labour History
Legal and Constitutional History
Local and Family History
Maritime History
Military History
National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
Oral History
Political History
Public History
Regional and National History
Revolutions and Rebellions
Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
Social and Cultural History
Theory, Methods, and Historiography
Urban History
World History
Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
Language Learning (Specific Skills)
Language Teaching Theory and Methods
Browse content in Linguistics
Applied Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics
Computational Linguistics
Forensic Linguistics
Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
History of English
Language Variation
Language Families
Language Acquisition
Language Evolution
Language Reference
Lexicography
Linguistic Theories
Linguistic Typology
Linguistic Anthropology
Phonetics and Phonology
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Translation and Interpretation
Writing Systems
Browse content in Literature
Bibliography
Children's Literature Studies
Literary Studies (Modernism)
Literary Studies (Asian)
Literary Studies (European)
Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
Literary Studies (Romanticism)
Literary Studies (American)
Literary Studies - World
Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
Literary Studies (19th Century)
Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
Literary Studies (African American Literature)
Literary Studies (British and Irish)
Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
Literary Studies (History of the Book)
Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
Literary Studies (War Literature)
Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
Mythology and Folklore
Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
Browse content in Media Studies
Browse content in Music
Applied Music
Dance and Music
Ethics in Music
Ethnomusicology
Gender and Sexuality in Music
Medicine and Music
Music Cultures
Music and Culture
Music and Religion
Music and Media
Music Education and Pedagogy
Music Theory and Analysis
Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
Musicology and Music History
Performance Practice and Studies
Race and Ethnicity in Music
Sound Studies
Browse content in Performing Arts
Browse content in Philosophy
Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
Epistemology
Feminist Philosophy
History of Western Philosophy
Metaphysics
Moral Philosophy
Non-Western Philosophy
Philosophy of Action
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Perception
Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
Practical Ethics
Social and Political Philosophy
Browse content in Religion
Biblical Studies
Christianity
East Asian Religions
History of Religion
Judaism and Jewish Studies
Qumran Studies
Religion and Education
Religion and Health
Religion and Politics
Religion and Science
Religion and Law
Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
Religious Studies
Browse content in Society and Culture
Cookery, Food, and Drink
Cultural Studies
Customs and Traditions
Ethical Issues and Debates
Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
Sports and Outdoor Recreation
Technology and Society
Travel and Holiday
Visual Culture
Browse content in Law
Arbitration
Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
Commercial Law
Company Law
Browse content in Comparative Law
Systems of Law
Competition Law
Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
Government Powers
Judicial Review
Local Government Law
Military and Defence Law
Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
Construction Law
Contract Law
Browse content in Criminal Law
Criminal Procedure
Criminal Evidence Law
Sentencing and Punishment
Employment and Labour Law
Environment and Energy Law
Browse content in Financial Law
Banking Law
Insolvency Law
History of Law
Human Rights and Immigration
Intellectual Property Law
Browse content in International Law
Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
Public International Law
IT and Communications Law
Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
Law and Society
Law and Politics
Browse content in Legal System and Practice
Courts and Procedure
Legal Skills and Practice
Primary Sources of Law
Regulation of Legal Profession
Medical and Healthcare Law
Browse content in Policing
Criminal Investigation and Detection
Police and Security Services
Police Procedure and Law
Police Regional Planning
Browse content in Property Law
Personal Property Law
Study and Revision
Terrorism and National Security Law
Browse content in Trusts Law
Wills and Probate or Succession
Browse content in Medicine and Health
Browse content in Allied Health Professions
Arts Therapies
Clinical Science
Dietetics and Nutrition
Occupational Therapy
Operating Department Practice
Physiotherapy
Radiography
Speech and Language Therapy
Browse content in Anaesthetics
General Anaesthesia
Neuroanaesthesia
Browse content in Clinical Medicine
Acute Medicine
Cardiovascular Medicine
Clinical Genetics
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Dermatology
Endocrinology and Diabetes
Gastroenterology
Genito-urinary Medicine
Geriatric Medicine
Infectious Diseases
Medical Oncology
Medical Toxicology
Pain Medicine
Palliative Medicine
Rehabilitation Medicine
Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
Rheumatology
Sleep Medicine
Sports and Exercise Medicine
Clinical Neuroscience
Community Medical Services
Critical Care
Emergency Medicine
Forensic Medicine
Haematology
History of Medicine
Medical Ethics
Browse content in Medical Dentistry
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Paediatric Dentistry
Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
Surgical Dentistry
Browse content in Medical Skills
Clinical Skills
Communication Skills
Nursing Skills
Surgical Skills
Medical Statistics and Methodology
Browse content in Neurology
Clinical Neurophysiology
Neuropathology
Nursing Studies
Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Gynaecology
Occupational Medicine
Ophthalmology
Otolaryngology (ENT)
Browse content in Paediatrics
Neonatology
Browse content in Pathology
Chemical Pathology
Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
Histopathology
Medical Microbiology and Virology
Patient Education and Information
Browse content in Pharmacology
Psychopharmacology
Browse content in Popular Health
Caring for Others
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Self-help and Personal Development
Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Reproduction, Growth and Development
Primary Care
Professional Development in Medicine
Browse content in Psychiatry
Addiction Medicine
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Forensic Psychiatry
Learning Disabilities
Old Age Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Public Health
Browse content in Radiology
Clinical Radiology
Interventional Radiology
Nuclear Medicine
Radiation Oncology
Reproductive Medicine
Browse content in Surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
General Surgery
Neurosurgery
Paediatric Surgery
Peri-operative Care
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Surgical Oncology
Transplant Surgery
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
Vascular Surgery
Browse content in Science and Mathematics
Browse content in Biological Sciences
Aquatic Biology
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Developmental Biology
Ecology and Conservation
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics and Genomics
Microbiology
Molecular and Cell Biology
Natural History
Plant Sciences and Forestry
Research Methods in Life Sciences
Structural Biology
Systems Biology
Zoology and Animal Sciences
Browse content in Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Computational Chemistry
Crystallography
Environmental Chemistry
Industrial Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Materials Chemistry
Medicinal Chemistry
Mineralogy and Gems
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry
Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
Theoretical Chemistry
Browse content in Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Architecture and Logic Design
Game Studies
Human-Computer Interaction
Mathematical Theory of Computation
Programming Languages
Software Engineering
Systems Analysis and Design
Virtual Reality
Browse content in Computing
Business Applications
Computer Games
Computer Security
Computer Networking and Communications
Digital Lifestyle
Graphical and Digital Media Applications
Operating Systems
Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
Atmospheric Sciences
Environmental Geography
Geology and the Lithosphere
Maps and Map-making
Meteorology and Climatology
Oceanography and Hydrology
Palaeontology
Physical Geography and Topography
Regional Geography
Soil Science
Urban Geography
Browse content in Engineering and Technology
Agriculture and Farming
Biological Engineering
Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
Electronics and Communications Engineering
Energy Technology
Engineering (General)
Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
History of Engineering and Technology
Mechanical Engineering and Materials
Technology of Industrial Chemistry
Transport Technology and Trades
Browse content in Environmental Science
Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
Environmental Sustainability
Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
History of Science and Technology
Browse content in Materials Science
Ceramics and Glasses
Composite Materials
Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
Nanotechnology
Browse content in Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Biomathematics and Statistics
History of Mathematics
Mathematical Education
Mathematical Finance
Mathematical Analysis
Numerical and Computational Mathematics
Probability and Statistics
Pure Mathematics
Browse content in Neuroscience
Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
Development of the Nervous System
Disorders of the Nervous System
History of Neuroscience
Invertebrate Neurobiology
Molecular and Cellular Systems
Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
Neuroscientific Techniques
Sensory and Motor Systems
Browse content in Physics
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Biological and Medical Physics
Classical Mechanics
Computational Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
History of Physics
Mathematical and Statistical Physics
Measurement Science
Nuclear Physics
Particles and Fields
Plasma Physics
Quantum Physics
Relativity and Gravitation
Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
Browse content in Psychology
Affective Sciences
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Criminal and Forensic Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Educational Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology
Health Psychology
History and Systems in Psychology
Music Psychology
Neuropsychology
Organizational Psychology
Psychological Assessment and Testing
Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
Psychology Professional Development and Training
Research Methods in Psychology
Social Psychology
Browse content in Social Sciences
Browse content in Anthropology
Anthropology of Religion
Human Evolution
Medical Anthropology
Physical Anthropology
Regional Anthropology
Social and Cultural Anthropology
Theory and Practice of Anthropology
Browse content in Business and Management
Business History
Business Strategy
Business Ethics
Business and Government
Business and Technology
Business and the Environment
Comparative Management
Corporate Governance
Corporate Social Responsibility
Entrepreneurship
Health Management
Human Resource Management
Industrial and Employment Relations
Industry Studies
Information and Communication Technologies
International Business
Knowledge Management
Management and Management Techniques
Operations Management
Organizational Theory and Behaviour
Pensions and Pension Management
Public and Nonprofit Management
Strategic Management
Supply Chain Management
Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice
Criminology
Forms of Crime
International and Comparative Criminology
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
Development Studies
Browse content in Economics
Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
Asian Economics
Behavioural Finance
Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
Economic Methodology
Economic Systems
Economic History
Economic Development and Growth
Financial Markets
Financial Institutions and Services
General Economics and Teaching
Health, Education, and Welfare
History of Economic Thought
International Economics
Labour and Demographic Economics
Law and Economics
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
Microeconomics
Public Economics
Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
Welfare Economics
Browse content in Education
Adult Education and Continuous Learning
Care and Counselling of Students
Early Childhood and Elementary Education
Educational Equipment and Technology
Educational Strategies and Policy
Higher and Further Education
Organization and Management of Education
Philosophy and Theory of Education
Schools Studies
Secondary Education
Teaching of a Specific Subject
Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
Teaching Skills and Techniques
Browse content in Environment
Applied Ecology (Social Science)
Climate Change
Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
Natural Disasters (Environment)
Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
Browse content in Human Geography
Cultural Geography
Economic Geography
Political Geography
Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
Communication Studies
Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
Browse content in Politics
African Politics
Asian Politics
Chinese Politics
Comparative Politics
Conflict Politics
Elections and Electoral Studies
Environmental Politics
European Union
Foreign Policy
Gender and Politics
Human Rights and Politics
Indian Politics
International Relations
International Organization (Politics)
International Political Economy
Irish Politics
Latin American Politics
Middle Eastern Politics
Political Theory
Political Methodology
Political Communication
Political Philosophy
Political Sociology
Political Behaviour
Political Economy
Political Institutions
Politics and Law
Public Administration
Public Policy
Quantitative Political Methodology
Regional Political Studies
Russian Politics
Security Studies
State and Local Government
UK Politics
US Politics
Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
African Studies
Asian Studies
East Asian Studies
Japanese Studies
Latin American Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American Studies
Scottish Studies
Browse content in Research and Information
Research Methods
Browse content in Social Work
Addictions and Substance Misuse
Adoption and Fostering
Care of the Elderly
Child and Adolescent Social Work
Couple and Family Social Work
Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
Emergency Services
Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
International and Global Issues in Social Work
Mental and Behavioural Health
Social Justice and Human Rights
Social Policy and Advocacy
Social Work and Crime and Justice
Social Work Macro Practice
Social Work Practice Settings
Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
Welfare and Benefit Systems
Browse content in Sociology
Childhood Studies
Community Development
Comparative and Historical Sociology
Economic Sociology
Gender and Sexuality
Gerontology and Ageing
Health, Illness, and Medicine
Marriage and the Family
Migration Studies
Occupations, Professions, and Work
Organizations
Population and Demography
Race and Ethnicity
Social Theory
Social Movements and Social Change
Social Research and Statistics
Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
Sociology of Religion
Sociology of Education
Sport and Leisure
Urban and Rural Studies
Browse content in Warfare and Defence
Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
Land Forces and Warfare
Military Administration
Military Life and Institutions
Naval Forces and Warfare
Other Warfare and Defence Issues
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
Weapons and Equipment

The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd edn)

Patricia Leavy Independent Scholar Kennebunk, ME, USA

Cite Icon Cite
Permissions Icon Permissions

The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, second edition, presents a comprehensive retrospective and prospective review of the field of qualitative research. Original, accessible chapters written by interdisciplinary leaders in the field make this a critical reference work. Filled with robust examples from real-world research; ample discussion of the historical, theoretical, and methodological foundations of the field; and coverage of key issues including data collection, interpretation, representation, assessment, and teaching, this handbook aims to be a valuable text for students, professors, and researchers. This newly revised and expanded edition features up-to-date examples and topics, including seven new chapters on duoethnography, team research, writing ethnographically, creative approaches to writing, writing for performance, writing for the public, and teaching qualitative research.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

Google Scholar Indexing
GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]

Personal account

Sign in with email/username & password
Get email alerts
Save searches
Purchase content
Activate your purchase/trial code
Add your ORCID iD

Institutional access

Sign in with username/password
Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutionâ€™s website and Oxford Academic.

Click Sign in through your institution.
Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutionâ€™s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see â€˜Sign in through society siteâ€™ in the sign in pane within a journal:

Click Sign in through society site.
When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Rights and permissions
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Chapter 1. Introduction

“Science is in danger, and for that reason it is becoming dangerous” -Pierre Bourdieu, Science of Science and Reflexivity

Why an Open Access Textbook on Qualitative Research Methods?

I have been teaching qualitative research methods to both undergraduates and graduate students for many years. Although there are some excellent textbooks out there, they are often costly, and none of them, to my mind, properly introduces qualitative research methods to the beginning student (whether undergraduate or graduate student). In contrast, this open-access textbook is designed as a (free) true introduction to the subject, with helpful, practical pointers on how to conduct research and how to access more advanced instruction.

Textbooks are typically arranged in one of two ways: (1) by technique (each chapter covers one method used in qualitative research); or (2) by process (chapters advance from research design through publication). But both of these approaches are necessary for the beginner student. This textbook will have sections dedicated to the process as well as the techniques of qualitative research. This is a true “comprehensive” book for the beginning student. In addition to covering techniques of data collection and data analysis, it provides a road map of how to get started and how to keep going and where to go for advanced instruction. It covers aspects of research design and research communication as well as methods employed. Along the way, it includes examples from many different disciplines in the social sciences.

The primary goal has been to create a useful, accessible, engaging textbook for use across many disciplines. And, let’s face it. Textbooks can be boring. I hope readers find this to be a little different. I have tried to write in a practical and forthright manner, with many lively examples and references to good and intellectually creative qualitative research. Woven throughout the text are short textual asides (in colored textboxes) by professional (academic) qualitative researchers in various disciplines. These short accounts by practitioners should help inspire students. So, let’s begin!

What is Research?

When we use the word research , what exactly do we mean by that? This is one of those words that everyone thinks they understand, but it is worth beginning this textbook with a short explanation. We use the term to refer to “empirical research,” which is actually a historically specific approach to understanding the world around us. Think about how you know things about the world. [1] You might know your mother loves you because she’s told you she does. Or because that is what “mothers” do by tradition. Or you might know because you’ve looked for evidence that she does, like taking care of you when you are sick or reading to you in bed or working two jobs so you can have the things you need to do OK in life. Maybe it seems churlish to look for evidence; you just take it “on faith” that you are loved.

Only one of the above comes close to what we mean by research. Empirical research is research (investigation) based on evidence. Conclusions can then be drawn from observable data. This observable data can also be “tested” or checked. If the data cannot be tested, that is a good indication that we are not doing research. Note that we can never “prove” conclusively, through observable data, that our mothers love us. We might have some “disconfirming evidence” (that time she didn’t show up to your graduation, for example) that could push you to question an original hypothesis , but no amount of “confirming evidence” will ever allow us to say with 100% certainty, “my mother loves me.” Faith and tradition and authority work differently. Our knowledge can be 100% certain using each of those alternative methods of knowledge, but our certainty in those cases will not be based on facts or evidence.

For many periods of history, those in power have been nervous about “science” because it uses evidence and facts as the primary source of understanding the world, and facts can be at odds with what power or authority or tradition want you to believe. That is why I say that scientific empirical research is a historically specific approach to understand the world. You are in college or university now partly to learn how to engage in this historically specific approach.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, there was a newfound respect for empirical research, some of which was seriously challenging to the established church. Using observations and testing them, scientists found that the earth was not at the center of the universe, for example, but rather that it was but one planet of many which circled the sun. [2] For the next two centuries, the science of astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry emerged and became disciplines taught in universities. All used the scientific method of observation and testing to advance knowledge. Knowledge about people , however, and social institutions, however, was still left to faith, tradition, and authority. Historians and philosophers and poets wrote about the human condition, but none of them used research to do so. [3]

It was not until the nineteenth century that “social science” really emerged, using the scientific method (empirical observation) to understand people and social institutions. New fields of sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology emerged. The first sociologists, people like Auguste Comte and Karl Marx, sought specifically to apply the scientific method of research to understand society, Engels famously claiming that Marx had done for the social world what Darwin did for the natural world, tracings its laws of development. Today we tend to take for granted the naturalness of science here, but it is actually a pretty recent and radical development.

To return to the question, “does your mother love you?” Well, this is actually not really how a researcher would frame the question, as it is too specific to your case. It doesn’t tell us much about the world at large, even if it does tell us something about you and your relationship with your mother. A social science researcher might ask, “do mothers love their children?” Or maybe they would be more interested in how this loving relationship might change over time (e.g., “do mothers love their children more now than they did in the 18th century when so many children died before reaching adulthood?”) or perhaps they might be interested in measuring quality of love across cultures or time periods, or even establishing “what love looks like” using the mother/child relationship as a site of exploration. All of these make good research questions because we can use observable data to answer them.

What is Qualitative Research?

“All we know is how to learn. How to study, how to listen, how to talk, how to tell. If we don’t tell the world, we don’t know the world. We’re lost in it, we die.” -Ursula LeGuin, The Telling

At its simplest, qualitative research is research about the social world that does not use numbers in its analyses. All those who fear statistics can breathe a sigh of relief – there are no mathematical formulae or regression models in this book! But this definition is less about what qualitative research can be and more about what it is not. To be honest, any simple statement will fail to capture the power and depth of qualitative research. One way of contrasting qualitative research to quantitative research is to note that the focus of qualitative research is less about explaining and predicting relationships between variables and more about understanding the social world. To use our mother love example, the question about “what love looks like” is a good question for the qualitative researcher while all questions measuring love or comparing incidences of love (both of which require measurement) are good questions for quantitative researchers. Patton writes,

Qualitative data describe. They take us, as readers, into the time and place of the observation so that we know what it was like to have been there. They capture and communicate someone else’s experience of the world in his or her own words. Qualitative data tell a story. ( Patton 2002:47 )

Qualitative researchers are asking different questions about the world than their quantitative colleagues. Even when researchers are employed in “mixed methods” research ( both quantitative and qualitative), they are using different methods to address different questions of the study. I do a lot of research about first-generation and working-college college students. Where a quantitative researcher might ask, how many first-generation college students graduate from college within four years? Or does first-generation college status predict high student debt loads? A qualitative researcher might ask, how does the college experience differ for first-generation college students? What is it like to carry a lot of debt, and how does this impact the ability to complete college on time? Both sets of questions are important, but they can only be answered using specific tools tailored to those questions. For the former, you need large numbers to make adequate comparisons. For the latter, you need to talk to people, find out what they are thinking and feeling, and try to inhabit their shoes for a little while so you can make sense of their experiences and beliefs.

Examples of Qualitative Research

You have probably seen examples of qualitative research before, but you might not have paid particular attention to how they were produced or realized that the accounts you were reading were the result of hours, months, even years of research “in the field.” A good qualitative researcher will present the product of their hours of work in such a way that it seems natural, even obvious, to the reader. Because we are trying to convey what it is like answers, qualitative research is often presented as stories – stories about how people live their lives, go to work, raise their children, interact with one another. In some ways, this can seem like reading particularly insightful novels. But, unlike novels, there are very specific rules and guidelines that qualitative researchers follow to ensure that the “story” they are telling is accurate , a truthful rendition of what life is like for the people being studied. Most of this textbook will be spent conveying those rules and guidelines. Let’s take a look, first, however, at three examples of what the end product looks like. I have chosen these three examples to showcase very different approaches to qualitative research, and I will return to these five examples throughout the book. They were all published as whole books (not chapters or articles), and they are worth the long read, if you have the time. I will also provide some information on how these books came to be and the length of time it takes to get them into book version. It is important you know about this process, and the rest of this textbook will help explain why it takes so long to conduct good qualitative research!

Example 1 : The End Game (ethnography + interviews)

Corey Abramson is a sociologist who teaches at the University of Arizona. In 2015 he published The End Game: How Inequality Shapes our Final Years ( 2015 ). This book was based on the research he did for his dissertation at the University of California-Berkeley in 2012. Actually, the dissertation was completed in 2012 but the work that was produced that took several years. The dissertation was entitled, “This is How We Live, This is How We Die: Social Stratification, Aging, and Health in Urban America” ( 2012 ). You can see how the book version, which was written for a more general audience, has a more engaging sound to it, but that the dissertation version, which is what academic faculty read and evaluate, has a more descriptive title. You can read the title and know that this is a study about aging and health and that the focus is going to be inequality and that the context (place) is going to be “urban America.” It’s a study about “how” people do something – in this case, how they deal with aging and death. This is the very first sentence of the dissertation, “From our first breath in the hospital to the day we die, we live in a society characterized by unequal opportunities for maintaining health and taking care of ourselves when ill. These disparities reflect persistent racial, socio-economic, and gender-based inequalities and contribute to their persistence over time” ( 1 ). What follows is a truthful account of how that is so.

Cory Abramson spent three years conducting his research in four different urban neighborhoods. We call the type of research he conducted “comparative ethnographic” because he designed his study to compare groups of seniors as they went about their everyday business. It’s comparative because he is comparing different groups (based on race, class, gender) and ethnographic because he is studying the culture/way of life of a group. [4] He had an educated guess, rooted in what previous research had shown and what social theory would suggest, that people’s experiences of aging differ by race, class, and gender. So, he set up a research design that would allow him to observe differences. He chose two primarily middle-class (one was racially diverse and the other was predominantly White) and two primarily poor neighborhoods (one was racially diverse and the other was predominantly African American). He hung out in senior centers and other places seniors congregated, watched them as they took the bus to get prescriptions filled, sat in doctor’s offices with them, and listened to their conversations with each other. He also conducted more formal conversations, what we call in-depth interviews, with sixty seniors from each of the four neighborhoods. As with a lot of fieldwork , as he got closer to the people involved, he both expanded and deepened his reach –

By the end of the project, I expanded my pool of general observations to include various settings frequented by seniors: apartment building common rooms, doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, pharmacies, senior centers, bars, parks, corner stores, shopping centers, pool halls, hair salons, coffee shops, and discount stores. Over the course of the three years of fieldwork, I observed hundreds of elders, and developed close relationships with a number of them. ( 2012:10 )

When Abramson rewrote the dissertation for a general audience and published his book in 2015, it got a lot of attention. It is a beautifully written book and it provided insight into a common human experience that we surprisingly know very little about. It won the Outstanding Publication Award by the American Sociological Association Section on Aging and the Life Course and was featured in the New York Times . The book was about aging, and specifically how inequality shapes the aging process, but it was also about much more than that. It helped show how inequality affects people’s everyday lives. For example, by observing the difficulties the poor had in setting up appointments and getting to them using public transportation and then being made to wait to see a doctor, sometimes in standing-room-only situations, when they are unwell, and then being treated dismissively by hospital staff, Abramson allowed readers to feel the material reality of being poor in the US. Comparing these examples with seniors with adequate supplemental insurance who have the resources to hire car services or have others assist them in arranging care when they need it, jolts the reader to understand and appreciate the difference money makes in the lives and circumstances of us all, and in a way that is different than simply reading a statistic (“80% of the poor do not keep regular doctor’s appointments”) does. Qualitative research can reach into spaces and places that often go unexamined and then reports back to the rest of us what it is like in those spaces and places.

Example 2: Racing for Innocence (Interviews + Content Analysis + Fictional Stories)

Jennifer Pierce is a Professor of American Studies at the University of Minnesota. Trained as a sociologist, she has written a number of books about gender, race, and power. Her very first book, Gender Trials: Emotional Lives in Contemporary Law Firms, published in 1995, is a brilliant look at gender dynamics within two law firms. Pierce was a participant observer, working as a paralegal, and she observed how female lawyers and female paralegals struggled to obtain parity with their male colleagues.

Fifteen years later, she reexamined the context of the law firm to include an examination of racial dynamics, particularly how elite white men working in these spaces created and maintained a culture that made it difficult for both female attorneys and attorneys of color to thrive. Her book, Racing for Innocence: Whiteness, Gender, and the Backlash Against Affirmative Action , published in 2012, is an interesting and creative blending of interviews with attorneys, content analyses of popular films during this period, and fictional accounts of racial discrimination and sexual harassment. The law firm she chose to study had come under an affirmative action order and was in the process of implementing equitable policies and programs. She wanted to understand how recipients of white privilege (the elite white male attorneys) come to deny the role they play in reproducing inequality. Through interviews with attorneys who were present both before and during the affirmative action order, she creates a historical record of the “bad behavior” that necessitated new policies and procedures, but also, and more importantly , probed the participants ’ understanding of this behavior. It should come as no surprise that most (but not all) of the white male attorneys saw little need for change, and that almost everyone else had accounts that were different if not sometimes downright harrowing.

I’ve used Pierce’s book in my qualitative research methods courses as an example of an interesting blend of techniques and presentation styles. My students often have a very difficult time with the fictional accounts she includes. But they serve an important communicative purpose here. They are her attempts at presenting “both sides” to an objective reality – something happens (Pierce writes this something so it is very clear what it is), and the two participants to the thing that happened have very different understandings of what this means. By including these stories, Pierce presents one of her key findings – people remember things differently and these different memories tend to support their own ideological positions. I wonder what Pierce would have written had she studied the murder of George Floyd or the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 or any number of other historic events whose observers and participants record very different happenings.

This is not to say that qualitative researchers write fictional accounts. In fact, the use of fiction in our work remains controversial. When used, it must be clearly identified as a presentation device, as Pierce did. I include Racing for Innocence here as an example of the multiple uses of methods and techniques and the way that these work together to produce better understandings by us, the readers, of what Pierce studied. We readers come away with a better grasp of how and why advantaged people understate their own involvement in situations and structures that advantage them. This is normal human behavior , in other words. This case may have been about elite white men in law firms, but the general insights here can be transposed to other settings. Indeed, Pierce argues that more research needs to be done about the role elites play in the reproduction of inequality in the workplace in general.

Example 3: Amplified Advantage (Mixed Methods: Survey Interviews + Focus Groups + Archives)

The final example comes from my own work with college students, particularly the ways in which class background affects the experience of college and outcomes for graduates. I include it here as an example of mixed methods, and for the use of supplementary archival research. I’ve done a lot of research over the years on first-generation, low-income, and working-class college students. I am curious (and skeptical) about the possibility of social mobility today, particularly with the rising cost of college and growing inequality in general. As one of the few people in my family to go to college, I didn’t grow up with a lot of examples of what college was like or how to make the most of it. And when I entered graduate school, I realized with dismay that there were very few people like me there. I worried about becoming too different from my family and friends back home. And I wasn’t at all sure that I would ever be able to pay back the huge load of debt I was taking on. And so I wrote my dissertation and first two books about working-class college students. These books focused on experiences in college and the difficulties of navigating between family and school ( Hurst 2010a, 2012 ). But even after all that research, I kept coming back to wondering if working-class students who made it through college had an equal chance at finding good jobs and happy lives,

What happens to students after college? Do working-class students fare as well as their peers? I knew from my own experience that barriers continued through graduate school and beyond, and that my debtload was higher than that of my peers, constraining some of the choices I made when I graduated. To answer these questions, I designed a study of students attending small liberal arts colleges, the type of college that tried to equalize the experience of students by requiring all students to live on campus and offering small classes with lots of interaction with faculty. These private colleges tend to have more money and resources so they can provide financial aid to low-income students. They also attract some very wealthy students. Because they enroll students across the class spectrum, I would be able to draw comparisons. I ended up spending about four years collecting data, both a survey of more than 2000 students (which formed the basis for quantitative analyses) and qualitative data collection (interviews, focus groups, archival research, and participant observation). This is what we call a “mixed methods” approach because we use both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey gave me a large enough number of students that I could make comparisons of the how many kind, and to be able to say with some authority that there were in fact significant differences in experience and outcome by class (e.g., wealthier students earned more money and had little debt; working-class students often found jobs that were not in their chosen careers and were very affected by debt, upper-middle-class students were more likely to go to graduate school). But the survey analyses could not explain why these differences existed. For that, I needed to talk to people and ask them about their motivations and aspirations. I needed to understand their perceptions of the world, and it is very hard to do this through a survey.

By interviewing students and recent graduates, I was able to discern particular patterns and pathways through college and beyond. Specifically, I identified three versions of gameplay. Upper-middle-class students, whose parents were themselves professionals (academics, lawyers, managers of non-profits), saw college as the first stage of their education and took classes and declared majors that would prepare them for graduate school. They also spent a lot of time building their resumes, taking advantage of opportunities to help professors with their research, or study abroad. This helped them gain admission to highly-ranked graduate schools and interesting jobs in the public sector. In contrast, upper-class students, whose parents were wealthy and more likely to be engaged in business (as CEOs or other high-level directors), prioritized building social capital. They did this by joining fraternities and sororities and playing club sports. This helped them when they graduated as they called on friends and parents of friends to find them well-paying jobs. Finally, low-income, first-generation, and working-class students were often adrift. They took the classes that were recommended to them but without the knowledge of how to connect them to life beyond college. They spent time working and studying rather than partying or building their resumes. All three sets of students thought they were “doing college” the right way, the way that one was supposed to do college. But these three versions of gameplay led to distinct outcomes that advantaged some students over others. I titled my work “Amplified Advantage” to highlight this process.

These three examples, Cory Abramson’s The End Game , Jennifer Peirce’s Racing for Innocence, and my own Amplified Advantage, demonstrate the range of approaches and tools available to the qualitative researcher. They also help explain why qualitative research is so important. Numbers can tell us some things about the world, but they cannot get at the hearts and minds, motivations and beliefs of the people who make up the social worlds we inhabit. For that, we need tools that allow us to listen and make sense of what people tell us and show us. That is what good qualitative research offers us.

How Is This Book Organized?

This textbook is organized as a comprehensive introduction to the use of qualitative research methods. The first half covers general topics (e.g., approaches to qualitative research, ethics) and research design (necessary steps for building a successful qualitative research study). The second half reviews various data collection and data analysis techniques. Of course, building a successful qualitative research study requires some knowledge of data collection and data analysis so the chapters in the first half and the chapters in the second half should be read in conversation with each other. That said, each chapter can be read on its own for assistance with a particular narrow topic. In addition to the chapters, a helpful glossary can be found in the back of the book. Rummage around in the text as needed.

Chapter Descriptions

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the Research Design Process. How does one begin a study? What is an appropriate research question? How is the study to be done – with what methods ? Involving what people and sites? Although qualitative research studies can and often do change and develop over the course of data collection, it is important to have a good idea of what the aims and goals of your study are at the outset and a good plan of how to achieve those aims and goals. Chapter 2 provides a road map of the process.

Chapter 3 describes and explains various ways of knowing the (social) world. What is it possible for us to know about how other people think or why they behave the way they do? What does it mean to say something is a “fact” or that it is “well-known” and understood? Qualitative researchers are particularly interested in these questions because of the types of research questions we are interested in answering (the how questions rather than the how many questions of quantitative research). Qualitative researchers have adopted various epistemological approaches. Chapter 3 will explore these approaches, highlighting interpretivist approaches that acknowledge the subjective aspect of reality – in other words, reality and knowledge are not objective but rather influenced by (interpreted through) people.

Chapter 4 focuses on the practical matter of developing a research question and finding the right approach to data collection. In any given study (think of Cory Abramson’s study of aging, for example), there may be years of collected data, thousands of observations , hundreds of pages of notes to read and review and make sense of. If all you had was a general interest area (“aging”), it would be very difficult, nearly impossible, to make sense of all of that data. The research question provides a helpful lens to refine and clarify (and simplify) everything you find and collect. For that reason, it is important to pull out that lens (articulate the research question) before you get started. In the case of the aging study, Cory Abramson was interested in how inequalities affected understandings and responses to aging. It is for this reason he designed a study that would allow him to compare different groups of seniors (some middle-class, some poor). Inevitably, he saw much more in the three years in the field than what made it into his book (or dissertation), but he was able to narrow down the complexity of the social world to provide us with this rich account linked to the original research question. Developing a good research question is thus crucial to effective design and a successful outcome. Chapter 4 will provide pointers on how to do this. Chapter 4 also provides an overview of general approaches taken to doing qualitative research and various “traditions of inquiry.”

Chapter 5 explores sampling . After you have developed a research question and have a general idea of how you will collect data (Observations? Interviews?), how do you go about actually finding people and sites to study? Although there is no “correct number” of people to interview , the sample should follow the research question and research design. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research involves nonprobability sampling. Chapter 5 explains why this is so and what qualities instead make a good sample for qualitative research.

Chapter 6 addresses the importance of reflexivity in qualitative research. Related to epistemological issues of how we know anything about the social world, qualitative researchers understand that we the researchers can never be truly neutral or outside the study we are conducting. As observers, we see things that make sense to us and may entirely miss what is either too obvious to note or too different to comprehend. As interviewers, as much as we would like to ask questions neutrally and remain in the background, interviews are a form of conversation, and the persons we interview are responding to us . Therefore, it is important to reflect upon our social positions and the knowledges and expectations we bring to our work and to work through any blind spots that we may have. Chapter 6 provides some examples of reflexivity in practice and exercises for thinking through one’s own biases.

Chapter 7 is a very important chapter and should not be overlooked. As a practical matter, it should also be read closely with chapters 6 and 8. Because qualitative researchers deal with people and the social world, it is imperative they develop and adhere to a strong ethical code for conducting research in a way that does not harm. There are legal requirements and guidelines for doing so (see chapter 8), but these requirements should not be considered synonymous with the ethical code required of us. Each researcher must constantly interrogate every aspect of their research, from research question to design to sample through analysis and presentation, to ensure that a minimum of harm (ideally, zero harm) is caused. Because each research project is unique, the standards of care for each study are unique. Part of being a professional researcher is carrying this code in one’s heart, being constantly attentive to what is required under particular circumstances. Chapter 7 provides various research scenarios and asks readers to weigh in on the suitability and appropriateness of the research. If done in a class setting, it will become obvious fairly quickly that there are often no absolutely correct answers, as different people find different aspects of the scenarios of greatest importance. Minimizing the harm in one area may require possible harm in another. Being attentive to all the ethical aspects of one’s research and making the best judgments one can, clearly and consciously, is an integral part of being a good researcher.

Chapter 8 , best to be read in conjunction with chapter 7, explains the role and importance of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) . Under federal guidelines, an IRB is an appropriately constituted group that has been formally designated to review and monitor research involving human subjects . Every institution that receives funding from the federal government has an IRB. IRBs have the authority to approve, require modifications to (to secure approval), or disapprove research. This group review serves an important role in the protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects. Chapter 8 reviews the history of IRBs and the work they do but also argues that IRBs’ review of qualitative research is often both over-inclusive and under-inclusive. Some aspects of qualitative research are not well understood by IRBs, given that they were developed to prevent abuses in biomedical research. Thus, it is important not to rely on IRBs to identify all the potential ethical issues that emerge in our research (see chapter 7).

Chapter 9 provides help for getting started on formulating a research question based on gaps in the pre-existing literature. Research is conducted as part of a community, even if particular studies are done by single individuals (or small teams). What any of us finds and reports back becomes part of a much larger body of knowledge. Thus, it is important that we look at the larger body of knowledge before we actually start our bit to see how we can best contribute. When I first began interviewing working-class college students, there was only one other similar study I could find, and it hadn’t been published (it was a dissertation of students from poor backgrounds). But there had been a lot published by professors who had grown up working class and made it through college despite the odds. These accounts by “working-class academics” became an important inspiration for my study and helped me frame the questions I asked the students I interviewed. Chapter 9 will provide some pointers on how to search for relevant literature and how to use this to refine your research question.

Chapter 10 serves as a bridge between the two parts of the textbook, by introducing techniques of data collection. Qualitative research is often characterized by the form of data collection – for example, an ethnographic study is one that employs primarily observational data collection for the purpose of documenting and presenting a particular culture or ethnos. Techniques can be effectively combined, depending on the research question and the aims and goals of the study. Chapter 10 provides a general overview of all the various techniques and how they can be combined.

The second part of the textbook moves into the doing part of qualitative research once the research question has been articulated and the study designed. Chapters 11 through 17 cover various data collection techniques and approaches. Chapters 18 and 19 provide a very simple overview of basic data analysis. Chapter 20 covers communication of the data to various audiences, and in various formats.

Chapter 11 begins our overview of data collection techniques with a focus on interviewing , the true heart of qualitative research. This technique can serve as the primary and exclusive form of data collection, or it can be used to supplement other forms (observation, archival). An interview is distinct from a survey, where questions are asked in a specific order and often with a range of predetermined responses available. Interviews can be conversational and unstructured or, more conventionally, semistructured , where a general set of interview questions “guides” the conversation. Chapter 11 covers the basics of interviews: how to create interview guides, how many people to interview, where to conduct the interview, what to watch out for (how to prepare against things going wrong), and how to get the most out of your interviews.

Chapter 12 covers an important variant of interviewing, the focus group. Focus groups are semistructured interviews with a group of people moderated by a facilitator (the researcher or researcher’s assistant). Focus groups explicitly use group interaction to assist in the data collection. They are best used to collect data on a specific topic that is non-personal and shared among the group. For example, asking a group of college students about a common experience such as taking classes by remote delivery during the pandemic year of 2020. Chapter 12 covers the basics of focus groups: when to use them, how to create interview guides for them, and how to run them effectively.

Chapter 13 moves away from interviewing to the second major form of data collection unique to qualitative researchers – observation . Qualitative research that employs observation can best be understood as falling on a continuum of “fly on the wall” observation (e.g., observing how strangers interact in a doctor’s waiting room) to “participant” observation, where the researcher is also an active participant of the activity being observed. For example, an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement might want to study the movement, using her inside position to gain access to observe key meetings and interactions. Chapter 13 covers the basics of participant observation studies: advantages and disadvantages, gaining access, ethical concerns related to insider/outsider status and entanglement, and recording techniques.

Chapter 14 takes a closer look at “deep ethnography” – immersion in the field of a particularly long duration for the purpose of gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of a particular culture or social world. Clifford Geertz called this “deep hanging out.” Whereas participant observation is often combined with semistructured interview techniques, deep ethnography’s commitment to “living the life” or experiencing the situation as it really is demands more conversational and natural interactions with people. These interactions and conversations may take place over months or even years. As can be expected, there are some costs to this technique, as well as some very large rewards when done competently. Chapter 14 provides some examples of deep ethnographies that will inspire some beginning researchers and intimidate others.

Chapter 15 moves in the opposite direction of deep ethnography, a technique that is the least positivist of all those discussed here, to mixed methods , a set of techniques that is arguably the most positivist . A mixed methods approach combines both qualitative data collection and quantitative data collection, commonly by combining a survey that is analyzed statistically (e.g., cross-tabs or regression analyses of large number probability samples) with semi-structured interviews. Although it is somewhat unconventional to discuss mixed methods in textbooks on qualitative research, I think it is important to recognize this often-employed approach here. There are several advantages and some disadvantages to taking this route. Chapter 16 will describe those advantages and disadvantages and provide some particular guidance on how to design a mixed methods study for maximum effectiveness.

Chapter 16 covers data collection that does not involve live human subjects at all – archival and historical research (chapter 17 will also cover data that does not involve interacting with human subjects). Sometimes people are unavailable to us, either because they do not wish to be interviewed or observed (as is the case with many “elites”) or because they are too far away, in both place and time. Fortunately, humans leave many traces and we can often answer questions we have by examining those traces. Special collections and archives can be goldmines for social science research. This chapter will explain how to access these places, for what purposes, and how to begin to make sense of what you find.

Chapter 17 covers another data collection area that does not involve face-to-face interaction with humans: content analysis . Although content analysis may be understood more properly as a data analysis technique, the term is often used for the entire approach, which will be the case here. Content analysis involves interpreting meaning from a body of text. This body of text might be something found in historical records (see chapter 16) or something collected by the researcher, as in the case of comment posts on a popular blog post. I once used the stories told by student loan debtors on the website studentloanjustice.org as the content I analyzed. Content analysis is particularly useful when attempting to define and understand prevalent stories or communication about a topic of interest. In other words, when we are less interested in what particular people (our defined sample) are doing or believing and more interested in what general narratives exist about a particular topic or issue. This chapter will explore different approaches to content analysis and provide helpful tips on how to collect data, how to turn that data into codes for analysis, and how to go about presenting what is found through analysis.

Where chapter 17 has pushed us towards data analysis, chapters 18 and 19 are all about what to do with the data collected, whether that data be in the form of interview transcripts or fieldnotes from observations. Chapter 18 introduces the basics of coding , the iterative process of assigning meaning to the data in order to both simplify and identify patterns. What is a code and how does it work? What are the different ways of coding data, and when should you use them? What is a codebook, and why do you need one? What does the process of data analysis look like?

Chapter 19 goes further into detail on codes and how to use them, particularly the later stages of coding in which our codes are refined, simplified, combined, and organized. These later rounds of coding are essential to getting the most out of the data we’ve collected. As students are often overwhelmed with the amount of data (a corpus of interview transcripts typically runs into the hundreds of pages; fieldnotes can easily top that), this chapter will also address time management and provide suggestions for dealing with chaos and reminders that feeling overwhelmed at the analysis stage is part of the process. By the end of the chapter, you should understand how “findings” are actually found.

The book concludes with a chapter dedicated to the effective presentation of data results. Chapter 20 covers the many ways that researchers communicate their studies to various audiences (academic, personal, political), what elements must be included in these various publications, and the hallmarks of excellent qualitative research that various audiences will be expecting. Because qualitative researchers are motivated by understanding and conveying meaning , effective communication is not only an essential skill but a fundamental facet of the entire research project. Ethnographers must be able to convey a certain sense of verisimilitude , the appearance of true reality. Those employing interviews must faithfully depict the key meanings of the people they interviewed in a way that rings true to those people, even if the end result surprises them. And all researchers must strive for clarity in their publications so that various audiences can understand what was found and why it is important.

The book concludes with a short chapter ( chapter 21 ) discussing the value of qualitative research. At the very end of this book, you will find a glossary of terms. I recommend you make frequent use of the glossary and add to each entry as you find examples. Although the entries are meant to be simple and clear, you may also want to paraphrase the definition—make it “make sense” to you, in other words. In addition to the standard reference list (all works cited here), you will find various recommendations for further reading at the end of many chapters. Some of these recommendations will be examples of excellent qualitative research, indicated with an asterisk (*) at the end of the entry. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. A good example of qualitative research can teach you more about conducting research than any textbook can (this one included). I highly recommend you select one to three examples from these lists and read them along with the textbook.

A final note on the choice of examples – you will note that many of the examples used in the text come from research on college students. This is for two reasons. First, as most of my research falls in this area, I am most familiar with this literature and have contacts with those who do research here and can call upon them to share their stories with you. Second, and more importantly, my hope is that this textbook reaches a wide audience of beginning researchers who study widely and deeply across the range of what can be known about the social world (from marine resources management to public policy to nursing to political science to sexuality studies and beyond). It is sometimes difficult to find examples that speak to all those research interests, however. A focus on college students is something that all readers can understand and, hopefully, appreciate, as we are all now or have been at some point a college student.

Patton’s Ten Suggestions for Doing Qualitative Research

The following ten suggestions were made by Michael Quinn Patton in his massive textbooks Qualitative Research and Evaluations Methods . This book is highly recommended for those of you who want more than an introduction to qualitative methods. It is the book I relied on heavily when I was a graduate student, although it is much easier to “dip into” when necessary than to read through as a whole. Patton is asked for “just one bit of advice” for a graduate student considering using qualitative research methods for their dissertation. Here are his top ten responses, in short form, heavily paraphrased, and with additional comments and emphases from me:

Make sure that a qualitative approach fits the research question. The following are the kinds of questions that call out for qualitative methods or where qualitative methods are particularly appropriate: questions about people’s experiences or how they make sense of those experiences; studying a person in their natural environment; researching a phenomenon so unknown that it would be impossible to study it with standardized instruments or other forms of quantitative data collection.
Study qualitative research by going to the original sources for the design and analysis appropriate to the particular approach you want to take (e.g., read Glaser and Straus if you are using grounded theory )
Find a dissertation adviser who understands or at least who will support your use of qualitative research methods. You are asking for trouble if your entire committee is populated by quantitative researchers, even if they are all very knowledgeable about the subject or focus of your study (maybe even more so if they are!)
Really work on design. Doing qualitative research effectively takes a lot of planning. Even if things are more flexible than in quantitative research, a good design is absolutely essential when starting out.
Practice data collection techniques, particularly interviewing and observing. There is definitely a set of learned skills here! Do not expect your first interview to be perfect. You will continue to grow as a researcher the more interviews you conduct, and you will probably come to understand yourself a bit more in the process, too. This is not easy, despite what others who don’t work with qualitative methods may assume (and tell you!)
Have a plan for analysis before you begin data collection. This is often a requirement in IRB protocols , although you can get away with writing something fairly simple. And even if you are taking an approach, such as grounded theory, that pushes you to remain fairly open-minded during the data collection process, you still want to know what you will be doing with all the data collected – creating a codebook? Writing analytical memos? Comparing cases? Having a plan in hand will also help prevent you from collecting too much extraneous data.
Be prepared to confront controversies both within the qualitative research community and between qualitative research and quantitative research. Don’t be naïve about this – qualitative research, particularly some approaches, will be derided by many more “positivist” researchers and audiences. For example, is an “n” of 1 really sufficient? Yes! But not everyone will agree.
Do not make the mistake of using qualitative research methods because someone told you it was easier, or because you are intimidated by the math required of statistical analyses. Qualitative research is difficult in its own way (and many would claim much more time-consuming than quantitative research). Do it because you are convinced it is right for your goals, aims, and research questions.
Find a good support network. This could be a research mentor, or it could be a group of friends or colleagues who are also using qualitative research, or it could be just someone who will listen to you work through all of the issues you will confront out in the field and during the writing process. Even though qualitative research often involves human subjects, it can be pretty lonely. A lot of times you will feel like you are working without a net. You have to create one for yourself. Take care of yourself.
And, finally, in the words of Patton, “Prepare to be changed. Looking deeply at other people’s lives will force you to look deeply at yourself.”
We will actually spend an entire chapter ( chapter 3 ) looking at this question in much more detail! ↵
Note that this might have been news to Europeans at the time, but many other societies around the world had also come to this conclusion through observation. There is often a tendency to equate “the scientific revolution” with the European world in which it took place, but this is somewhat misleading. ↵
Historians are a special case here. Historians have scrupulously and rigorously investigated the social world, but not for the purpose of understanding general laws about how things work, which is the point of scientific empirical research. History is often referred to as an idiographic field of study, meaning that it studies things that happened or are happening in themselves and not for general observations or conclusions. ↵
Don’t worry, we’ll spend more time later in this book unpacking the meaning of ethnography and other terms that are important here. Note the available glossary ↵

An approach to research that is “multimethod in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials – case study, personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts – that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in individuals’ lives." ( Denzin and Lincoln 2005:2 ). Contrast with quantitative research .

In contrast to methodology, methods are more simply the practices and tools used to collect and analyze data. Examples of common methods in qualitative research are interviews , observations , and documentary analysis . One’s methodology should connect to one’s choice of methods, of course, but they are distinguishable terms. See also methodology .

A proposed explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation. The positing of a hypothesis is often the first step in quantitative research but not in qualitative research. Even when qualitative researchers offer possible explanations in advance of conducting research, they will tend to not use the word “hypothesis” as it conjures up the kind of positivist research they are not conducting.

The foundational question to be addressed by the research study. This will form the anchor of the research design, collection, and analysis. Note that in qualitative research, the research question may, and probably will, alter or develop during the course of the research.

An approach to research that collects and analyzes numerical data for the purpose of finding patterns and averages, making predictions, testing causal relationships, and generalizing results to wider populations. Contrast with qualitative research .

Data collection that takes place in real-world settings, referred to as “the field;” a key component of much Grounded Theory and ethnographic research. Patton ( 2002 ) calls fieldwork “the central activity of qualitative inquiry” where “‘going into the field’ means having direct and personal contact with people under study in their own environments – getting close to people and situations being studied to personally understand the realities of minutiae of daily life” (48).

The people who are the subjects of a qualitative study. In interview-based studies, they may be the respondents to the interviewer; for purposes of IRBs, they are often referred to as the human subjects of the research.

The branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. For researchers, it is important to recognize and adopt one of the many distinguishing epistemological perspectives as part of our understanding of what questions research can address or fully answer. See, e.g., constructivism , subjectivism, and objectivism .

An approach that refutes the possibility of neutrality in social science research. All research is “guided by a set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be understood and studied” (Denzin and Lincoln 2005: 13). In contrast to positivism , interpretivism recognizes the social constructedness of reality, and researchers adopting this approach focus on capturing interpretations and understandings people have about the world rather than “the world” as it is (which is a chimera).

The cluster of data-collection tools and techniques that involve observing interactions between people, the behaviors, and practices of individuals (sometimes in contrast to what they say about how they act and behave), and cultures in context. Observational methods are the key tools employed by ethnographers and Grounded Theory .

Research based on data collected and analyzed by the research (in contrast to secondary “library” research).

The process of selecting people or other units of analysis to represent a larger population. In quantitative research, this representation is taken quite literally, as statistically representative. In qualitative research, in contrast, sample selection is often made based on potential to generate insight about a particular topic or phenomenon.

A method of data collection in which the researcher asks the participant questions; the answers to these questions are often recorded and transcribed verbatim. There are many different kinds of interviews - see also semistructured interview , structured interview , and unstructured interview .

The specific group of individuals that you will collect data from. Contrast population.

The practice of being conscious of and reflective upon one’s own social location and presence when conducting research. Because qualitative research often requires interaction with live humans, failing to take into account how one’s presence and prior expectations and social location affect the data collected and how analyzed may limit the reliability of the findings. This remains true even when dealing with historical archives and other content. Who we are matters when asking questions about how people experience the world because we, too, are a part of that world.

The science and practice of right conduct; in research, it is also the delineation of moral obligations towards research participants, communities to which we belong, and communities in which we conduct our research.

An administrative body established to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects recruited to participate in research activities conducted under the auspices of the institution with which it is affiliated. The IRB is charged with the responsibility of reviewing all research involving human participants. The IRB is concerned with protecting the welfare, rights, and privacy of human subjects. The IRB has the authority to approve, disapprove, monitor, and require modifications in all research activities that fall within its jurisdiction as specified by both the federal regulations and institutional policy.

Research, according to US federal guidelines, that involves “a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research: (1) Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (2) Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens.”

One of the primary methodological traditions of inquiry in qualitative research, ethnography is the study of a group or group culture, largely through observational fieldwork supplemented by interviews. It is a form of fieldwork that may include participant-observation data collection. See chapter 14 for a discussion of deep ethnography.

A form of interview that follows a standard guide of questions asked, although the order of the questions may change to match the particular needs of each individual interview subject, and probing “follow-up” questions are often added during the course of the interview. The semi-structured interview is the primary form of interviewing used by qualitative researchers in the social sciences. It is sometimes referred to as an “in-depth” interview. See also interview and interview guide .

A method of observational data collection taking place in a natural setting; a form of fieldwork . The term encompasses a continuum of relative participation by the researcher (from full participant to “fly-on-the-wall” observer). This is also sometimes referred to as ethnography , although the latter is characterized by a greater focus on the culture under observation.

A research design that employs both quantitative and qualitative methods, as in the case of a survey supplemented by interviews.

An epistemological perspective that posits the existence of reality through sensory experience similar to empiricism but goes further in denying any non-sensory basis of thought or consciousness. In the social sciences, the term has roots in the proto-sociologist August Comte, who believed he could discern “laws” of society similar to the laws of natural science (e.g., gravity). The term has come to mean the kinds of measurable and verifiable science conducted by quantitative researchers and is thus used pejoratively by some qualitative researchers interested in interpretation, consciousness, and human understanding. Calling someone a “positivist” is often intended as an insult. See also empiricism and objectivism.

A place or collection containing records, documents, or other materials of historical interest; most universities have an archive of material related to the university’s history, as well as other “special collections” that may be of interest to members of the community.

A method of both data collection and data analysis in which a given content (textual, visual, graphic) is examined systematically and rigorously to identify meanings, themes, patterns and assumptions. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is concerned with gathering and interpreting an existing body of material.

A word or short phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a portion of language-based or visual data (Saldaña 2021:5).

Usually a verbatim written record of an interview or focus group discussion.

The primary form of data for fieldwork , participant observation , and ethnography . These notes, taken by the researcher either during the course of fieldwork or at day’s end, should include as many details as possible on what was observed and what was said. They should include clear identifiers of date, time, setting, and names (or identifying characteristics) of participants.

The process of labeling and organizing qualitative data to identify different themes and the relationships between them; a way of simplifying data to allow better management and retrieval of key themes and illustrative passages. See coding frame and codebook.

A methodological tradition of inquiry and approach to analyzing qualitative data in which theories emerge from a rigorous and systematic process of induction. This approach was pioneered by the sociologists Glaser and Strauss (1967). The elements of theory generated from comparative analysis of data are, first, conceptual categories and their properties and, second, hypotheses or generalized relations among the categories and their properties – “The constant comparing of many groups draws the [researcher’s] attention to their many similarities and differences. Considering these leads [the researcher] to generate abstract categories and their properties, which, since they emerge from the data, will clearly be important to a theory explaining the kind of behavior under observation.” (36).

A detailed description of any proposed research that involves human subjects for review by IRB. The protocol serves as the recipe for the conduct of the research activity. It includes the scientific rationale to justify the conduct of the study, the information necessary to conduct the study, the plan for managing and analyzing the data, and a discussion of the research ethical issues relevant to the research. Protocols for qualitative research often include interview guides, all documents related to recruitment, informed consent forms, very clear guidelines on the safekeeping of materials collected, and plans for de-identifying transcripts or other data that include personal identifying information.

6 Important Tips on Writing a Research Paper Title

When you are searching for a research study on a particular topic, you probably notice that articles with interesting, descriptive research titles draw you in. By contrast, research paper titles that are not descriptive are usually passed over, even though you may write a good research paper with interesting contents. This shows the importance of coming up with a good title for your research paper when drafting your own manuscript.

Importance of a Research Title

The research title plays a crucial role in the research process, and its importance can be summarized as follows:

Why do Research Titles Matter?

Before we look at how to title a research paper, let’s look at a research title example that illustrates why a good research paper should have a strong title.

Imagine that you are researching meditation and nursing, and you want to find out if any studies have shown that meditation makes nurses better communicators. You conduct a keyword search using the keywords “nursing”, “communication”, and “meditation.” You come up with results that have the following titles:

Benefits of Meditation for the Nursing Profession: A Quantitative Investigation
Why Mindful Nurses Make the Best Communicators
Meditation Gurus
Nurses on the Move: A Quantitative Report on How Meditation Can Improve Nurse Performance

All four of these research paper titles may describe very similar studies—they could even be titles for the same study! As you can see, they give very different impressions.

Title 1 describes the topic and the method of the study but is not particularly catchy.
Title 2 partly describes the topic, but does not give any information about the method of the study—it could simply be a theoretical or opinion piece.
Title 3 is somewhat catchier but gives almost no information at all about the article.
Title 4 begins with a catchy main title and is followed by a subtitle that gives information about the content and method of the study.

As we will see, Title 4 has all the characteristics of a good research title.

Characteristics of a Good Research Title

According to rhetoric scholars Hairston and Keene, making a good title for a paper involves ensuring that the title of the research accomplishes four goals as mentioned below:

It should predict the content of the research paper .
It should be interesting to the reader .
It should reflect the tone of the writing .
It should contain important keywords that will make it easier to be located during a keyword search.

Let’s return to the examples in the previous section to see how to make a research title.

As you can see in the table above, only one of the four example titles fulfills all of the criteria of a suitable research paper title.

Related: You’ve chosen your study topic, but having trouble deciding where to publish it? Here’s a comprehensive course to help you identify the right journal .

Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper Title

When writing a research title, you can use the four criteria listed above as a guide. Here are a few other tips you can use to make sure your title will be part of the recipe for an effective research paper :

Make sure your research title describes (a) the topic, (b) the method, (c) the sample, and (d) the results of your study. You can use the following formula:

[ Result ]: A [ method ] study of [ topic ] among [ sample ] Example : Meditation makes nurses perform better: a qualitative study of mindfulness meditation among German nursing students

Avoid unnecessary words and jargons. Keep the title statement as concise as possible. You want a title that will be comprehensible even to people who are not experts in your field. Check our article for a detailed list of things to avoid when writing an effective research title .
Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.
If you are writing a title for a university assignment or for a particular academic journal, verify that your title conforms to the standards and requirements for that outlet. For example, many journals require that titles fall under a character limit, including spaces. Many universities require that titles take a very specific form, limiting your creativity.
Use a descriptive phrase to convey the purpose of your research efficiently.
Most importantly, use critical keywords in the title to increase the discoverability of your article.

Resources for Further Reading

In addition to the tips above, there are many resources online that you can use to help write your research title. Here is a list of links that you may find useful as you work on creating an excellent research title:

The University of Southern California has a guide specific to social science research papers: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title
The Journal of European Psychology Students has a blog article focusing on APA-compliant research paper titles: http://blog.efpsa.org/2012/09/01/how-to-write-a-good-title-for-journal-articles/
This article by Kristen Hamlin contains a step-by-step approach to writing titles: http://classroom.synonym.com/choose-title-research-paper-4332.html

Are there any tips or tricks you find useful in crafting research titles? Which tip did you find most useful in this article? Leave a comment to let us know!

Hairston, M., & Keene, M. 2003. Successful writing . 5th ed. New York: Norton.
University of Southern California. 2017. Organizing your social sciences research paper: choosing a title . [Online] Available at: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title

Thank you so much:) Have a nice day!

Thank you so much, it helped me.. God bless..

Thank you for the excellent article and tips for creating a research work, because I always forget about such an essential element as the keywords when forming topics. In particular, I have found a rapid help with the formation of informative and sound titles that also conforms to the standards and requirements.

I am doing a research work on sales girls or shop girls using qualititative method. Basicly I am from Pakistan and writing on the scenario of mycountry. I am really confused about my research title can you kindly give some suggestions and give me an approperaite tilte

Hi Zubair, Thank you for your question. However, the information you have provided is insufficient for drafting an appropriate title. Information on what exactly you intend to study would be needed in order to draft a meaningful title. Meanwhile, you can try drafting your own title after going through the following articles our website: https://www.enago.com/academy/top-10-tips-on-choosing-an-attractive-research-title/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/writing-a-good-research-title-things-to-avoid/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/ We would be happy to give you feedback and suggest changes if required. Did you get a chance to install our free Mobile App? https://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/ . Make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://www.enago.com/academy/subscribe-now/ .

thanks for helping me like this!!

Thank you for this. It helped me improve my research title. I just want to verify to you the title I have just made. “Ensuring the safety: A Quantitative Study of Radio Frequency Identification system among the selected students of ( school’s name ).

(I need your reply asap coz we will be doing the chap. 1 tomorrow. Thank u in advance. 🙂 )

I am actually doing a research paper title. I want to know more further in doing research title. Can you give me some tips on doing a research paper?

Hi Joan, Thank you for your question. We are glad to know that you found our resources useful. Your feedback is very valuable to us. You can try drafting your own title after going through the following articles on our website: https://www.enago.com/academy/top-10-tips-on-choosing-an-attractive-research-title/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/writing-a-good-research-title-things-to-avoid/ , https://www.enago.com/academy/write-irresistible-research-paper-title/

We would be happy to give you feedback and suggest changes if required. Did you get a chance to install our free Mobile App? https://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/ . Make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://www.enago.com/academy/subscribe-now/ .

That really helpful. Thanks alot

Thank you so much. It’s really help me.

Thanks for sharing this tips. Title matters a lot for any article because it contents Keywords of article. It should be eye-catchy. Your article is helpful to select title of any article.

nice blog that you have shared

This blog is very informative for me. Thanks for sharing.

nice information that you have shared

i’m found in selecting my ma thesis title ,so i’m going to do my final research after the proposal approved. Your post help me find good title.

I need help. I need a research title for my study about early mobilization of the mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for posting your query on the website. When writing manuscripts, too many scholars neglect the research title. This phrase, along with the abstract, is what people will mostly see and read online. Title research of publications shows that the research paper title does matter a lot. Both bibliometrics and altmetrics tracking of citations are now, for better or worse, used to gauge a paper’s “success” for its author(s) and the journal publishing it. Interesting research topics coupled with good or clever yet accurate research titles can draw more attention to your work from peers and the public alike. You can check through the following search results for titles on similar topics: https://www.google.com/search?q=early+mobilization+of+the+mechanically+ventilated+patients+in+the+icu&rlz=1C1GCEU_enIN907IN907&oq=&aqs=chrome.0.69i59.4920093j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 .

We hope this would be helpful in drafting an attractive title for your research paper.

Please let us know in case of any other queries.

I’ve been surfing online more than 3 hours these days, but I never found any interesting article like yours. It is lovely worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all website owners and bloggers made just right content material as you did, the internet will be much more helpful than ever before.

Wonderful article! We will bee linking to this particularly great post on our site. Keep up the good writing.

Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!

In case the topic is new research before you’re writing. And then to stand out, you end up being different.and be inclined to highlight yourself.

There are many free directories, and more paid lists.

To be honest your article is informative. I search many site to know about writing but I didn’t get the information I needed. I saw your site and I read it. I got some new information from here. I think some of your tips can be applied to those too! Thank you so very much for such informative and useful content.

Nice and well written content you have shared with us. thanks a lot!

Thanks for sharing these tips… Rockwide

Its helpful. a person can grab knowledge through it.

Rate this article Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Enago Academy's Most Popular Articles

Content Analysis vs Thematic Analysis: What's the difference?

Reporting Research

Choosing the Right Analytical Approach: Thematic analysis vs. content analysis for data interpretation

In research, choosing the right approach to understand data is crucial for deriving meaningful insights.…

Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study Design

Comparing Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Studies: 5 steps for choosing the right approach

The process of choosing the right research design can put ourselves at the crossroads of…

Career Corner

Unlocking the Power of Networking in Academic Conferences

Embarking on your first academic conference experience? Fear not, we got you covered! Academic conferences…

Research Recommendations – Guiding policy-makers for evidence-based decision making

Research recommendations play a crucial role in guiding scholars and researchers toward fruitful avenues of…

AI in Academia

Disclosing the Use of Generative AI: Best practices for authors in manuscript preparation

The rapid proliferation of generative and other AI-based tools in research writing has ignited an…

Choosing the Right Analytical Approach: Thematic analysis vs. content analysis for…

Comparing Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Studies: 5 steps for choosing the right…

How to Design Effective Research Questionnaires for Robust Findings

Sign-up to read more

Subscribe for free to get unrestricted access to all our resources on research writing and academic publishing including:

2000+ blog articles
50+ Webinars
10+ Expert podcasts
50+ Infographics
10+ Checklists
Research Guides

We hate spam too. We promise to protect your privacy and never spam you.

I am looking for Editing/ Proofreading services for my manuscript Tentative date of next journal submission:

As a researcher, what do you consider most when choosing an image manipulation detector?

UNC Libraries
HSL Subject Research
Qualitative Research Resources
Finding Qualitative Studies

Qualitative Research Resources: Finding Qualitative Studies

Created by health science librarians.

What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative Research Basics
Special Topics
Training Opportunities: UNC & Beyond
Help at UNC
Qualitative Software for Coding/Analysis
Software for Audio, Video, Online Surveys

About this Page

Ready-built sets of search terms, database-specific search strategies, general qual search strategies, web resources.

Assessing Qualitative Research
Writing Up Your Research
Integrating Qualitative Research into Systematic Reviews
Publishing Qualitative Research
Presenting Qualitative Research
Qualitative & Libraries: a few gems
Data Repositories

Why is this information important?

Electronic databases for health science literature, such as PubMed or CINAHL, often do not index qualitative health studies very clearly.
Authors also do not always identify their methods using the word "qualitative" in their titles or abstracts; in some cases they may use terminology for a specific qualitative method instead.
Often, that means that it is hard to find qualitative studies in common health science databases like PubMed

On this page you'll find:

articles that describe and evaluate search strategies for finding qualitative research
articles that provide search strategies for specific databases
web resources on search filters and finding qualitative articles in databases
links to sets of search terms to use when searching for qualitative research
Hedges: Evidence Based Health Informatics, McMaster University contains qualitative hedges for Medline, PsycInfo, and Embase
ISSG Search Filters Resource: Qualitative Research Filters The InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group Search Filter Resource is a collaborative venture to identify, assess and test search filters designed to retrieve research by study design or focus. The Search Filters Resource aims to provide easy access to published and unpublished search filters. It also provides information and guidance on how to critically appraise search filters, study design filters in progress and information on the development and use of search filters. Inclusion of a search filter is not an endorsement of its validity or a recommendation.
PubMed Health Services Research Queries Using Research Methodology Filters

A Few Articles on Search Strategies for Specific Databases

Wilczynski NL, Marks S, Haynes RB.2007. Search strategies for identifying qualitative studies in CINAHL. Qualitative Health Research 17(5):705-10.

Walters LA, Wilczynski NL, Haynes RB; Hedges Team. 2006. Developing optimal search strategies for retrieving clinically relevant qualitative studies in EMBASE. Qualitative Health Research 16(1):162-8.

Wong SS, Wilczynski NL, Haynes RB, Hedges Team. 2004. Developing optimal search strategies for detecting clinically relevant qualitative studies in MEDLINE. Medinfo 11: 311-316.

McKibbon KA, Wilczynski NL, Haynes RB. 2006. Developing optimal search strategies for retrieving qualitative studies in PsycINFO. Evaluation and the Health Professions 29: 440-454.

CINAHL & PsycINFO :

Rosumeck S, Wagner M, Wallraf S, Euler U. A validation study revealed differences in design and performance of search filters for qualitative research in PsycINFO and CINAHL . J Clin Epidemiol. 2020 Dec;128:101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.09.031. Epub 2020 Sep 26. PMID: 32987157.

MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) :

DeJean D, Giacomini M, Simeonov D, Smith A. Finding Qualitative Research Evidence for Health Technology Assessment . Qual Health Res. 2016 Aug;26(10):1307-17. doi: 10.1177/1049732316644429. Epub 2016 Apr 26. PMID: 27117960.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO :

A Few Articles on General Search Strategies for Qualitative Literature

Booth, A. (2016). Searching for qualitative research for inclusion in systematic reviews: A structured methodological review . Systematic Reviews, 5 doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1186/s13643-016-0249-x

Cook, A., D. Smith, and A. Booth. 2012. Beyond PICO: the SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis. Qualitative Health Research 10: 1435-1443.

Evans, D. 2002. Database searches for qualitative research . Journal of the Medical Libraries Association , 90(3): 290-293.

Flemming K, Briggs M. 2007. Electronic searching to locate qualitative research: evaluation of three strategies. J Adv Nurs . 57(1):95-100

Gorecki CA, Brown JM, Briggs M, Nixon J. 2010. Evaluation of five search strategies in retrieving qualitative patient-reported electronic data on the impact of pressure ulcers on quality of life . J Adv Nurs . 66(3):645-52

Grant MJ. 2004 How does your searching grow? A survey of search preferences and the use of optimal search strategies in the identification of qualitative research. Health Info Libr J . 21(1):21-32

Littleton, D, S Marsalis, D Z Bliss. 2004. Searching the literature by design . Western Journal of Nursing Research 26(8): 891-908.

Methley, A.M., S. Campbell, C. Chew-Graham, R. McNally, and S. Cheraghi-Sohi. 2014. PICO, PICOS, and SPIDER: a comparison study of specificity and sensitivity in three search tools for qualitative systematic reviews . BMC Health Serv Res 14: 579.

Pearson, M., Moxham, T., & Ashton, K. 2011. Effectiveness of Search Strategies for Qualitative Research About Barriers and Facilitators of Program Delivery . Evaluation & the Health Professions , 34(3), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278710388029

Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. 2008. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Chapter 4: How to Find the Studies: The Literature Search . Blackwell Publishing: Oxford, UK.

Shaw RL, Booth A, Sutton AJ, Miller T, Smith JA, Young B, et al. 2004. Finding qualitative research: an evaluation of search strategies . BMC Med Res Methodol 4:5

Campbell Collaboration Information Retrieval Guide Campbell Collaboration is an organization that guides and publishes systematic reviews. This resource is their publication on searching strategies and finding articles; it is not specific to qualitative studies but offers useful hints.
NYU Libraries: Locating Qualitative Research Includes a good starting list of qualitative keywords for a general keyword based search strategy that can be cut and pasted into any database plus database specific strategies for CINAHL, Medline (including PubMed), and PsycINFO (with APA Index Terms). Note that PsycINFO via OVID strategies would need to be translated for UNC's Ebsco version.
University of Washington LibGuide: Finding Qualitative Research Articles This guide gives some basic general search strategies when looking for qualitative literature, as well as specific search strategies for specific databases (CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo), books, and grey literature.
<< Previous: Software for Audio, Video, Online Surveys
Next: Assessing Qualitative Research >>
Last Updated: May 14, 2024 12:50 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/qual

18 Qualitative Research Examples

qualitative research examples and definition, explained below

Qualitative research is an approach to scientific research that involves using observation to gather and analyze non-numerical, in-depth, and well-contextualized datasets.

It serves as an integral part of academic, professional, and even daily decision-making processes (Baxter & Jack, 2008).

Methods of qualitative research encompass a wide range of techniques, from in-depth personal encounters, like ethnographies (studying cultures in-depth) and autoethnographies (examining one’s own cultural experiences), to collection of diverse perspectives on topics through methods like interviewing focus groups (gatherings of individuals to discuss specific topics).

Qualitative Research Examples

1. ethnography.

Definition: Ethnography is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena. Rooted in the discipline of anthropology , this research approach investigates the social interactions, behaviors, and perceptions within groups, communities, or organizations.

Ethnographic research is characterized by extended observation of the group, often through direct participation, in the participants’ environment. An ethnographer typically lives with the study group for extended periods, intricately observing their everyday lives (Khan, 2014).

It aims to present a complete, detailed and accurate picture of the observed social life, rituals, symbols, and values from the perspective of the study group.

Example of Ethnographic Research

Title: “ The Everyday Lives of Men: An Ethnographic Investigation of Young Adult Male Identity “

Citation: Evans, J. (2010). The Everyday Lives of Men: An Ethnographic Investigation of Young Adult Male Identity. Peter Lang.

Overview: This study by Evans (2010) provides a rich narrative of young adult male identity as experienced in everyday life. The author immersed himself among a group of young men, participating in their activities and cultivating a deep understanding of their lifestyle, values, and motivations. This research exemplified the ethnographic approach, revealing complexities of the subjects’ identities and societal roles, which could hardly be accessed through other qualitative research designs.

Read my Full Guide on Ethnography Here

2. Autoethnography

Definition: Autoethnography is an approach to qualitative research where the researcher uses their own personal experiences to extend the understanding of a certain group, culture, or setting. Essentially, it allows for the exploration of self within the context of social phenomena.

Unlike traditional ethnography, which focuses on the study of others, autoethnography turns the ethnographic gaze inward, allowing the researcher to use their personal experiences within a culture as rich qualitative data (Durham, 2019).

The objective is to critically appraise one’s personal experiences as they navigate and negotiate cultural, political, and social meanings. The researcher becomes both the observer and the participant, intertwining personal and cultural experiences in the research.

Example of Autoethnographic Research

Title: “ A Day In The Life Of An NHS Nurse “

Citation: Osben, J. (2019). A day in the life of a NHS nurse in 21st Century Britain: An auto-ethnography. The Journal of Autoethnography for Health & Social Care. 1(1).

Overview: This study presents an autoethnography of a day in the life of an NHS nurse (who, of course, is also the researcher). The author uses the research to achieve reflexivity, with the researcher concluding: “Scrutinising my practice and situating it within a wider contextual backdrop has compelled me to significantly increase my level of scrutiny into the driving forces that influence my practice.”

Read my Full Guide on Autoethnography Here

3. Semi-Structured Interviews

Definition: Semi-structured interviews stand as one of the most frequently used methods in qualitative research. These interviews are planned and utilize a set of pre-established questions, but also allow for the interviewer to steer the conversation in other directions based on the responses given by the interviewee.

In semi-structured interviews, the interviewer prepares a guide that outlines the focal points of the discussion. However, the interview is flexible, allowing for more in-depth probing if the interviewer deems it necessary (Qu, & Dumay, 2011). This style of interviewing strikes a balance between structured ones which might limit the discussion, and unstructured ones, which could lack focus.

Example of Semi-Structured Interview Research

Title: “ Factors influencing adherence to cancer treatment in older adults with cancer: a systematic review “

Citation: Puts, M., et al. (2014). Factors influencing adherence to cancer treatment in older adults with cancer: a systematic review. Annals of oncology, 25 (3), 564-577.

Overview: Puts et al. (2014) executed an extensive systematic review in which they conducted semi-structured interviews with older adults suffering from cancer to examine the factors influencing their adherence to cancer treatment. The findings suggested that various factors, including side effects, faith in healthcare professionals, and social support have substantial impacts on treatment adherence. This research demonstrates how semi-structured interviews can provide rich and profound insights into the subjective experiences of patients.

4. Focus Groups

Definition: Focus groups are a qualitative research method that involves organized discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain their perspectives on a specific concept, product, or phenomenon. Typically, these discussions are guided by a moderator.

During a focus group session, the moderator has a list of questions or topics to discuss, and participants are encouraged to interact with each other (Morgan, 2010). This interactivity can stimulate more information and provide a broader understanding of the issue under scrutiny. The open format allows participants to ask questions and respond freely, offering invaluable insights into attitudes, experiences, and group norms.

Example of Focus Group Research

Title: “ Perspectives of Older Adults on Aging Well: A Focus Group Study “

Citation: Halaweh, H., Dahlin-Ivanoff, S., Svantesson, U., & Willén, C. (2018). Perspectives of older adults on aging well: a focus group study. Journal of aging research .

Overview: This study aimed to explore what older adults (aged 60 years and older) perceived to be ‘aging well’. The researchers identified three major themes from their focus group interviews: a sense of well-being, having good physical health, and preserving good mental health. The findings highlight the importance of factors such as positive emotions, social engagement, physical activity, healthy eating habits, and maintaining independence in promoting aging well among older adults.

5. Phenomenology

Definition: Phenomenology, a qualitative research method, involves the examination of lived experiences to gain an in-depth understanding of the essence or underlying meanings of a phenomenon.

The focus of phenomenology lies in meticulously describing participants’ conscious experiences related to the chosen phenomenon (Padilla-Díaz, 2015).

In a phenomenological study, the researcher collects detailed, first-hand perspectives of the participants, typically via in-depth interviews, and then uses various strategies to interpret and structure these experiences, ultimately revealing essential themes (Creswell, 2013). This approach focuses on the perspective of individuals experiencing the phenomenon, seeking to explore, clarify, and understand the meanings they attach to those experiences.

Example of Phenomenology Research

Title: “ A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: current state, promise, and future directions for research ”

Citation: Cilesiz, S. (2011). A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: Current state, promise, and future directions for research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59 , 487-510.

Overview: A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology by Sebnem Cilesiz represents a good starting point for formulating a phenomenological study. With its focus on the ‘essence of experience’, this piece presents methodological, reliability, validity, and data analysis techniques that phenomenologists use to explain how people experience technology in their everyday lives.

6. Grounded Theory

Definition: Grounded theory is a systematic methodology in qualitative research that typically applies inductive reasoning . The primary aim is to develop a theoretical explanation or framework for a process, action, or interaction grounded in, and arising from, empirical data (Birks & Mills, 2015).

In grounded theory, data collection and analysis work together in a recursive process. The researcher collects data, analyses it, and then collects more data based on the evolving understanding of the research context. This ongoing process continues until a comprehensive theory that represents the data and the associated phenomenon emerges – a point known as theoretical saturation (Charmaz, 2014).

Example of Grounded Theory Research

Title: “ Student Engagement in High School Classrooms from the Perspective of Flow Theory “

Citation: Shernoff, D. J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Shneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2003). Student engagement in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory. School Psychology Quarterly, 18 (2), 158–176.

Overview: Shernoff and colleagues (2003) used grounded theory to explore student engagement in high school classrooms. The researchers collected data through student self-reports, interviews, and observations. Key findings revealed that academic challenge, student autonomy, and teacher support emerged as the most significant factors influencing students’ engagement, demonstrating how grounded theory can illuminate complex dynamics within real-world contexts.

7. Narrative Research

Definition: Narrative research is a qualitative research method dedicated to storytelling and understanding how individuals experience the world. It focuses on studying an individual’s life and experiences as narrated by that individual (Polkinghorne, 2013).

In narrative research, the researcher collects data through methods such as interviews, observations , and document analysis. The emphasis is on the stories told by participants – narratives that reflect their experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

These stories are then interpreted by the researcher, who attempts to understand the meaning the participant attributes to these experiences (Josselson, 2011).

Example of Narrative Research

Title: “Narrative Structures and the Language of the Self”

Citation: McAdams, D. P., Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (2006). Identity and story: Creating self in narrative . American Psychological Association.

Overview: In this innovative study, McAdams et al. (2006) employed narrative research to explore how individuals construct their identities through the stories they tell about themselves. By examining personal narratives, the researchers discerned patterns associated with characters, motivations, conflicts, and resolutions, contributing valuable insights about the relationship between narrative and individual identity.

8. Case Study Research

Definition: Case study research is a qualitative research method that involves an in-depth investigation of a single instance or event: a case. These ‘cases’ can range from individuals, groups, or entities to specific projects, programs, or strategies (Creswell, 2013).

The case study method typically uses multiple sources of information for comprehensive contextual analysis. It aims to explore and understand the complexity and uniqueness of a particular case in a real-world context (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). This investigation could result in a detailed description of the case, a process for its development, or an exploration of a related issue or problem.

Example of Case Study Research

Title: “ Teacher’s Role in Fostering Preschoolers’ Computational Thinking: An Exploratory Case Study “

Citation: Wang, X. C., Choi, Y., Benson, K., Eggleston, C., & Weber, D. (2021). Teacher’s role in fostering preschoolers’ computational thinking: An exploratory case study. Early Education and Development , 32 (1), 26-48.

Overview: This study investigates the role of teachers in promoting computational thinking skills in preschoolers. The study utilized a qualitative case study methodology to examine the computational thinking scaffolding strategies employed by a teacher interacting with three preschoolers in a small group setting. The findings highlight the importance of teachers’ guidance in fostering computational thinking practices such as problem reformulation/decomposition, systematic testing, and debugging.

Read about some Famous Case Studies in Psychology Here

9. Participant Observation

Definition: Participant observation has the researcher immerse themselves in a group or community setting to observe the behavior of its members. It is similar to ethnography, but generally, the researcher isn’t embedded for a long period of time.

The researcher, being a participant, engages in daily activities, interactions, and events as a way of conducting a detailed study of a particular social phenomenon (Kawulich, 2005).

The method involves long-term engagement in the field, maintaining detailed records of observed events, informal interviews, direct participation, and reflexivity. This approach allows for a holistic view of the participants’ lived experiences, behaviours, and interactions within their everyday environment (Dewalt, 2011).

Example of Participant Observation Research

Title: Conflict in the boardroom: a participant observation study of supervisory board dynamics

Citation: Heemskerk, E. M., Heemskerk, K., & Wats, M. M. (2017). Conflict in the boardroom: a participant observation study of supervisory board dynamics. Journal of Management & Governance , 21 , 233-263.

Overview: This study examined how conflicts within corporate boards affect their performance. The researchers used a participant observation method, where they actively engaged with 11 supervisory boards and observed their dynamics. They found that having a shared understanding of the board’s role called a common framework, improved performance by reducing relationship conflicts, encouraging task conflicts, and minimizing conflicts between the board and CEO.

10. Non-Participant Observation

Definition: Non-participant observation is a qualitative research method in which the researcher observes the phenomena of interest without actively participating in the situation, setting, or community being studied.

This method allows the researcher to maintain a position of distance, as they are solely an observer and not a participant in the activities being observed (Kawulich, 2005).

During non-participant observation, the researcher typically records field notes on the actions, interactions, and behaviors observed , focusing on specific aspects of the situation deemed relevant to the research question.

This could include verbal and nonverbal communication , activities, interactions, and environmental contexts (Angrosino, 2007). They could also use video or audio recordings or other methods to collect data.

Example of Non-Participant Observation Research

Title: Mental Health Nurses’ attitudes towards mental illness and recovery-oriented practice in acute inpatient psychiatric units: A non-participant observation study

Citation: Sreeram, A., Cross, W. M., & Townsin, L. (2023). Mental Health Nurses’ attitudes towards mental illness and recovery‐oriented practice in acute inpatient psychiatric units: A non‐participant observation study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing .

Overview: This study investigated the attitudes of mental health nurses towards mental illness and recovery-oriented practice in acute inpatient psychiatric units. The researchers used a non-participant observation method, meaning they observed the nurses without directly participating in their activities. The findings shed light on the nurses’ perspectives and behaviors, providing valuable insights into their attitudes toward mental health and recovery-focused care in these settings.

11. Content Analysis

Definition: Content Analysis involves scrutinizing textual, visual, or spoken content to categorize and quantify information. The goal is to identify patterns, themes, biases, or other characteristics (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).

Content Analysis is widely used in various disciplines for a multitude of purposes. Researchers typically use this method to distill large amounts of unstructured data, like interview transcripts, newspaper articles, or social media posts, into manageable and meaningful chunks.

When wielded appropriately, Content Analysis can illuminate the density and frequency of certain themes within a dataset, provide insights into how specific terms or concepts are applied contextually, and offer inferences about the meanings of their content and use (Duriau, Reger, & Pfarrer, 2007).

Example of Content Analysis

Title: Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news .

Citation: Semetko, H. A., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news. Journal of Communication, 50 (2), 93-109.

Overview: This study analyzed press and television news articles about European politics using a method called content analysis. The researchers examined the prevalence of different “frames” in the news, which are ways of presenting information to shape audience perceptions. They found that the most common frames were attribution of responsibility, conflict, economic consequences, human interest, and morality.

Read my Full Guide on Content Analysis Here

12. Discourse Analysis

Definition: Discourse Analysis, a qualitative research method, interprets the meanings, functions, and coherence of certain languages in context.

Discourse analysis is typically understood through social constructionism, critical theory , and poststructuralism and used for understanding how language constructs social concepts (Cheek, 2004).

Discourse Analysis offers great breadth, providing tools to examine spoken or written language, often beyond the level of the sentence. It enables researchers to scrutinize how text and talk articulate social and political interactions and hierarchies.

Insight can be garnered from different conversations, institutional text, and media coverage to understand how topics are addressed or framed within a specific social context (Jorgensen & Phillips, 2002).

Example of Discourse Analysis

Title: The construction of teacher identities in educational policy documents: A critical discourse analysis

Citation: Thomas, S. (2005). The construction of teacher identities in educational policy documents: A critical discourse analysis. Critical Studies in Education, 46 (2), 25-44.

Overview: The author examines how an education policy in one state of Australia positions teacher professionalism and teacher identities. While there are competing discourses about professional identity, the policy framework privileges a narrative that frames the ‘good’ teacher as one that accepts ever-tightening control and regulation over their professional practice.

Read my Full Guide on Discourse Analysis Here

13. Action Research

Definition: Action Research is a qualitative research technique that is employed to bring about change while simultaneously studying the process and results of that change.

This method involves a cyclical process of fact-finding, action, evaluation, and reflection (Greenwood & Levin, 2016).

Typically, Action Research is used in the fields of education, social sciences , and community development. The process isn’t just about resolving an issue but also developing knowledge that can be used in the future to address similar or related problems.

The researcher plays an active role in the research process, which is normally broken down into four steps:

developing a plan to improve what is currently being done
implementing the plan
observing the effects of the plan, and
reflecting upon these effects (Smith, 2010).

Example of Action Research

Title: Using Digital Sandbox Gaming to Improve Creativity Within Boys’ Writing

Citation: Ellison, M., & Drew, C. (2020). Using digital sandbox gaming to improve creativity within boys’ writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education , 34 (2), 277-287.

Overview: This was a research study one of my research students completed in his own classroom under my supervision. He implemented a digital game-based approach to literacy teaching with boys and interviewed his students to see if the use of games as stimuli for storytelling helped draw them into the learning experience.

Read my Full Guide on Action Research Here

14. Semiotic Analysis

Definition: Semiotic Analysis is a qualitative method of research that interprets signs and symbols in communication to understand sociocultural phenomena. It stems from semiotics, the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation (Chandler, 2017).

In a Semiotic Analysis, signs (anything that represents something else) are interpreted based on their significance and the role they play in representing ideas.

This type of research often involves the examination of images, sounds, and word choice to uncover the embedded sociocultural meanings. For example, an advertisement for a car might be studied to learn more about societal views on masculinity or success (Berger, 2010).

Example of Semiotic Research

Title: Shielding the learned body: a semiotic analysis of school badges in New South Wales, Australia

Citation: Symes, C. (2023). Shielding the learned body: a semiotic analysis of school badges in New South Wales, Australia. Semiotica , 2023 (250), 167-190.

Overview: This study examines school badges in New South Wales, Australia, and explores their significance through a semiotic analysis. The badges, which are part of the school’s visual identity, are seen as symbolic representations that convey meanings. The analysis reveals that these badges often draw on heraldic models, incorporating elements like colors, names, motifs, and mottoes that reflect local culture and history, thus connecting students to their national identity. Additionally, the study highlights how some schools have shifted from traditional badges to modern logos and slogans, reflecting a more business-oriented approach.

15. Qualitative Longitudinal Studies

Definition: Qualitative Longitudinal Studies are a research method that involves repeated observation of the same items over an extended period of time.

Unlike a snapshot perspective, this method aims to piece together individual histories and examine the influences and impacts of change (Neale, 2019).

Qualitative Longitudinal Studies provide an in-depth understanding of change as it happens, including changes in people’s lives, their perceptions, and their behaviors.

For instance, this method could be used to follow a group of students through their schooling years to understand the evolution of their learning behaviors and attitudes towards education (Saldaña, 2003).

Example of Qualitative Longitudinal Research

Title: Patient and caregiver perspectives on managing pain in advanced cancer: a qualitative longitudinal study

Citation: Hackett, J., Godfrey, M., & Bennett, M. I. (2016). Patient and caregiver perspectives on managing pain in advanced cancer: a qualitative longitudinal study. Palliative medicine , 30 (8), 711-719.

Overview: This article examines how patients and their caregivers manage pain in advanced cancer through a qualitative longitudinal study. The researchers interviewed patients and caregivers at two different time points and collected audio diaries to gain insights into their experiences, making this study longitudinal.

Read my Full Guide on Longitudinal Research Here

16. Open-Ended Surveys

Definition: Open-Ended Surveys are a type of qualitative research method where respondents provide answers in their own words. Unlike closed-ended surveys, which limit responses to predefined options, open-ended surveys allow for expansive and unsolicited explanations (Fink, 2013).

Open-ended surveys are commonly used in a range of fields, from market research to social studies. As they don’t force respondents into predefined response categories, these surveys help to draw out rich, detailed data that might uncover new variables or ideas.

For example, an open-ended survey might be used to understand customer opinions about a new product or service (Lavrakas, 2008).

Contrast this to a quantitative closed-ended survey, like a Likert scale, which could theoretically help us to come up with generalizable data but is restricted by the questions on the questionnaire, meaning new and surprising data and insights can’t emerge from the survey results in the same way.

Example of Open-Ended Survey Research

Title: Advantages and disadvantages of technology in relationships: Findings from an open-ended survey

Citation: Hertlein, K. M., & Ancheta, K. (2014). Advantages and disadvantages of technology in relationships: Findings from an open-ended survey. The Qualitative Report , 19 (11), 1-11.

Overview: This article examines the advantages and disadvantages of technology in couple relationships through an open-ended survey method. Researchers analyzed responses from 410 undergraduate students to understand how technology affects relationships. They found that technology can contribute to relationship development, management, and enhancement, but it can also create challenges such as distancing, lack of clarity, and impaired trust.

17. Naturalistic Observation

Definition: Naturalistic Observation is a type of qualitative research method that involves observing individuals in their natural environments without interference or manipulation by the researcher.

Naturalistic observation is often used when conducting research on behaviors that cannot be controlled or manipulated in a laboratory setting (Kawulich, 2005).

It is frequently used in the fields of psychology, sociology, and anthropology. For instance, to understand the social dynamics in a schoolyard, a researcher could spend time observing the children interact during their recess, noting their behaviors, interactions, and conflicts without imposing their presence on the children’s activities (Forsyth, 2010).

Example of Naturalistic Observation Research

Title: Dispositional mindfulness in daily life: A naturalistic observation study

Citation: Kaplan, D. M., Raison, C. L., Milek, A., Tackman, A. M., Pace, T. W., & Mehl, M. R. (2018). Dispositional mindfulness in daily life: A naturalistic observation study. PloS one , 13 (11), e0206029.

Overview: In this study, researchers conducted two studies: one exploring assumptions about mindfulness and behavior, and the other using naturalistic observation to examine actual behavioral manifestations of mindfulness. They found that trait mindfulness is associated with a heightened perceptual focus in conversations, suggesting that being mindful is expressed primarily through sharpened attention rather than observable behavioral or social differences.

Read my Full Guide on Naturalistic Observation Here

18. Photo-Elicitation

Definition: Photo-elicitation utilizes photographs as a means to trigger discussions and evoke responses during interviews. This strategy aids in bringing out topics of discussion that may not emerge through verbal prompting alone (Harper, 2002).

Traditionally, Photo-Elicitation has been useful in various fields such as education, psychology, and sociology. The method involves the researcher or participants taking photographs, which are then used as prompts for discussion.

For instance, a researcher studying urban environmental issues might invite participants to photograph areas in their neighborhood that they perceive as environmentally detrimental, and then discuss each photo in depth (Clark-Ibáñez, 2004).

Example of Photo-Elicitation Research

Title: Early adolescent food routines: A photo-elicitation study

Citation: Green, E. M., Spivak, C., & Dollahite, J. S. (2021). Early adolescent food routines: A photo-elicitation study. Appetite, 158 .

Overview: This study focused on early adolescents (ages 10-14) and their food routines. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews using a photo-elicitation approach, where participants took photos related to their food choices and experiences. Through analysis, the study identified various routines and three main themes: family, settings, and meals/foods consumed, revealing how early adolescents view and are influenced by their eating routines.

Features of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a research method focused on understanding the meaning individuals or groups attribute to a social or human problem (Creswell, 2013).

Some key features of this method include:

Naturalistic Inquiry: Qualitative research happens in the natural setting of the phenomena, aiming to understand “real world” situations (Patton, 2015). This immersion in the field or subject allows the researcher to gather a deep understanding of the subject matter.
Emphasis on Process: It aims to understand how events unfold over time rather than focusing solely on outcomes (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The process-oriented nature of qualitative research allows researchers to investigate sequences, timing, and changes.
Interpretive: It involves interpreting and making sense of phenomena in terms of the meanings people assign to them (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). This interpretive element allows for rich, nuanced insights into human behavior and experiences.
Holistic Perspective: Qualitative research seeks to understand the whole phenomenon rather than focusing on individual components (Creswell, 2013). It emphasizes the complex interplay of factors, providing a richer, more nuanced view of the research subject.
Prioritizes Depth over Breadth: Qualitative research favors depth of understanding over breadth, typically involving a smaller but more focused sample size (Hennink, Hutter, & Bailey, 2020). This enables detailed exploration of the phenomena of interest, often leading to rich and complex data.

Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

Qualitative research centers on exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups attribute to a social or human problem (Creswell, 2013).

It involves an in-depth approach to the subject matter, aiming to capture the richness and complexity of human experience.

Examples include conducting interviews, observing behaviors, or analyzing text and images.

There are strengths inherent in this approach. In its focus on understanding subjective experiences and interpretations, qualitative research can yield rich and detailed data that quantitative research may overlook (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011).

Additionally, qualitative research is adaptive, allowing the researcher to respond to new directions and insights as they emerge during the research process.

However, there are also limitations. Because of the interpretive nature of this research, findings may not be generalizable to a broader population (Marshall & Rossman, 2014). Well-designed quantitative research, on the other hand, can be generalizable.

Moreover, the reliability and validity of qualitative data can be challenging to establish due to its subjective nature, unlike quantitative research, which is ideally more objective.

Compare Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodologies in This Guide Here

In conclusion, qualitative research methods provide distinctive ways to explore social phenomena and understand nuances that quantitative approaches might overlook. Each method, from Ethnography to Photo-Elicitation, presents its strengths and weaknesses but they all offer valuable means of investigating complex, real-world situations. The goal for the researcher is not to find a definitive tool, but to employ the method best suited for their research questions and the context at hand (Almalki, 2016). Above all, these methods underscore the richness of human experience and deepen our understanding of the world around us.

Angrosino, M. (2007). Doing ethnographic and observational research. Sage Publications.

Areni, C. S., & Kim, D. (1994). The influence of in-store lighting on consumers’ examination of merchandise in a wine store. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 11 (2), 117-125.

Barker, C., Pistrang, N., & Elliott, R. (2016). Research Methods in Clinical Psychology: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners. John Wiley & Sons.

Baxter, P. & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13 (4), 544-559.

Berger, A. A. (2010). The Objects of Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bevan, M. T. (2014). A method of phenomenological interviewing. Qualitative health research, 24 (1), 136-144.

Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2015). Grounded theory: A practical guide . Sage Publications.

Bryman, A. (2015) . The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage Publications.

Chandler, D. (2017). Semiotics: The Basics. Routledge.

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. Sage Publications.

Cheek, J. (2004). At the margins? Discourse analysis and qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 14(8), 1140-1150.

Clark-Ibáñez, M. (2004). Framing the social world with photo-elicitation interviews. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(12), 1507-1527.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(100), 1-9.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage.

Dewalt, K. M., & Dewalt, B. R. (2011). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. Rowman Altamira.

Doody, O., Slevin, E., & Taggart, L. (2013). Focus group interviews in nursing research: part 1. British Journal of Nursing, 22(1), 16-19.

Durham, A. (2019). Autoethnography. In P. Atkinson (Ed.), Qualitative Research Methods. Oxford University Press.

Duriau, V. J., Reger, R. K., & Pfarrer, M. D. (2007). A content analysis of the content analysis literature in organization studies: Research themes, data sources, and methodological refinements. Organizational Research Methods, 10(1), 5-34.

Evans, J. (2010). The Everyday Lives of Men: An Ethnographic Investigation of Young Adult Male Identity. Peter Lang.

Farrall, S. (2006). What is qualitative longitudinal research? Papers in Social Research Methods, Qualitative Series, No.11, London School of Economics, Methodology Institute.

Fielding, J., & Fielding, N. (2008). Synergy and synthesis: integrating qualitative and quantitative data. The SAGE handbook of social research methods, 555-571.

Fink, A. (2013). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide . SAGE.

Forsyth, D. R. (2010). Group Dynamics . Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Fugard, A. J. B., & Potts, H. W. W. (2015). Supporting thinking on sample sizes for thematic analyses: A quantitative tool. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18 (6), 669–684.

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine de Gruyter.

Gray, J. R., Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the Practice of Nursing Research E-Book: Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Greenwood, D. J., & Levin, M. (2016). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change. SAGE.

Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 17 (1), 13-26.

Heinonen, T. (2012). Making Sense of the Social: Human Sciences and the Narrative Turn. Rozenberg Publishers.

Heisley, D. D., & Levy, S. J. (1991). Autodriving: A photoelicitation technique. Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (3), 257-272.

Hennink, M. M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative Research Methods . SAGE Publications Ltd.

Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15 (9), 1277–1288.

Jorgensen, D. L. (2015). Participant Observation. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jorgensen, M., & Phillips, L. (2002). Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method . SAGE.

Josselson, R. (2011). Narrative research: Constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing story. In Five ways of doing qualitative analysis . Guilford Press.

Kawulich, B. B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6 (2).

Khan, S. (2014). Qualitative Research Method: Grounded Theory. Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, 5 (4), 86-88.

Koshy, E., Koshy, V., & Waterman, H. (2010). Action Research in Healthcare . SAGE.

Krippendorff, K. (2013). Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. SAGE.

Lannon, J., & Cooper, P. (2012). Humanistic Advertising: A Holistic Cultural Perspective. International Journal of Advertising, 15 (2), 97–111.

Lavrakas, P. J. (2008). Encyclopedia of survey research methods. SAGE Publications.

Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (2008). Narrative research: Reading, analysis and interpretation. Sage Publications.

Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.

Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2014). Designing qualitative research. Sage publications.

McAdams, D. P., Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (2006). Identity and story: Creating self in narrative. American Psychological Association.

Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. Jossey-Bass.

Mick, D. G. (1986). Consumer Research and Semiotics: Exploring the Morphology of Signs, Symbols, and Significance. Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (2), 196-213.

Morgan, D. L. (2010). Focus groups as qualitative research. Sage Publications.

Mulhall, A. (2003). In the field: notes on observation in qualitative research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 41 (3), 306-313.

Neale, B. (2019). What is Qualitative Longitudinal Research? Bloomsbury Publishing.

Nolan, L. B., & Renderos, T. B. (2012). A focus group study on the influence of fatalism and religiosity on cancer risk perceptions in rural, eastern North Carolina. Journal of religion and health, 51 (1), 91-104.

Padilla-Díaz, M. (2015). Phenomenology in educational qualitative research: Philosophy as science or philosophical science? International Journal of Educational Excellence, 1 (2), 101-110.

Parker, I. (2014). Discourse dynamics: Critical analysis for social and individual psychology . Routledge.

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice . Sage Publications.

Polkinghorne, D. E. (2013). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. In Life history and narrative. Routledge.

Puts, M. T., Tapscott, B., Fitch, M., Howell, D., Monette, J., Wan-Chow-Wah, D., Krzyzanowska, M., Leighl, N. B., Springall, E., & Alibhai, S. (2014). Factors influencing adherence to cancer treatment in older adults with cancer: a systematic review. Annals of oncology, 25 (3), 564-577.

Qu, S. Q., & Dumay, J. (2011). The qualitative research interview . Qualitative research in accounting & management.

Ali, J., & Bhaskar, S. B. (2016). Basic statistical tools in research and data analysis. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 60 (9), 662–669.

Rosenbaum, M. S. (2017). Exploring the social supportive role of third places in consumers’ lives. Journal of Service Research, 20 (1), 26-42.

Saldaña, J. (2003). Longitudinal Qualitative Research: Analyzing Change Through Time . AltaMira Press.

Saldaña, J. (2014). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. SAGE.

Shernoff, D. J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Shneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2003). Student engagement in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory. School Psychology Quarterly, 18 (2), 158-176.

Smith, J. A. (2015). Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods . Sage Publications.

Smith, M. K. (2010). Action Research. The encyclopedia of informal education.

Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2012). Conducting online surveys . SAGE Publications.

Van Auken, P. M., Frisvoll, S. J., & Stewart, S. I. (2010). Visualising community: using participant-driven photo-elicitation for research and application. Local Environment, 15 (4), 373-388.

Van Voorhis, F. L., & Morgan, B. L. (2007). Understanding Power and Rules of Thumb for Determining Sample Sizes. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 3 (2), 43–50.

Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2015). Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis . SAGE.

Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2018). Action research for developing educational theories and practices . Routledge.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Animism Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 10 Magical Thinking Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

What are the strengths and limitations to utilising creative methods in public and patient involvement in health and social care research? A qualitative systematic review

Olivia R. Phillips 1 , 2 na1 ,
Cerian Harries 2 , 3 na1 ,
Jo Leonardi-Bee 1 , 2 , 4 na1 ,
Holly Knight 1 , 2 ,
Lauren B. Sherar 2 , 3 ,
Veronica Varela-Mato 2 , 3 &
Joanne R. Morling 1 , 2 , 5

Research Involvement and Engagement volume 10 , Article number: 48 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

226 Accesses

2 Altmetric

Metrics details

There is increasing interest in using patient and public involvement (PPI) in research to improve the quality of healthcare. Ordinarily, traditional methods have been used such as interviews or focus groups. However, these methods tend to engage a similar demographic of people. Thus, creative methods are being developed to involve patients for whom traditional methods are inaccessible or non-engaging.

To determine the strengths and limitations to using creative PPI methods in health and social care research.

Electronic searches were conducted over five databases on 14th April 2023 (Web of Science, PubMed, ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane Library). Studies that involved traditional, non-creative PPI methods were excluded. Creative PPI methods were used to engage with people as research advisors, rather than study participants. Only primary data published in English from 2009 were accepted. Title, abstract and full text screening was undertaken by two independent reviewers before inductive thematic analysis was used to generate themes.

Twelve papers met the inclusion criteria. The creative methods used included songs, poems, drawings, photograph elicitation, drama performance, visualisations, social media, photography, prototype development, cultural animation, card sorting and persona development. Analysis identified four limitations and five strengths to the creative approaches. Limitations included the time and resource intensive nature of creative PPI, the lack of generalisation to wider populations and ethical issues. External factors, such as the lack of infrastructure to support creative PPI, also affected their implementation. Strengths included the disruption of power hierarchies and the creation of a safe space for people to express mundane or “taboo” topics. Creative methods are also engaging, inclusive of people who struggle to participate in traditional PPI and can also be cost and time efficient.

‘Creative PPI’ is an umbrella term encapsulating many different methods of engagement and there are strengths and limitations to each. The choice of which should be determined by the aims and requirements of the research, as well as the characteristics of the PPI group and practical limitations. Creative PPI can be advantageous over more traditional methods, however a hybrid approach could be considered to reap the benefits of both. Creative PPI methods are not widely used; however, this could change over time as PPI becomes embedded even more into research.

Plain English Summary

It is important that patients and public are included in the research process from initial brainstorming, through design to delivery. This is known as public and patient involvement (PPI). Their input means that research closely aligns with their wants and needs. Traditionally to get this input, interviews and group discussions are held, but this can exclude people who find these activities non-engaging or inaccessible, for example those with language challenges, learning disabilities or memory issues. Creative methods of PPI can overcome this. This is a broad term describing different (non-traditional) ways of engaging patients and public in research, such as through the use or art, animation or performance. This review investigated the reasons why creative approaches to PPI could be difficult (limitations) or helpful (strengths) in health and social care research. After searching 5 online databases, 12 studies were included in the review. PPI groups included adults, children and people with language and memory impairments. Creative methods included songs, poems, drawings, the use of photos and drama, visualisations, Facebook, creating prototypes, personas and card sorting. Limitations included the time, cost and effort associated with creative methods, the lack of application to other populations, ethical issues and buy-in from the wider research community. Strengths included the feeling of equality between academics and the public, creation of a safe space for people to express themselves, inclusivity, and that creative PPI can be cost and time efficient. Overall, this review suggests that creative PPI is worthwhile, however each method has its own strengths and limitations and the choice of which will depend on the research project, PPI group characteristics and other practical limitations, such as time and financial constraints.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Patient and public involvement (PPI) is the term used to describe the partnership between patients (including caregivers, potential patients, healthcare users etc.) or the public (a community member with no known interest in the topic) with researchers. It describes research that is done “‘with’ or ‘by’ the public, rather than ‘to,’ ‘about’ or ‘for’ them” [ 1 ]. In 2009, it became a legislative requirement for certain health and social care organisations to include patients, families, carers and communities in not only the planning of health and social care services, but the commissioning, delivery and evaluation of them too [ 2 ]. For example, funding applications for the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), a UK funding body, mandates a demonstration of how researchers plan to include patients/service users, the public and carers at each stage of the project [ 3 ]. However, this should not simply be a tokenistic, tick-box exercise. PPI should help formulate initial ideas and should be an instrumental, continuous part of the research process. Input from PPI can provide unique insights not yet considered and can ensure that research and health services are closely aligned to the needs and requirements of service users PPI also generally makes research more relevant with clearer outcomes and impacts [ 4 ]. Although this review refers to both patients and the public using the umbrella term ‘PPI’, it is important to acknowledge that these are two different groups with different motivations, needs and interests when it comes to health research and service delivery [ 5 ].

Despite continuing recognition of the need of PPI to improve quality of healthcare, researchers have also recognised that there is no ‘one size fits all’ method for involving patients [ 4 ]. Traditionally, PPI methods invite people to take part in interviews or focus groups to facilitate discussion, or surveys and questionnaires. However, these can sometimes be inaccessible or non-engaging for certain populations. For example, someone with communication difficulties may find it difficult to engage in focus groups or interviews. If individuals lack the appropriate skills to interact in these types of scenarios, they cannot take advantage of the participation opportunities it can provide [ 6 ]. Creative methods, however, aim to resolve these issues. These are a relatively new concept whereby researchers use creative methods (e.g., artwork, animations, Lego), to make PPI more accessible and engaging for those whose voices would otherwise go unheard. They ensure that all populations can engage in research, regardless of their background or skills. Seminal work has previously been conducted in this area, which brought to light the use of creative methodologies in research. Leavy (2008) [ 7 ] discussed how traditional interviews had limits on what could be expressed due to their sterile, jargon-filled and formulaic structure, read by only a few specialised academics. It was this that called for more creative approaches, which included narrative enquiry, fiction-based research, poetry, music, dance, art, theatre, film and visual art. These practices, which can be used in any stage of the research cycle, supported greater empathy, self-reflection and longer-lasting learning experiences compared to interviews [ 7 ]. They also pushed traditional academic boundaries, which made the research accessible not only to researchers, but the public too. Leavy explains that there are similarities between arts-based approaches and scientific approaches: both attempts to investigate what it means to be human through exploration, and used together, these complimentary approaches can progress our understanding of the human experience [ 7 ]. Further, it is important to acknowledge the parallels and nuances between creative and inclusive methods of PPI. Although creative methods aim to be inclusive (this should underlie any PPI activity, whether creative or not), they do not incorporate all types of accessible, inclusive methodologies e.g., using sign language for people with hearing impairments or audio recordings for people who cannot read. Given that there was not enough scope to include an evaluation of all possible inclusive methodologies, this review will focus on creative methods of PPI only.

We aimed to conduct a qualitative systematic review to highlight the strengths of creative PPI in health and social care research, as well as the limitations, which might act as a barrier to their implementation. A qualitative systematic review “brings together research on a topic, systematically searching for research evidence from primary qualitative studies and drawing the findings together” [ 8 ]. This review can then advise researchers of the best practices when designing PPI.

Public involvement

The PHIRST-LIGHT Public Advisory Group (PAG) consists of a team of experienced public contributors with a diverse range of characteristics from across the UK. The PAG was involved in the initial question setting and study design for this review.

Search strategy

For the purpose of this review, the JBI approach for conducting qualitative systematic reviews was followed [ 9 ]. The search terms were (“creativ*” OR “innovat*” OR “authentic” OR “original” OR “inclu*”) AND (“public and patient involvement” OR “patient and public involvement” OR “public and patient involvement and engagement” OR “patient and public involvement and engagement” OR “PPI” OR “PPIE” OR “co-produc*” OR “co-creat*” OR “co-design*” OR “cooperat*” OR “co-operat*”). This search string was modified according to the requirements of each database. Papers were filtered by title, abstract and keywords (see Additional file 1 for search strings). The databases searched included Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, ASSIA and CINAHL. The Cochrane Library was also searched to identify relevant reviews which could lead to the identification of primary research. The search was conducted on 14/04/23. As our aim was to report on the use of creative PPI in research, rather than more generic public engagement, we used electronic databases of scholarly peer-reviewed literature, which represent a wide range of recognised databases. These identified studies published in general international journals (WoS, PubMed), those in social sciences journals (ASSIA), those in nursing and allied health journals (CINAHL), and trials of interventions (Cochrane Library).

Inclusion criteria

Only full-text, English language, primary research papers from 2009 to 2023 were included. This was the chosen timeframe as in 2009 the Health and Social Reform Act made it mandatory for certain Health and Social Care organisations to involve the public and patients in planning, delivering, and evaluating services [ 2 ]. Only creative methods of PPI were accepted, rather than traditional methods, such as interviews or focus groups. For the purposes of this paper, creative PPI included creative art or arts-based approaches (e.g., e.g. stories, songs, drama, drawing, painting, poetry, photography) to enhance engagement. Titles were related to health and social care and the creative PPI was used to engage with people as research advisors, not as study participants. Meta-analyses, conference abstracts, book chapters, commentaries and reviews were excluded. There were no limits concerning study location or the demographic characteristics of the PPI groups. Only qualitative data were accepted.

Quality appraisal

Quality appraisal using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist [ 10 ] was conducted by the primary authors (ORP and CH). This was done independently, and discrepancies were discussed and resolved. If a consensus could not be reached, a third independent reviewer was consulted (JRM). The full list of quality appraisal questions can be found in Additional file 2 .

Data extraction

ORP extracted the study characteristics and a subset of these were checked by CH. Discrepancies were discussed and amendments made. Extracted data included author, title, location, year of publication, year study was carried out, research question/aim, creative methods used, number of participants, mean age, gender, ethnicity of participants, setting, limitations and strengths of creative PPI and main findings.

Data analysis

The included studies were analysed using inductive thematic analysis [ 11 ], where themes were determined by the data. The familiarisation stage took place during full-text reading of the included articles. Anything identified as a strength or limitation to creative PPI methods was extracted verbatim as an initial code and inputted into the data extraction Excel sheet. Similar codes were sorted into broader themes, either under ‘strengths’ or ‘limitations’ and reviewed. Themes were then assigned a name according to the codes.

The search yielded 9978 titles across the 5 databases: Web of Science (1480 results), PubMed (94 results), ASSIA (2454 results), CINAHL (5948 results) and Cochrane Library (2 results), resulting in 8553 different studies after deduplication. ORP and CH independently screened their titles and abstracts, excluding those that did not meet the criteria. After assessment, 12 studies were included (see Fig. 1 ).

PRISMA flowchart of the study selection process

Study characteristics

The included studies were published between 2018 and 2022. Seven were conducted in the UK [ 12 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 23 ], two in Canada [ 21 , 22 ], one in Australia [ 13 ], one in Norway [ 16 ] and one in Ireland [ 20 ]. The PPI activities occurred across various settings, including a school [ 12 ], social club [ 12 ], hospital [ 17 ], university [ 22 ], theatre [ 19 ], hotel [ 20 ], or online [ 15 , 21 ], however this information was omitted in 5 studies [ 13 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 23 ]. The number of people attending the PPI sessions varied, ranging from 6 to 289, however the majority (ten studies) had less than 70 participants [ 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Seven studies did not provide information on the age or gender of the PPI groups. Of those that did, ages ranged from 8 to 76 and were mostly female. The ethnicities of the PPI group members were also rarely recorded (see Additional file 3 for data extraction table).

Types of creative methods

The type of creative methods used to engage the PPI groups were varied. These included songs, poems, drawings, photograph elicitation, drama performance, visualisations, Facebook, photography, prototype development, cultural animation, card sorting and creating personas (see Table 1 ). These were sometimes accompanied by traditional methods of PPI such as interviews and focus group discussions.

The 12 included studies were all deemed to be of good methodological quality, with scores ranging from 6/10 to 10/10 with the CASP critical appraisal tool [ 10 ] (Table 2 ).

Thematic analysis

Analysis identified four limitations and five strengths to creative PPI (see Fig. 2 ). Limitations included the time and resource intensity of creative PPI methods, its lack of generalisation, ethical issues and external factors. Strengths included the disruption of power hierarchies, the engaging and inclusive nature of the methods and their long-term cost and time efficiency. Creative PPI methods also allowed mundane and “taboo” topics to be discussed within a safe space.

Theme map of strengths and limitations

Limitations of creative PPI

Creative ppi methods are time and resource intensive.

The time and resource intensive nature of creative PPI methods is a limitation, most notably for the persona-scenario methodology. Valaitis et al. [ 22 ] used 14 persona-scenario workshops with 70 participants to co-design a healthcare intervention, which aimed to promote optimal aging in Canada. Using the persona method, pairs composed of patients, healthcare providers, community service providers and volunteers developed a fictional character which they believed represented an ‘end-user’ of the healthcare intervention. Due to the depth and richness of the data produced the authors reported that it was time consuming to analyse. Further, they commented that the amount of information was difficult to disseminate to scientific leads and present at team meetings. Additionally, to ensure the production of high-quality data, to probe for details and lead group discussion there was a need for highly skilled facilitators. The resource intensive nature of the creative co-production was also noted in a study using the persona scenario and creative worksheets to develop a prototype decision support tool for individuals with malignant pleural effusion [ 17 ]. With approximately 50 people, this was also likely to yield a high volume of data to consider.

To prepare materials for populations who cannot engage in traditional methods of PPI was also timely. Kearns et al. [ 18 ] developed a feedback questionnaire for people with aphasia to evaluate ICT-delivered rehabilitation. To ensure people could participate effectively, the resources used during the workshops, such as PowerPoints, online images and photographs, had to be aphasia-accessible, which was labour and time intensive. The author warned that this time commitment should not be underestimated.

There are further practical limitations to implementing creative PPI, such as the costs of materials for activities as well as hiring a space for workshops. For example, the included studies in this review utilised pens, paper, worksheets, laptops, arts and craft supplies and magazines and took place in venues such as universities, a social club, and a hotel. Further, although not limited to creative PPI methods exclusively but rather most studies involving the public, a financial incentive was often offered for participation, as well as food, parking, transport and accommodation [ 21 , 22 ].

Creative PPI lacks generalisation

Another barrier to the use of creative PPI methods in health and social care research was the individual nature of its output. Those who participate, usually small in number, produce unique creative outputs specific to their own experiences, opinions and location. Craven et al. [ 13 ], used arts-based visualisations to develop a toolbox for adults with mental health difficulties. They commented, “such an approach might still not be worthwhile”, as the visualisations were individualised and highly personal. This indicates that the output may fail to meet the needs of its end-users. Further, these creative PPI groups were based in certain geographical regions such as Stoke-on-Trent [ 19 ] Sheffield [ 23 ], South Wales [ 12 ] or Ireland [ 20 ], which limits the extent the findings can be applied to wider populations, even within the same area due to individual nuances. Further, the study by Galler et al. [ 16 ], is specific to the Norwegian context and even then, maybe only a sub-group of the Norwegian population as the sample used was of higher socioeconomic status.

However, Grindell et al. [ 17 ], who used persona scenarios, creative worksheets and prototype development, pointed out that the purpose of this type of research is to improve a certain place, rather than apply findings across other populations and locations. Individualised output may, therefore, only be a limitation to research wanting to conduct PPI on a large scale.

If, however, greater generalisation within PPI is deemed necessary, then social media may offer a resolution. Fedorowicz et al. [ 15 ], used Facebook to gain feedback from the public on the use of video-recording methodology for an upcoming project. This had the benefit of including a more diverse range of people (289 people joined the closed group), who were spread geographically around the UK, as well as seven people from overseas.

Creative PPI has ethical issues

As with other research, ethical issues must be taken into consideration. Due to the nature of creative approaches, as well as the personal effort put into them, people often want to be recognised for their work. However, this compromises principles so heavily instilled in research such as anonymity and confidentiality. With the aim of exploring issues related to health and well-being in a town in South Wales, Byrne et al. [ 12 ], asked year 4/5 and year 10 pupils to create poems, songs, drawings and photographs. Community members also created a performance, mainly of monologues, to explore how poverty and inequalities are dealt with. Byrne noted the risks of these arts-based approaches, that being the possibility of over-disclosure and consequent emotional distress, as well as people’s desire to be named for their work. On one hand, the anonymity reduces the sense of ownership of the output as it does not portray a particular individual’s lived experience anymore. On the other hand, however, it could promote a more honest account of lived experience. Supporting this, Webber et al. [ 23 ], who used the persona method to co-design a back pain educational resource prototype, claimed that the anonymity provided by this creative technique allowed individuals to externalise and anonymise their own personal experience, thus creating a more authentic and genuine resource for future users. This implies that anonymity can be both a limitation and strength here.

The use of creative PPI methods is impeded by external factors

Despite the above limitations influencing the implementation of creative PPI techniques, perhaps the most influential is that creative methodologies are simply not mainstream [ 19 ]. This could be linked to the issues above, like time and resource intensity, generalisation and ethical issues but it is also likely to involve more systemic factors within the research community. Micsinszki et al. [ 21 ], who co-designed a hub for the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, commented that there is insufficient infrastructure to conduct meaningful co-design as well as a dominant medical model. Through a more holistic lens, there are “sociopolitical environments that privilege individualism over collectivism, self-sufficiency over collaboration, and scientific expertise over other ways of knowing based on lived experience” [ 21 ]. This, it could be suggested, renders creative co-design methodologies, which are based on the foundations of collectivism, collaboration and imagination an invalid technique in the research field, which is heavily dominated by more scientific methods offering reproducibility, objectivity and reliability.

Although we acknowledge that creative PPI techniques are not always appropriate, it may be that their main limitation is the lack of awareness of these methods or lack of willingness to use them. Further, there is always the risk that PPI, despite being a mandatory part of research, is used in a tokenistic or tick-box fashion [ 20 ], without considering the contribution that meaningful PPI could make to enhancing the research. It may be that PPI, let alone creative PPI, is not at the forefront of researchers’ minds when planning research.

Strengths of creative PPI

Creative ppi disrupts power hierarchies.

One of the main strengths of creative PPI techniques, cited most frequently in the included literature, was that they disrupt traditional power hierarchies [ 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 , 23 ]. For example, the use of theatre performance blurred the lines between professional and lay roles between the community and policy makers [ 12 ]. Individuals created a monologue to portray how poverty and inequality impact daily life and presented this to representatives of the National Assembly of Wales, Welsh Government, the Local Authority, Arts Council and Westminster. Byrne et al. [ 12 ], states how this medium allowed the community to engage with the people who make decisions about their lives in an environment of respect and understanding, where the hierarchies are not as visible as in other settings, e.g., political surgeries. Creative PPI methods have also removed traditional power hierarchies between researchers and adolescents. Cook et al. [ 13 ], used arts-based approaches to explore adolescents’ ideas about the “perfect” condom. They utilised the “Life Happens” resource, where adolescents drew and then decorated a person with their thoughts about sexual relationships, not too dissimilar from the persona-scenario method. This was then combined with hypothetical scenarios about sexuality. A condom-mapping exercise was then implemented, where groups shared the characteristics that make a condom “perfect” on large pieces of paper. Cook et al. [ 13 ], noted that usually power imbalances make it difficult to elicit information from adolescents, however these power imbalances were reduced due to the use of creative co-design techniques.

The same reduction in power hierarchies was noted by Grindell et al. [ 17 ], who used the person-scenario method and creative worksheets with individuals with malignant pleural effusion. This was with the aim of developing a prototype of a decision support tool for patients to help with treatment options. Although this process involved a variety of stakeholders, such as patients, carers and healthcare professionals, creative co-design was cited as a mechanism that worked to reduce power imbalances – a limitation of more traditional methods of research. Creative co-design blurred boundaries between end-users and clinical staff and enabled the sharing of ideas from multiple, valuable perspectives, meaning the prototype was able to suit user needs whilst addressing clinical problems.

Similarly, a specific creative method named cultural animation was also cited to dissolve hierarchies and encourage equal contributions from participants. Within this arts-based approach, Keleman et al. [ 19 ], explored the concept of “good health” with individuals from Stoke-on Trent. Members of the group created art installations using ribbons, buttons, cardboard and straws to depict their idea of a “healthy community”, which was accompanied by a poem. They also created a 3D Facebook page and produced another poem or song addressing the government to communicate their version of a “picture of health”. Public participants said that they found the process empowering, honest, democratic, valuable and practical.

This dissolving of hierarchies and levelling of power is beneficial as it increases the sense of ownership experienced by the creators/producers of the output [ 12 , 17 , 23 ]. This is advantageous as it has been suggested to improve its quality [ 23 ].

Creative PPI allows the unsayable to be said

Creative PPI fosters a safe space for mundane or taboo topics to be shared, which may be difficult to communicate using traditional methods of PPI. For example, the hypothetical nature of condom mapping and persona-scenarios meant that adolescents could discuss a personal topic without fear of discrimination, judgement or personal disclosure [ 13 ]. The safe space allowed a greater volume of ideas to be generated amongst peers where they might not have otherwise. Similarly, Webber et al. [ 23 ], , who used the persona method to co-design the prototype back pain educational resource, also noted how this method creates anonymity whilst allowing people the opportunity to externalise personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. Other creative methods were also used, such as drawing, collaging, role play and creating mood boards. A cardboard cube (labelled a “magic box”) was used to symbolise a physical representation of their final prototype. These creative methods levelled the playing field and made personal experiences accessible in a safe, open environment that fostered trust, as well as understanding from the researchers.

It is not only sensitive subjects that were made easier to articulate through creative PPI. The communication of mundane everyday experiences were also facilitated, which were deemed typically ‘unsayable’. This was specifically given in the context of describing intangible aspects of everyday health and wellbeing [ 11 ]. Graphic designers can also be used to visually represent the outputs of creative PPI. These captured the movement and fluidity of people and well as the relationships between them - things that cannot be spoken but can be depicted [ 21 ].

Creative PPI methods are inclusive

Another strength of creative PPI was that it is inclusive and accessible [ 17 , 19 , 21 ]. The safe space it fosters, as well as the dismantling of hierarchies, welcomed people from a diverse range of backgrounds and provided equal opportunities [ 21 ], especially for those with communication and memory difficulties who might be otherwise excluded from PPI. Kelemen et al. [ 19 ], who used creative methods to explore health and well-being in Stoke-on-Trent, discussed how people from different backgrounds came together and connected, discussed and reached a consensus over a topic which evoked strong emotions, that they all have in common. Individuals said that the techniques used “sets people to open up as they are not overwhelmed by words”. Similarly, creative activities, such as the persona method, have been stated to allow people to express themselves in an inclusive environment using a common language. Kearns et al. [ 18 ], who used aphasia-accessible material to develop a questionnaire with aphasic individuals, described how they felt comfortable in contributing to workshops (although this material was time-consuming to make, see ‘Limitations of creative PPI’ ).

Despite the general inclusivity of creative PPI, it can also be exclusive, particularly if online mediums are used. Fedorowicz et al. [ 15 ], used Facebook to create a PPI group, and although this may rectify previous drawbacks about lack of generalisation of creative methods (as Facebook can reach a greater number of people, globally), it excluded those who are not digitally active or have limited internet access or knowledge of technology. Online methods have other issues too. Maintaining the online group was cited as challenging and the volume of responses required researchers to interact outside of their working hours. Despite this, online methods like Facebook are very accessible for people who are physically disabled.

Creative PPI methods are engaging

The process of creative PPI is typically more engaging and produces more colourful data than traditional methods [ 13 ]. Individuals are permitted and encouraged to explore a creative self [ 19 ], which can lead to the exploration of new ideas and an overall increased enjoyment of the process. This increased engagement is particularly beneficial for younger PPI groups. For example, to involve children in the development of health food products, Galler et al. [ 16 ] asked 9-12-year-olds to take photos of their food and present it to other children in a “show and tell” fashion. They then created a newspaper article describing a new healthy snack. In this creative focus group, children were given lab coats to further their identity as inventors. Galler et al. [ 16 ], notes that the methods were highly engaging and facilitated teamwork and group learning. This collaborative nature of problem-solving was also observed in adults who used personas and creative worksheets to develop the resource for lower back pain [ 23 ]. Dementia patients too have been reported to enjoy the creative and informal approach to idea generation [ 20 ].

The use of cultural animation allowed people to connect with each other in a way that traditional methods do not [ 19 , 21 ]. These connections were held in place by boundary objects, such as ribbons, buttons, fabric and picture frames, which symbolised a shared meaning between people and an exchange of knowledge and emotion. Asking groups to create an art installation using these objects further fostered teamwork and collaboration, both at an individual and collective level. The exploration of a creative self increased energy levels and encouraged productive discussions and problem-solving [ 19 ]. Objects also encouraged a solution-focused approach and permitted people to think beyond their usual everyday scope [ 17 ]. They also allowed facilitators to probe deeper about the greater meanings carried by the object, which acted as a metaphor [ 21 ].

From the researcher’s point of view, co-creative methods gave rise to ideas they might not have initially considered. Valaitis et al. [ 22 ], found that over 40% of the creative outputs were novel ideas brought to light by patients, healthcare providers/community care providers, community service providers and volunteers. One researcher commented, “It [the creative methods] took me on a journey, in a way that when we do other pieces of research it can feel disconnected” [ 23 ]. Another researcher also stated they could not return to the way they used to do research, as they have learnt so much about their own health and community and how they are perceived [ 19 ]. This demonstrates that creative processes not only benefit the project outcomes and the PPI group, but also facilitators and researchers. However, although engaging, creative methods have been criticised for not demonstrating academic rigour [ 17 ]. Moreover, creative PPI may also be exclusive to people who do not like or enjoy creative activities.

Creative PPI methods are cost and time efficient

Creative PPI workshops can often produce output that is visible and tangible. This can save time and money in the long run as the output is either ready to be implemented in a healthcare setting or a first iteration has already been developed. This may also offset the time and costs it takes to implement creative PPI. For example, the prototype of the decision support tool for people with malignant pleural effusion was developed using personas and creative worksheets. The end result was two tangible prototypes to drive the initial idea forward as something to be used in practice [ 17 ]. The use of creative co-design in this case saved clinician time as well as the time it would take to develop this product without the help of its end-users. In the development of this particular prototype, analysis was iterative and informed the next stage of development, which again saved time. The same applies for the feedback questionnaire for the assessment of ICT delivered aphasia rehabilitation. The co-created questionnaire, designed with people with aphasia, was ready to be used in practice [ 18 ]. This suggests that to overcome time and resource barriers to creative PPI, researchers should aim for it to be engaging whilst also producing output.

That useable products are generated during creative workshops signals to participating patients and public members that they have been listened to and their thoughts and opinions acted upon [ 23 ]. For example, the development of the back pain resource based on patient experiences implies that their suggestions were valid and valuable. Further, those who participated in the cultural animation workshop reported that the process visualises change, and that it already feels as though the process of change has started [ 19 ].

The most cost and time efficient method of creative PPI in this review is most likely the use of Facebook to gather feedback on project methodology [ 15 ]. Although there were drawbacks to this, researchers could involve more people from a range of geographical areas at little to no cost. Feedback was instantaneous and no training was required. From the perspective of the PPI group, they could interact however much or little they wish with no time commitment.

This systematic review identified four limitations and five strengths to the use of creative PPI in health and social care research. Creative PPI is time and resource intensive, can raise ethical issues and lacks generalisability. It is also not accepted by the mainstream. These factors may act as barriers to the implementation of creative PPI. However, creative PPI disrupts traditional power hierarchies and creates a safe space for taboo or mundane topics. It is also engaging, inclusive and can be time and cost efficient in the long term.

Something that became apparent during data analysis was that these are not blanket strengths and limitations of creative PPI as a whole. The umbrella term ‘creative PPI’ is broad and encapsulates a wide range of activities, ranging from music and poems to prototype development and persona-scenarios, to more simplistic things like the use of sticky notes and ordering cards. Many different activities can be deemed ‘creative’ and the strengths and limitations of one does not necessarily apply to another. For example, cultural animation takes greater effort to prepare than the use of sticky notes and sorting cards, and the use of Facebook is cheaper and wider reaching than persona development. Researchers should use their discretion and weigh up the benefits and drawbacks of each method to decide on a technique which suits the project. What might be a limitation to creative PPI in one project may not be in another. In some cases, creative PPI may not be suitable at all.

Furthermore, the choice of creative PPI method also depends on the needs and characteristics of the PPI group. Children, adults and people living with dementia or language difficulties all have different engagement needs and capabilities. This indicates that creative PPI is not one size fits all and that the most appropriate method will change depending on the composition of the group. The choice of method will also be determined by the constraints of the research project, namely time, money and the research aim. For example, if there are time constraints, then a method which yields a lot of data and requires a lot of preparation may not be appropriate. If generalisation is important, then an online method is more suitable. Together this indicates that the choice of creative PPI method is highly individualised and dependent on multiple factors.

Although the limitations discussed in this review apply to creative PPI, they are not exclusive to creative PPI. Ethical issues are a consideration within general PPI research, especially when working with more vulnerable populations, such as children or adults living with a disability. It can also be the case that traditional PPI methods lack generalisability, as people who volunteer to be part of such a group are more likely be older, middle class and retired [ 24 ]. Most research is vulnerable to this type of bias, however, it is worth noting that generalisation is not always a goal and research remains valid and meaningful in its absence. Although online methods may somewhat combat issues related to generalisability, these methods still exclude people who do not have access to the internet/technology or who choose not to use it, implying that online PPI methods may not be wholly representative of the general population. Saying this, however, the accessibility of creative PPI techniques differs from person to person, and for some, online mediums may be more accessible (for example for those with a physical disability), and for others, this might be face-to-face. To combat this, a range of methods should be implemented. Planning multiple focus group and interviews for traditional PPI is also time and resource intensive, however the extra resources required to make this creative may be even greater. Although, the rich data provided may be worth the preparation and analysis time, which is also likely to depend on the number of participants and workshop sessions required. PPI, not just creative PPI, often requires the provision of a financial incentive, refreshments, parking and accommodation, which increase costs. These, however, are imperative and non-negotiable, as they increase the accessibility of research, especially to minority and lower-income groups less likely to participate. Adequate funding is also important for co-design studies where repeated engagement is required. One barrier to implementation, which appears to be exclusive to creative methods, however, is that creative methods are not mainstream. This cannot be said for traditional PPI as this is often a mandatory part of research applications.

Regarding the strengths of creative PPI, it could be argued that most appear to be exclusive to creative methodologies. These are inclusive by nature as multiple approaches can be taken to evoke ideas from different populations - approaches that do not necessarily rely on verbal or written communication like interviews and focus groups do. Given the anonymity provided by some creative methods, such as personas, people may be more likely to discuss their personal experiences under the guise of a general end-user, which might be more difficult to maintain when an interviewer is asking an individual questions directly. Additionally, creative methods are by nature more engaging and interactive than traditional methods, although this is a blanket statement and there may be people who find the question-and-answer/group discussion format more engaging. Creative methods have also been cited to eliminate power imbalances which exist in traditional research [ 12 , 13 , 17 , 19 , 23 ]. These imbalances exist between researchers and policy makers and adolescents, adults and the community. Lastly, although this may occur to a greater extent in creative methods like prototype development, it could be suggested that PPI in general – regardless of whether it is creative - is more time and cost efficient in the long-term than not using any PPI to guide or refine the research process. It must be noted that these are observations based on the literature. To be certain these differences exist between creative and traditional methods of PPI, direct empirical evaluation of both should be conducted.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to identify the strengths and limitations to creative PPI, however, similar literature has identified barriers and facilitators to PPI in general. In the context of clinical trials, recruitment difficulties were cited as a barrier, as well as finding public contributors who were free during work/school hours. Trial managers reported finding group dynamics difficult to manage and the academic environment also made some public contributors feel nervous and lacking confidence to speak. Facilitators, however, included the shared ownership of the research – something that has been identified in the current review too. In addition, planning and the provision of knowledge, information and communication were also identified as facilitators [ 25 ]. Other research on the barriers to meaningful PPI in trial oversight committees included trialist confusion or scepticism over the PPI role and the difficulties in finding PPI members who had a basic understanding of research [ 26 ]. However, it could be argued that this is not representative of the average patient or public member. The formality of oversight meetings and the technical language used also acted as a barrier, which may imply that the informal nature of creative methods and its lack of dependency on literacy skills could overcome this. Further, a review of 42 reviews on PPI in health and social care identified financial compensation, resources, training and general support as necessary to conduct PPI, much like in the current review where the resource intensiveness of creative PPI was identified as a limitation. However, others were identified too, such as recruitment and representativeness of public contributors [ 27 ]. Like in the current review, power imbalances were also noted, however this was included as both a barrier and facilitator. Collaboration seemed to diminish hierarchies but not always, as sometimes these imbalances remained between public contributors and healthcare staff, described as a ‘them and us’ culture [ 27 ]. Although these studies compliment the findings of the current review, a direct comparison cannot be made as they do not concern creative methods. However, it does suggest that some strengths and weaknesses are shared between creative and traditional methods of PPI.

Strengths and limitations of this review

Although a general definition of creative PPI exists, it was up to our discretion to decide exactly which activities were deemed as such for this review. For example, we included sorting cards, the use of interactive whiteboards and sticky notes. Other researchers may have a more or less stringent criteria. However, two reviewers were involved in this decision which aids the reliability of the included articles. Further, it may be that some of the strengths and limitations cannot fully be attributed to the creative nature of the PPI process, but rather their co-created nature, however this is hard to disentangle as the included papers involved both these aspects.

During screening, it was difficult to decide whether the article was utilising creative qualitative methodology or creative PPI , as it was often not explicitly labelled as such. Regardless, both approaches involved the public/patients refining a healthcare product/service. This implies that if this review were to be replicated, others may do it differently. This may call for greater standardisation in the reporting of the public’s involvement in research. For example, the NIHR outlines different approaches to PPI, namely “consultation”, “collaboration”, “co-production” and “user-controlled”, which each signify an increased level of public power and influence [ 28 ]. Papers with elements of PPI could use these labels to clarify the extent of public involvement, or even explicitly state that there was no PPI. Further, given our decision to include only scholarly peer-reviewed literature, it is possible that data were missed within the grey literature. Similarly, the literature search will not have identified all papers relating to different types of accessible inclusion. However, the intent of the review was to focus solely on those within the definition of creative.

This review fills a gap in the literature and helps circulate and promote the concept of creative PPI. Each stage of this review, namely screening and quality appraisal, was conducted by two independent reviewers. However, four full texts could not be accessed during the full text reading stage, meaning there are missing data that could have altered or contributed to the findings of this review.

Research recommendations

Given that creative PPI can require effort to prepare, perform and analyse, sufficient time and funding should be allocated in the research protocol to enable meaningful and continuous PPI. This is worthwhile as PPI can significantly change the research output so that it aligns closely with the needs of the group it is to benefit. Researchers should also consider prototype development as a creative PPI activity as this might reduce future time/resource constraints. Shifting from a top-down approach within research to a bottom-up can be advantageous to all stakeholders and can help move creative PPI towards the mainstream. This, however, is the collective responsibility of funding bodies, universities and researchers, as well as committees who approve research bids.

A few of the included studies used creative techniques alongside traditional methods, such as interviews, which could also be used as a hybrid method of PPI, perhaps by researchers who are unfamiliar with creative techniques or to those who wish to reap the benefits of both. Often the characteristics of the PPI group were not included, including age, gender and ethnicity. It would be useful to include such information to assess how representative the PPI group is of the population of interest.

Creative PPI is a relatively novel approach of engaging the public and patients in research and it has both advantages and disadvantages compared to more traditional methods. There are many approaches to implementing creative PPI and the choice of technique will be unique to each piece of research and is reliant on several factors. These include the age and ability of the PPI group as well as the resource limitations of the project. Each method has benefits and drawbacks, which should be considered at the protocol-writing stage. However, given adequate funding, time and planning, creative PPI is a worthwhile and engaging method of generating ideas with end-users of research – ideas which may not be otherwise generated using traditional methods.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

Critical Appraisal Skills Programme

The Joanna Briggs Institute

National Institute of Health and Care Research

Public Advisory Group

Public and Patient Involvement

Web of Science

National Institute for Health and Care Research. What Is Patient and Public Involvement and Public Engagement? https://www.spcr.nihr.ac.uk/PPI/what-is-patient-and-public-involvement-and-engagement Accessed 01 Sept 2023.

Department of Health. Personal and Public Involvement (PPI) https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/topics/safety-and-quality-standards/personal-and-public-involvement-ppi#:~:text=The Health and Social Care Reform Act (NI) 2009 placed,delivery and evaluation of services . Accessed 01 Sept 2023.

National Institute for Health and Care Research. Policy Research Programme – Guidance for Stage 1 Applications https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/policy-research-programme-guidance-for-stage-1-applications-updated/26398 Accessed 01 Sept 2023.

Greenhalgh T, Hinton L, Finlay T, Macfarlane A, Fahy N, Clyde B, Chant A. Frameworks for supporting patient and public involvement in research: systematic review and co-design pilot. Health Expect. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12888

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Street JM, Stafinski T, Lopes E, Menon D. Defining the role of the public in health technology assessment (HTA) and HTA-informed decision-making processes. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266462320000094

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Morrison C, Dearden A. Beyond tokenistic participation: using representational artefacts to enable meaningful public participation in health service design. Health Policy. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2013.05.008

Leavy P. Method meets art: arts-Based Research Practice. New York: Guilford; 2020.

Google Scholar

Seers K. Qualitative systematic reviews: their importance for our understanding of research relevant to pain. Br J Pain. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1177/2049463714549777

Lockwood C, Porritt K, Munn Z, Rittenmeyer L, Salmond S, Bjerrum M, Loveday H, Carrier J, Stannard D. Chapter 2: Systematic reviews of qualitative evidence. Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis JBI. 2020. https://synthesismanual.jbi.global . https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-03

CASP. CASP Checklists https://casp-uk.net/images/checklist/documents/CASP-Qualitative-Studies-Checklist/CASP-Qualitative-Checklist-2018_fillable_form.pdf (2022).

Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Res Psychol. 2006. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Article Google Scholar

Byrne E, Elliott E, Saltus R, Angharad J. The creative turn in evidence for public health: community and arts-based methodologies. J Public Health. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdx151

Cook S, Grozdanovski L, Renda G, Santoso D, Gorkin R, Senior K. Can you design the perfect condom? Engaging young people to inform safe sexual health practice and innovation. Sex Educ. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2021.1891040

Craven MP, Goodwin R, Rawsthorne M, Butler D, Waddingham P, Brown S, Jamieson M. Try to see it my way: exploring the co-design of visual presentations of wellbeing through a workshop process. Perspect Public Health. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913919835231

Fedorowicz S, Riley V, Cowap L, Ellis NJ, Chambers R, Grogan S, Crone D, Cottrell E, Clark-Carter D, Roberts L, Gidlow CJ. Using social media for patient and public involvement and engagement in health research: the process and impact of a closed Facebook group. Health Expect. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13515

Galler M, Myhrer K, Ares G, Varela P. Listening to children voices in early stages of new product development through co-creation – creative focus group and online platform. Food Res Int. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111000

Grindell C, Tod A, Bec R, Wolstenholme D, Bhatnagar R, Sivakumar P, Morley A, Holme J, Lyons J, Ahmed M, Jackson S, Wallace D, Noorzad F, Kamalanathan M, Ahmed L, Evison M. Using creative co-design to develop a decision support tool for people with malignant pleural effusion. BMC Med Inf Decis Mak. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-020-01200-3

Kearns Á, Kelly H, Pitt I. Rating experience of ICT-delivered aphasia rehabilitation: co-design of a feedback questionnaire. Aphasiology. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2019.1649913

Kelemen M, Surman E, Dikomitis L. Cultural animation in health research: an innovative methodology for patient and public involvement and engagement. Health Expect. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12677

Keogh F, Carney P, O’Shea E. Innovative methods for involving people with dementia and carers in the policymaking process. Health Expect. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13213

Micsinszki SK, Buettgen A, Mulvale G, Moll S, Wyndham-West M, Bruce E, Rogerson K, Murray-Leung L, Fleisig R, Park S, Phoenix M. Creative processes in co-designing a co-design hub: towards system change in health and social services in collaboration with structurally vulnerable populations. Evid Policy. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426421X16366319768599

Valaitis R, Longaphy J, Ploeg J, Agarwal G, Oliver D, Nair K, Kastner M, Avilla E, Dolovich L. Health TAPESTRY: co-designing interprofessional primary care programs for older adults using the persona-scenario method. BMC Fam Pract. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-019-1013-9

Webber R, Partridge R, Grindell C. The creative co-design of low back pain education resources. Evid Policy. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426421X16437342906266

National Institute for Health and Care Research. A Researcher’s Guide to Patient and Public Involvement. https://oxfordbrc.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/A-Researchers-Guide-to-PPI.pdf Accessed 01 Nov 2023.

Selman L, Clement C, Douglas M, Douglas K, Taylor J, Metcalfe C, Lane J, Horwood J. Patient and public involvement in randomised clinical trials: a mixed-methods study of a clinical trials unit to identify good practice, barriers and facilitators. Trials. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05701-y

Coulman K, Nicholson A, Shaw A, Daykin A, Selman L, Macefield R, Shorter G, Cramer H, Sydes M, Gamble C, Pick M, Taylor G, Lane J. Understanding and optimising patient and public involvement in trial oversight: an ethnographic study of eight clinical trials. Trials. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04495-9

Ocloo J, Garfield S, Franklin B, Dawson S. Exploring the theory, barriers and enablers for patient and public involvement across health, social care and patient safety: a systematic review of reviews. Health Res Policy Sys. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-020-00644-3

National Institute for Health and Care Research. Briefing notes for researchers - public involvement in NHS, health and social care research. https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/briefing-notes-for-researchers-public-involvement-in-nhs-health-and-social-care-research/27371 Accessed 01 Nov 2023.

Download references

Acknowledgements

With thanks to the PHIRST-LIGHT public advisory group and consortium for their thoughts and contributions to the design of this work.

The research team is supported by a National Institute for Health and Care Research grant (PHIRST-LIGHT Reference NIHR 135190).

Author information

Olivia R. Phillips and Cerian Harries share joint first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

Nottingham Centre for Public Health and Epidemiology, Lifespan and Population Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Clinical Sciences Building, City Hospital Campus, Hucknall Road, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK

Olivia R. Phillips, Jo Leonardi-Bee, Holly Knight & Joanne R. Morling

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) PHIRST-LIGHT, Nottingham, UK

Olivia R. Phillips, Cerian Harries, Jo Leonardi-Bee, Holly Knight, Lauren B. Sherar, Veronica Varela-Mato & Joanne R. Morling

School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

Cerian Harries, Lauren B. Sherar & Veronica Varela-Mato

Nottingham Centre for Evidence Based Healthcare, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Jo Leonardi-Bee

NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK

Joanne R. Morling

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Author contributions: study design: ORP, CH, JRM, JLB, HK, LBS, VVM, literature searching and screening: ORP, CH, JRM, data curation: ORP, CH, analysis: ORP, CH, JRM, manuscript draft: ORP, CH, JRM, Plain English Summary: ORP, manuscript critical review and editing: ORP, CH, JRM, JLB, HK, LBS, VVM.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olivia R. Phillips .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham advised that approval from the ethics committee and consent to participate was not required for systematic review studies.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

40900_2024_580_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Additional file 1: Search strings: Description of data: the search strings and filters used in each of the 5 databases in this review

Additional file 2: Quality appraisal questions: Description of data: CASP quality appraisal questions

40900_2024_580_moesm3_esm.docx.

Additional file 3: Table 1: Description of data: elements of the data extraction table that are not in the main manuscript

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Phillips, O.R., Harries, C., Leonardi-Bee, J. et al. What are the strengths and limitations to utilising creative methods in public and patient involvement in health and social care research? A qualitative systematic review. Res Involv Engagem 10 , 48 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00580-4

Download citation

Received : 28 November 2023

Accepted : 25 April 2024

Published : 13 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00580-4

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Public and patient involvement
Creative PPI
Qualitative systematic review

Research Involvement and Engagement

ISSN: 2056-7529

General enquiries: [email protected]

Open access
Published: 15 May 2024

Sacred space: a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis of women’s experiences of supportive birthing environments

December Maxwell 1 ,
Sarah R. Leat 2 ,
Toni Gallegos 3 &
Regina T. Praetorius 3

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth volume 24 , Article number: 372 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

77 Accesses

Metrics details

In the United States there are roughly three million births a year, ranging from cesarean to natural births. A major aspect of the birthing process is related to the healing environment, and how that helps or harms healing for the mother and child. Using the theoretical framework, Theory of Supportive Care Settings (TSCS), this study aimed to explore what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers.

This study utilized an updated Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis (QIMS) design called QIMS-DTT [deductive theory testing] to answer the research question, What are mother’s experiences of environmental factors contributing to a supportive birthing environment within healthcare settings?

Key terms were run through multiple databases, which resulted in 5,688 articles. After title and abstract screening, 43 were left for full-text, 12 were excluded, leaving 31 to be included in the final QIMS. Five main themes emerged from analysis: 1) Service in the environment, 2) Recognizing oneself within the birthing space, 3) Creating connections with support systems, 4) Being welcomed into the birthing space, and 5) Feeling safe within the birthing environment.

Conclusions

Providing a warm and welcoming birth space is crucial for people who give birth to have positive experiences. Providing spaces where the person can feel safe and supported allows them to find empowerment in the situation where they have limited control.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In 2021, there were 3,664,292 births in the United States. Of those birth, 98.3% took place in hospitals [ 1 ]. In hospital settings, medical interventions such as induction of labor, cesarean sections, and the use of instruments like forceps or vacuum extractors may be more common [ 2 ]. These interventions can carry risks such as increased likelihood of complications for both the birthing person and the baby [ 2 , 3 ]. Some women may feel stressed or anxious in a hospital setting, which could potentially slow down labor or lead to other complications. This stress can be due to various factors such as unfamiliar surroundings, medical procedures, or concerns about interventions [ 2 ]. In a hospital setting, decisions about the birth process may be influenced by hospital policies, medical protocols, and the preferences of healthcare providers, potentially leading to a loss of autonomy for the birthing person in decision-making about their own birth experience [ 4 ]. The experience of giving birth in a hospital, especially if it involves unexpected interventions or complications, can contribute to postpartum depression or anxiety in some women [ 5 ]. Hospital routines and policies may not always be conducive to establishing breastfeeding immediately after birth, which can lead to challenges in breastfeeding initiation and continuation [ 6 ].

Birthing requires healing and a supportive environment at every stage of the birthing process, consisting of holistic support and agency [ 7 ]. This involves “constant emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychosocial” support [ 8 ]. Experiencing birthing trauma has shown to result in postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (P-PTSD) and postpartum depression (PPD) [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Likewise, disempowering births can have long term impacts of maternal self-esteem [ 12 , 13 ]. Maternal mental health issues have resulted in numerous public health concerns, specifically regarding the decreased safety and negative health outcomes that the infant faces [ 14 , 15 ]. Postpartum mental health disorders can also have lasting impacts on family outcomes [ 16 , 17 ]. As such, understanding how to improve the birth experience has the potential to reduce postpartum mental health issues, as well as reduce maternal morbidities, which can improve outcomes for both mother and child.

Of note is the influence of the built environment on healing. Given that thoughtfully designed healthcare facilities can influence the amount of privacy and control a patient perceives [ 18 ], the built environment plays an integral part in healing. Ample daylight, thermal comfort, color, and noise control all contribute to environmental healing within a hospital [ 19 ]. Furthermore, patient health outcomes have been linked to the built environment of hospitals in multiple studies [ 13 , 20 , 21 ]. More specific to birthing, women have indicated that perceived hominess and control in the environment relate to their birthing experience [ 20 , 22 , 23 ].

Control over the birthing environment, including comfort and perceived healing also have mental health impacts for birthing mothers, and the birth environment can have an impact on the mother’s perception of the birth which in turn can influence maternal mental health outcomes [ 24 , 25 ]. Given that approximately 1 in 7 mothers will experience postpartum depression (PPD) in the United States [ 26 , 27 ] and 0.05%-60% of mothers will experience PPD globally [ 28 , 29 ], understanding the impact of birthing environment on maternal morbidities and mental health can create holistic approaches to birthing environment design.

Given the impacts of the birthing environment on maternal mental health, learning what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers is an important endeavor and the purpose of this qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS). A QIMS is a method that is specific to the social work field. It was created to review and analyze qualitative data to identify and synthesize themes surrounding different phenomena found in existing qualitative research [ 30 ]. QIMS has previously been used to synthesize existing data regarding social justice concerns around minority police encounters [ 31 ] and children’s exposure to intimate partner violence [ 32 ]. Concerning the topic of birthing and motherhood, one QIMS explored marginalized women’s experiences of postpartum depression [ 33 ] and another explored the experience of suicidality postpartum [ 34 ]. To date, no QIMS has considered the experiences of the birth environment for birthing mothers and the impact on maternal mental health. A synthesis of the literature qualitatively evaluating women’s perspectives on what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers could bolster understanding of how hospitals could better support birthing mothers. As such, this study uses QIMS to answer the following research question: what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers?

Theoretical framework

This study sought to understand how birthing mothers experienced the birthing environment and which environmental factors contributed to a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers. As such, the Theory of Supportive Care Settings (TSCS) was used to frame this synthesis [ 35 ].

Theory of supportive care settings

Theory of Supportive Care Settings (TSCS) was created through research to have a theoretical understanding of which “processes supported a supportive care setting” [ 35 ]. TSCS was developed using three different care settings–a hospice, geriatric, and acute care ward, through qualitative interviews with patients, significant others, and care staff’s experiences. Although TSCS was not developed within the birthing environment, given the raise of childbirth induced P-PTSD, it is appropriate to apply the concepts to the birthing environment. One aspect of this synthesis is to assess the utility of the application of TSCS to the birthing environment using it as the main theoretical approach. There are five main processes the theory addresses as creating a supportive care environment: experiencing welcoming in the environment, recognizing oneself in the environment, creating and maintaining social relations in the environment, experiencing a willingness to serve in the environment, and experiencing safety in the environment. An applied theoretical framework was created (Fig. 1 ).

Framework of theory of supportive birth settings

Experiencing welcoming in the environment

Experiencing welcoming in the environment has three properties which are intensely experienced when the patient first enters the healthcare setting [ 35 ]. Being expected is the first property that involves the care setting knowing the patient is coming. This happens by having the patient’s name displayed and knowing pertinent information about the person before the beginning of care [ 35 ]. Being seen entails a warm welcome upon entering the care setting, having personal introductions, and care staff showing an interest [ 35 ]. Lastly, being invited consists of being shown around the care setting for the patient to become familiar with the environment and the people within [ 35 ].

Certainly, experiencing welcoming in a care setting, such as a hospital, heightens mood among patients and increases their satisfaction with their experience of the care setting [ 36 ]. Within a birthing environment, there is also evidence that being believed and welcomed upon arrival to the hospital increases the satisfaction of mothers as well as enhances their birthing experience [ 37 ].

Recognizing oneself in the environment

Within TSCS, recognizing oneself in the environment encapsulates the intensity of which patients recognize themselves within the care environment [ 35 ]. For example, environments that are perceived as too sterile do not allow the patient to recognize themselves in the environment. Being able to recognize oneself in the care setting includes being in a familiar and calm environment [ 35 ]. A familiar environment includes objects that are familiar to the patients, as well as beauty in the environment that includes windows and warm colors [ 35 ]. Further, a calm environment has minimal loud noises from machines, phones, and patients are allowed to move freely [ 35 ]. Features of familiarity in the birthing environment can reduce the length of labor and reduce pain intensity [ 38 ].

Creating and maintaining social relations in the environment

Creating and maintaining social relations in the environment within TSCS describes the social relations a patient develops that create ease within the environment [ 35 ]. Within this concept, there are two processes: staying in contact with social relations and creating new social relations. Staying in contact entails the patient’s ability to stay in contact with those in their social circles while undergoing care and can include environmental factors that facilitate this such as access to a personal phone and privacy to visit with social relations while in care. Creating new social relations explains the way patients can create new social relationships through positive interactions such as those that include laughter and support from care staff or others in the care setting. The process further includes the structural environment and facilitation of such connections, including openness of concept, support places, and comfortable furniture in private and common areas of the care setting [ 35 ].

This process of TSCS is again supported in literature regarding birthing environments. Availability of social support is integral to the birthing experience and increased access to social support creates better birthing outcomes and perceptions of birth [ 39 ]. Similarly, those supporting the birth need to feel welcomed and included in the birth environment, and there are specific aspects of the built environment that facilitate increased support during birth such as familial alcoves in birthing rooms and increased attempts at including the supporter by care setting providers [ 40 ].

Experiencing a willingness to serve in the environment

The willingness to serve in the environment from TCSC involves both care staff and patients. In TSCS doing a little extra and receiving a little extra are the processes that promote a willingness to serve. To the patients, seeing the care staff demonstrate thoughtful actions shows the staff’s willingness to serve. These actions can include things like remembering a patient’s preferences for their pillow or water temperature or arranging food in an appealing way. The willingness to serve can also come from patients though; some patients reaching out to other patients to give support or even just showing caring attitudes towards either nurses or other patients. For patients, an environment which demonstrates the willingness to serve is one when care staff do things without being asked, are intuitive in their approaches, and do not make the patient feel like a burden [ 35 ].

Within the birthing environment, willingness to serve can look like staff providing welcome distractions from the birthing process through music or aromatherapy, dimming lights, changing ambient temperature, and ensuring loud sounds are minimal. Further, care staff can exhibit willingness to serve by advocating for the birthing mother to have less people in the room, creating a familiar space, and providing comfort [ 38 ].

Experiencing safety in the environment

TSCA defines safety in the birthing environment as the safe feelings that arise from knowing what is happening, feeling informed, being comforted, and feeling trustful of care providers. Understanding what is happening includes, knowing what is happening, having information in an accessible language, and being aware of the course of events. For the patient, being is safe hands means having trust in the providers through honest conversations, knowing that their needs and requests are honored, and that the physical environment is clean, organized, and aesthetically pleasing rather than chaotic and messy [ 35 ].

The safety in the birthing environment often ties honest conversations and knowing needs and requests will be met to feel in control over the birth and the experience. Feeling in control of the birth environment can also include creating a familiar, homey space by being allowed to personalize the space with music, design elements like personal photos, pillows, or plants, and controlling the temperature and lighting [ 40 ]. In addition, knowing that healthcare providers are respecting the birth plan as much as possible and supporting freedom to move and move through the birth process in their own way [ 38 ]. Furthermore, machinery that ties the mother down, inhibiting freedom to move, can be distracting and reduce the time midwives or nurses spend in the birthing room, diminishing the birthing mother’s trust in care providers [ 41 ].

Despite the lack of use of TCSC in birthing environment literature, all five concepts from TCSC are found within the existing literature to be recommended for use in birthing environments. That said, there is not a synthesis to date utilizing the framework to evaluate qualitative perspectives of the birthing environment. This review aims to organize the existing qualitative literature within TCSC to provide a roadmap for birthing space design that aligns with a supportive care environment, with the hopes of creating more functional birthing spaces which may reduce the rates of maternal mental health challenges following the birth of a child.

Ethics, consent for publication, availability of data and materials

The data used in this study are derived from publicly available, published research articles and thus, in the public domain. Similarly, Institutional Review Board approval was not required since all data used were in the public domain in publicly available, published research articles. Informed consent was not required as no participants were recruited to participate in this study. There is no identifiable information of participants used in this method nor do we as consumers of previously published qualitative research have access to the original data.

QIMS is a method that lets researchers find a deeper understanding of a phenomenon or shared experience using qualitative journal articles as secondary data. QIMS is focused on researchers synthesizing previously published qualitative findings on a topic across the literature to reveal insights of participants’ experiences with a phenomenon [ 30 ]. This process includes creating a research question, conducting a systematic search of existing literature, and finally analyzing identified articles through theme extraction, synthesis, and triangulation [ 30 ].

QIMS has a set analysis process that involves reviewing the original authors’ published themes, as well as the participant's quotations in the manuscript. Themes and quotations are extracted and compiled into a new dataset to capture participants’ experiences of shared phenomenon across literature, providing a larger, more diverse sample size.

Sometimes, the analysis ends with a methodological reduction as well. Methodological reduction is an accepted method within phenomenological inquiry that permits researchers to understand the phenomena being observed through a new contextual lens allowing for further abstraction [ 42 ]. That said, due to the paucity of research evaluating what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers, this study utilized a rare approach to QIMS wherein the theoretical framework was provided at the outset of the study to guide the entirety of the synthesis. This deviates from the more inductive approach of traditional QIMS, but this deductive approach allows for a more pointed answer to a specific research question that seeks to operationalize a construct within a distinctive context or population and has been used previously [ 30 ]. Essentially, this analysis approach used a combination of both QIMS and theory-testing deductive analysis methods. The theory guides each step of the QIMS process, and specific steps have been applied (see Fig. 2 ). This combined approach is formalized here and is called QIMS-DTT [deductive theory testing].

Associations of birthing environment to Theory of Supportive Care Settings

First, in line with theory-testing deductive analysis [ 43 ], a qualitative question was posed with a specific theoretical lens in mind, in this case, Edvardsson’s Theory of Supportive Care Setting. Then, following QIMS, a systematic search of the literature was conducted using PRISMA guidelines [ 44 ]. The keywords for the initial search included “birth or childbirth or labour or labor or delivery or birthing” as subject terms. The key terms “experiences or experience” and “qualitative” were added to “in abstract” as well as “birthing experiences” and “birthing perceptions.” Key terms were searched within the following databases: ERIC, Academic Search Complete, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL Complete, Family Studies Abstracts, MedicLatina, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Alt HealthWatch. This initial search yielded 5,688 articles. After duplicates were removed 5,167 articles remained. The title and abstract screened for content relating to the desired topic, and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied.

Inclusion criteria were that the studies were U.S. based only, included pregnant women’s experiences of hospital or birthing center birth, and were qualitative research with quotations presented in the article. Inclusion was limited to U.S. based studies given that birthing practices differ vastly across the world; focusing on the U.S. provides homogeneity of context for understanding the birthing environment impact. Furthermore, even though the U.S. is a high resource country, the perinatal care system is considered unique as requires private pay insurance and not every woman has access to Medicaid or Medicare federal and state funded health insurance programs [ 45 ]. Furthermore, among 11 high resourced countries, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate, which some scholars attribute to how the U.S. has the lowest supply of obstetricians and heavily lacks midwives and insurance coverage for midwifery care [ 46 ]. Theory was incorporated here as well as an inclusion criterion, and the results were filtered through the operationalization of Edvardsson’s Theory of Supportive Care Setting used for this study. Using the five constructs of the theory that were operationalized for this study, the articles were included if authors discussed at least one construct from the theory (the constructs that articles discussed can be found in Table 1 ). Articles not discussing at least one of the five constructs of the theory were excluded. In addition, other exclusion criteria included articles discussing future births or expectations about future births, choice of location for birth, mode of delivery, labor pain, healthcare providers’ perspectives, existing reviews or syntheses, and articles discussing techniques of or towards birthing [e.g., acupuncture, Lamaze, education]. After title and abstract screening, 3,178 articles were excluded, leaving 43 articles to be screened full text. During the full-text screen, 12 articles were excluded, leaving 31 total articles to be included in the QIMS.

Following this approach (inclusive of both QIMS and theory-testing deductive analysis) we have formalized within this study, the original themes (Table 2 ) from the articles were organized by one researcher into appropriate theoretical assumptions that most aligned with the constructs of TSCS (See Table 1 –providing theoretical triangulation). Then, the quotations from each article were extracted and uploaded to qualitative software, atlas.ti (v.8.1). The quotations were coded deductively by the first two authors using the theoretical framework as a guide for thematic development. The themes were then aligned with each of the five theoretical constructs by unanimous rating. This process provided a layer of analyst triangulation additional to the triangulation inherent in QIMS design resulting from triangulation in the individual studies prior to the QIMS.

Instrumentation

In addition to the analysis process, it is also important for researchers to bracket, or disclose, their experiences with a phenomenon to increase the trustworthiness of the synthesis. The authors are the main instruments of this study, as is frequently the case in qualitative research. To further lend credibility and transparency to the QIMS process, brief descriptions of the authors can be found in Table 3 . The authors purposefully include two mothers–one who experienced Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) and one who did not, and two women who were not mothers at the time of this writing. This intentionally focused toward balancing any biases the two mothers might have brought to the analyses given their experiences further explained in Table 3 .

The final sample included 30 qualitative studies giving ear to the voices of 1,802 postpartum mothers. These mothers ranged in age from 12 to 71 and represented a wide range of races and ethnicities. For more demographic information including data collection methods and settings, see Table 4 .

Using a theory-testing deductive analysis process in conjunction with QIMS, the analysis results in five themes with various subthemes. The supporting quotations can be found in Table 5 . In addition, thematic constructs of TSCS were found across the included articles and the theoretical deduction was sound. Evidence of theoretical constructs can be found in Table 1 .

Theme 1: service in the environment

The first theme consists of ways that participants experienced service within the birthing environment. This service can be either from the healthcare team or the woman themselves and can be expressed in ways more encompassing than just direct labor. Participants described providers who exhibited exceptional care as a memorable part of their birthing experience. This aspect of service within the environment contributed to warm feelings towards their providers and allowed them to feel important and cared for. Many described how taking time out of their busy schedules to focus on the woman one-on-one, accommodating disabilities or medical conditions without being asked, and going out of their way to encourage and empower women was how a provider demonstrated “above and beyond” care.

Theme 2: recognizing oneself within the birthing space

The second theme described how birthing persons saw themselves within the birthing space. This included their personhood being acknowledged and their maternal role being validated by providers.

Subtheme 2A: acknowledging personhood

Recognizing oneself within the environment should be facilitated by feeling acknowledged as persons with dignity. For participants in these studies, this was expressed in their experiences of not having their personhood acknowledged and valued during the birthing process. One participant was not allowed to walk to the bathroom and was also not clearly told why. Her dignity was wounded, and the situation introduced emotional trauma into her birth story. Other women had a similarly emotionally traumatic experience that compromised their dignity and devalued their personhood.

Subtheme 2B: validating maternal role

Validation in becoming a mother is an important step in a woman’s transition into motherhood. The birth is an experience that will forever impact how the person views their maternal role. Many participants felt that their role as mother was overlooked by providers or not validated in a way that made them feel unequipped to mother their children. Often, participants described how providers made decisions for their newborns for them without consulting or trusting them to make such decisions.

Theme 3: creating connections with support systems

The third theme describes the ability of participants to forge or maintain social connection while experiencing birth. This could be availability of social support through communication from providers or through inclusion of support persons. Furthermore, disrespect hampered the formation of social connections.

Subtheme 3A: communication is key

This subtheme revolved around the necessity of communication to forge a strong, trusting social connection between provider and women. This communication included informing the women of medically necessary interventions and allowing them to understand the necessity of them before consenting when medically possible. Communication also included introducing themselves and accepting a patient introduction genuinely through learning womens’ names and making eye contact and gathering consent before touching the client. When providers communicated in this fashion, the participants indicated that they felt a stronger social bond to the providers and their trust and satisfaction with them was increased.

Subtheme 3B: team effort among providers

Relationships required a team effort, which meant that multiple providers needed to be on the same page and operating in good communication with one another to support mothers. Participants in the included studies described how both providers and the birthing person, as well as their support people could work together to ensure the birthing process was a positive one. Others explained that when providers did not work together or communicate among each other the birthing process felt chaotic and disjointed, leaving them feeling unsatisfied and unsafe.

Subtheme 3C: respect forges social connection

This sub theme describes how care providers can forge social connection with their patients through respecting the wishes of the birthing person. Examples included respecting their birthing plan even when it was not medically necessary, allowing the birthing person to make choices about pain interventions, and not respecting the minimal birthing requests that were not related to medical interventions. Conversely, not hearing or respecting the birthing person created a negative experience which was detrimental to social connection in the birthing space.

Theme 4: being welcomed into the birthing space

The fourth theme that emerged encompassed participants’ desires to be welcomed into the birthing space. This involved experiences of being admitted into the maternity ward or birthing suite upon arrival at the hospital and being made to feel comfortable in the space.

Subtheme 4A: being believed and admitted

Participants within the included articles discussed the importance of being believe when they presented to the hospital in what they perceived as active labor. Participants described being unsure if the sensations they were feeling were in labor and expressed anxiety as to whether they would be admitted into the maternity ward. Participants worried that if they arrived at the hospital too early, they would be treated poorly for “over-reacting” and be sent home, even though they were in pain. Participants also described the feeling of being rejected as failure. Being admitted into the birthing space was crucial for participants in the included articles to feel supported and validated.

Subtheme 4B: comfortable birthing space

In addition to being admitted, having the birthing space be comfortable was also necessary for participants to feel welcomed. Participants described spaces that had enough room for all their family members, single-occupancy rooms that allowed the birthing mother to have the whole room to herself, and rooms that had calming items present to be the most comfortable. In addition, participants in the included articles described experiences of uncomfortable spaces. Several participants expressed discomfort at having to be moved to multiple locations within the hospital. Participants also found hospitals challenging to navigate which caused stress on the family and the laboring mothering. Some participants described how the temperature of the space affected them as well, with the ability to control the temperature helping them to feel comfortable, both themselves and their families.

Theme 5: feeling safe within the birthing environment

The fifth theme encompasses various ways birthing persons felt or did not feel safety in the birthing environment. Either through consent in procedures, being able to follow birth plans, having freedom to move, and having trust and confidence in the healthcare team, there were many ways participants expressed their perceptions of safety in the birthing environment.

Subtheme 5A: interpersonal safety

This theme described how interpersonal relationships contributed to feeling safety in the birthing environment. Participants in the original studies talked about how they took action to ensure they had interpersonal safety through choosing obstetricians that felt safe to them, either due to gender or validation tactics. Others described how having continuity of care when possible created safe feeling interpersonal relationships, such as having the same nurse throughout or when they did change shifts- the outgoing nurse took extra steps to introduce the new nurse and supported the forging of an interpersonal relationship between birthing person and new nurse. Having a familiar face consistently throughout the birthing process was comforting. In addition, many quotations described how a provider could focus on the woman in a way that was comforting and forged and interpersonal connection by ensuring they knew they were being heard and supported.

Subtheme 5B: Confidence in the healthcare team

Feeling safe in the birthing environment was also influenced by how much confidence the women had in their healthcare team. Some participants in the original study described how they trust doctors because they know better through education, while others felt like their care providers were not listening to their concerns, eroding their trust and making them feel unsafe. Others explained actions the healthcare team took to ruin the trust between them, either by not sharing the full truth of the current process or by giving false information. When the providers were not honest with their patients, the birthing person was less likely to feel safe and therefore it tainted their birthing experience with anxious feelings.

Subtheme 5C: Feeling in control of the birth

Participants also described feeling in control of the space allowed them to feel safe within the birthing space. Participants who were given the ability to make decisions about positions, movements, and even presented with a way to watch the birth felt in control and supported by staff. Conversely, participants who were restricted in their movement felt trapped.

The findings of this QIMS-DTT highlight what is necessary to have a safe and sacred healing environment for mothers. Filtered through the adapted Theory of Supportive Care Settings, the findings of this deductive theory-testing study found multiple overlaps with the theoretical approach and as such, propose the importance of utilizing a Theory of Supportive Birthing Environments when evaluating birthing care environments. The five main components of Edvardsson’s theory can be found across all included articles and in the findings of this QIMS-DTT, making the findings unique in the application of the theory as a framework to approach environmental birth design.

For instance, a novel finding was the participant-described need for a welcoming birthing environment, including their initial admission to the hospital, being believed, and validated about their labor process, and the birthing environment itself being welcoming to them and their support persons. The initial moments upon arrival at the birthing facility or the presence of the healthcare team can significantly impact the birthing person's emotional well-being, comfort, and sense of security. Indeed, research does indicate that a warm welcome can help alleviate these feelings by making the birthing person feel valued, respected, and cared for from the moment they arrive. A positive and supportive atmosphere can contribute to a more relaxed state of mind [ 47 ]. Although the findings illuminate that a warm welcome into the birthing environment is critically important as it sets the tone for the entire childbirth experience, there is scant literature on this phenomenon as an attribute of the birth environment experience. A warm welcome also fosters trust and rapport between the birthing person and the healthcare team [ 46 ] which is essential for effective communication and cooperation throughout labor and childbirth. When trust is established early on, it can lead to a more collaborative and positive birthing experience. Beyond alleviating stress, feeling welcomed and respected empowers the birthing person to actively engage in their care and decision-making [ 47 ]. When they are treated with kindness and dignity, they are more likely to voice their preferences, concerns, and questions, leading to informed decision-making [ 47 , 77 ]. As many participants shared, the birthing environment itself was responsible for the welcoming feeling and contributed to a positive and comfortable birthing environment. In this study, this included friendly greetings, a clean and inviting room, soft lighting, and soothing sounds. Such an environment can promote relaxation and facilitate a smoother labor and birth [ 77 ].

The findings also illuminate the importance of social connection within the birthing space, through feeling respected and heard, clear communication, and acknowledgment and validation. Social relationships, including those with partners, family members, friends, and healthcare providers, offer emotional support during a time that can be physically and emotionally challenging. Previous literature has supported these findings, indicating that when there are people who care about the birthing person's well-being and provide comfort and encouragement, it can reduce stress and anxiety for the birthing person [ 40 ]. Trust is a critical component of any healthcare relationship, especially during childbirth [ 52 ]. Unique within these findings, however, is the importance of social connection between the women and providers on the recounting of birth stories and satisfaction with the birth environment. Furthermore, although support by providers is well documented, the findings here offer a unique approach as establishing these relationships as a facet of the birth environment. Establishing trust with healthcare providers and support staff is essential for effective communication, which, in turn, leads to better decision-making and a more positive birthing experience.

Safety in the environment was a salient finding of this study, and with good reason. Participants expressed that having interpersonal safety, seeing a good team effort among healthcare providers, and confidence in that healthcare team all contributed to their perceptions of safety in the birthing environment. Creating feelings of safety in the birthing environment is of paramount importance for several reasons. A safe and supportive birthing environment not only ensures the physical well-being of the birthing person and baby but also has a profound impact on the overall childbirth experience. Feelings of safety help reduce stress and anxiety during labor and childbirth [ 78 ]. Perceived safety benefits medical providers as well- when the birthing environment is perceived as safe, it can facilitate the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain relief hormones, and contribute to a smoother labor and birth process without unnecessary medical interventions [ 79 ].

Another important, but already substantiated, finding within safety in the environment was the element of control and agency within the birthing environment that was necessary to have positive birth experiences. Participants engaged in self-advocacy and described the importance of feeling in control over the birthing process to their well-being. Agency and control in the birthing environment are documented crucial aspects of the childbirth experience, as they can significantly impact the physical and emotional well-being of the birthing person and their overall satisfaction with the process [ 45 ]. When birthing people have a sense of agency and control over their birth experience, they report higher levels of satisfaction with the process, regardless of whether their birth unfolds as planned or not [ 45 ]. Agency and control also empower the birthing person to make informed decisions about their birth plan and medical interventions and endorse their maternal role. Informed decision-making allows individuals to choose the options that align with their values, preferences, and health needs. Notably, the findings in this study indicate that when birthing persons do not feel in control of their birth, they had poor retrospective memories about their birth and sometimes felt shame or anger about it. Indeed, a lack of agency and control during childbirth can sometimes lead to feelings of trauma or dissatisfaction [ 80 ]. Although this phenomenon is well documented, the findings from this review contextualize the need for agency and control within the theoretical approach and creates a more comprehensive look at birth environment attributes.

Implications for providers and research

The findings of this study illuminate numerous implications for providers and researchers. For providers, the knowledge that a warm welcome extends beyond them to the entire birthing team, including nurses, midwives, doulas, and support persons. A cohesive and supportive team that welcomes the birthing person with open arms can enhance the overall birthing experience. Furthermore, welcoming includes initial contact and the way a birthing person is received and treated upon arrival can significantly influence their overall perception of their birth experience. A warm welcome contributes to positive birth memories and can have long-lasting emotional and psychological benefits [ 47 ].

Empowering birthing people to have control over their experience can help reduce the risk of trauma. Establishing trust and effective communication between the birthing person, their support team, and healthcare providers is essential for maintaining agency and control. When there is open dialogue and mutual respect, the birthing person is more likely to feel comfortable expressing their preferences and concerns. In some cases, having control over the birthing environment can lead to better physical outcomes. For example, a birthing person who can move freely, choose their birthing position, and have access to comfort measures may experience shorter labor and fewer complications [ 77 ]. In addition, providers should recognize that every birthing experience is unique and respecting cultural and individual differences is essential for promoting agency and control. What one person values or finds empowering in their birthing experience may differ from another, and healthcare providers should strive to accommodate these variations. More research may be needed to understand the prevalence of agency and control better quantitatively in the birthing environment and its relationship to maternal mental health outcomes using measurements surveying the birth environment that combine the attributes of the framework presented in the findings.

Building social relationships in the birthing environment can create a supportive and celebratory atmosphere. The birthing person, their partner, and their support network can share in the joy and excitement of welcoming a new life into the world, enhancing the overall experience.

Social relationships formed during childbirth can extend into the postpartum period, providing ongoing emotional support, advice, and assistance as the birthing person navigates the challenges of early parenthood. Social relationships in the birthing environment can also be a source of valuable information and education. Healthcare providers and support persons can share knowledge about the birthing process, available options, and potential interventions, empowering the birthing person to make informed decisions.

Another implication for providers is building a culture of safety within the environment. When the birthing environment feels unsafe or traumatic, it can have long-lasting negative effects on the birthing person's mental and emotional well-being. Feelings of trauma during childbirth can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and have a significant impact on future pregnancies [ 80 , 81 ]. Safety also includes trust. Trust is a cornerstone of the birthing experience and when the birthing person trusts their healthcare providers and the birthing environment, they are more likely to follow recommendations, cooperate with care plans, and have a positive overall experience. More research is needed to better understand how women experience trust in the birthing environment specifically, including better understanding of the frequencies of agency, consent, and control over their environments. In addition, research surveying the use of interdisciplinary communication and communication mechanisms with women regarding birth plans might illuminate fragmented communication in the birth environment.

Limitations

Within this study there were some primary limitations related to sampling of studies. When identifying studies through databases and services such as GoogleScholar, embargoes and artificial intelligence interference [e.g., search algorithms] create challenges in replicating and updating searches. For this study, the search was initially conducted then redone to ensure all studies were identified since sufficient time had passed since the initial search. Although exact keywords and procedures were followed from search one to search two, algorithms and embargoes may have led to some key studies not emerging in the search. A second limitation is that given the breadth of birthing environments and cultural orientations to birthing, despite the number of studies analyzed, it is likely that some experiences are not represented in this study.

While the experiences of the participants appeared to range, the scope of the search did not include birthing person experiences outside of the US. Consequently, this leaves the results of this study to only be applicable to what is needed in the small context of the US. Problems that are faced by participants in this study may not be seen as harmful to others. Likewise, since QIMS-DTT is a social work focused method, it can limit how the researchers approached the material from the participants. This can be related to the complex nature of constraints that are often faced in the health-care field. Furthermore, there is a limitation related to the relevancy of applying the TSCS to the birthing space. A key difference between the concept of service in birthing space is that mothers only spend an average of 24 to 48 h in the birthing space, whereas those in nursing care, the environmental in which TSCS originated, could spend an extended period of time in the environment.

In conclusion, a new framework using the Theory of Supportive Care Settings can be applied to evaluate a sacred and healing birthing experience. This new framework includes a balance of already documented phenomenon such as agency and control during birth, as well as integrates new findings, such as the necessity of a warm welcome into the birthing environment to promote trust, comfort, and empowerment. Indeed, the importance of a welcoming environment cannot be overstated. It sets the initial tone for the birthing experience, influencing the individual's stress levels and emotional state, which, in turn, can affect the physiological aspects of childbirth. This study supports the hypothesis from applying TSCS to the birth environment that when individuals feel welcomed, they are more likely to experience a sense of calm and readiness for birth, which can lead to more positive outcomes.

Our study contributes to the growing body of literature that underscores the significance of the birth environment in shaping birth experiences. It calls for a reevaluation of current practices and environments in which childbirth takes place, advocating for a more holistic approach that encompasses emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. The implications of our findings extend beyond the individual, suggesting that by improving birth experiences, we can foster better early bonding experiences, potentially leading to long-term benefits for both the mother and child.

Authors’contributions

Authors DM and SL contributed to the initial design and concept. DM, SL, RT, and TG all performed data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, and drafting of the article. All authors made substantial contributions to the initial and revised manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version and are accountable for all aspects of the work.

Availability of data and materials

The data used in this study are from publicly available existing literature, therefore the data is available within this article from the data tables.

Grünebaum A, Bornstein E, McLeod-Sordjan R, Lewis T, Wasden S, Combs A, et al. The impact of birth settings on pregnancy outcomes in the United States. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023;228(5):S965–76.

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Çalik KY, Karabulutlu Ö, Yavuz C. First do no harm - interventions during labor and maternal satisfaction: a descriptive cross-sectional study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018;18(1):415.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Lothian JA. Healthy birth practice #4: avoid interventions unless they are medically necessary. J Perinat Educ. 2014;23(4):198–206.

Zolkefli ZHH, Mumin KHA, Idris DR. Autonomy and its impact on midwifery practice. Br J Midwifery. 2020;28(2):120–9.

Article Google Scholar

Ahmadpour P, Faroughi F, Mirghafourvand M. The relationship of childbirth experience with postpartum depression and anxiety: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychol. 2023;11(1):58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01105-6 .

George EK. Birth Center Breastfeeding Rates. MCNAm J Matern Child Nurs. 2022;47(6):310–7.

Parratt J, Fahy K. Creating a ‘safe’ place for birth: an empirically grounded theory. New Zealand College Midwives J. 2004;30. [cited 2020 Apr 17]. Available from: https://epubs.scu.edu.au/hahs_pubs/1657

Akbaş P, ÖzkanŞat S, Yaman SŞ. The effect of holistic birth support strategies on coping with labor pain, birth satisfaction, and fear of childbirth: a randomized, triple-blind. Controlled Trial Clin Nurs Res. 2022;31(7):1352–61.

Soet JE, Brack GA, DiIorio C. Prevalence and Predictors of Women’s Experience of Psychological Trauma During Childbirth. Birth. 2003;30(1):36–46. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-536X.2003.00215.x . [cited 2017 Sep 7].

Moran Vozar TE, Van Arsdale A, Gross LA, Hoff E, Pinch S. The elephant in the delivery room: Enhancing awareness of the current literature and recommendations for perinatal PTSD. Pract Innov. 2021;6(1):1–16.

Orovou E, Eskitzis P, Mrvoljak-Theodoropoulou I, Tzitiridou-Chatzopoulou M, Dagla M, Arampatzi C, et al. The Relation between Neonatal Intensive Care Units and Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Cesarean Section. Healthcare. 2023;11(13):1877.

Forssén ASK. Lifelong significance of disempowering experiences in prenatal and maternity care. Qual Health Res. 2012;22(11):1535–46.

Olwanda E, Opondo K, Oluoch D, Croke K, Maluni J, Jepkosgei J, et al. Women’s autonomy and maternal health decision making in Kenya: implications for service delivery reform - a qualitative study. BMC Womens Health. 2024;24(1):181.

Letourneau NL, Dennis CL, Benzies K, Duffett-Leger L, Stewart M, Tryphonopoulos PD, et al. Postpartum depression is a family affair: addressing the impact on mothers, fathers, and children. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2012;33(7):445–57.

Tripathy P. A public health approach to perinatal mental health: Improving health and wellbeing of mothers and babies. J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod. 2020;49(6).

VanderKruik R, Barreix M, Chou D, Allen T, Say L, Cohen LS, et al. The global prevalence of postpartum psychosis: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):272. [cited 2017 Sep 7]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28754094 .

Walker AL, Peters PH, de Rooij SR, Henrichs J, Witteveen AB, Verhoeven CJM, et al. The long-term impact of maternal anxiety and depression postpartum and in early childhood on child and paternal mental health at 11–12 years follow-up. Front Psychiatry. 2020;15:11.

Google Scholar

Huisman ERCM, Morales E, van Hoof J, Kort HSM. Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users. Build Environ. 2012;1(58):70–80.

Simonsen T, Sturge J, Duff C. Healing Architecture in Healthcare: A Scoping Review. HERD: Health Environ Res Design J. 2022;15(3):315–28.

Asadi Z, Shahcheraghi A, Zare L, Gharehbaglou M. The effect of supportive care environment on the treatment process in hospitals: a qualitative study. Crescent J Med Biol Sci. 2023;10(2):81–92.

Nielsen JH, Overgaard C. Healing architecture and Snoezelen in delivery room design: a qualitative study of women’s birth experiences and patient-centeredness of care. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020;20(1):283.

Shin JH. Hospital Birthing Room Design: A Study Of Mothers’ Perception Of Hominess. J Inter Des. 2004;30(1):23–36. [cited 2020 Apr 17] Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1668.2004.tb00397.x

Kuipers YJ, Thomson G, Goberna-Tricas J, Zurera A, Hresanová E, Temesgenová N, et al. The social conception of space of birth narrated by women with negative and traumatic birth experiences. Women and Birth. 2023;36(1):e78–85.

Borquez HA, Wiegers TA. A comparison of labour and birth experiences of women delivering in a birthing centre and at home in the Netherlands. Midwifery. 2006;22[4]:339–47. [cited 2019 Feb 21]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16647170

Preis H, Lobel M, Benyamini Y. Between Expectancy and Experience. Psychol Women Q. 2018;036168431877953. [cited 2019 Jan 19]. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684318779537

Ko JY, Rockhill KM, Tong VT, Morrow B, Farr SL. Trends in Postpartum Depressive Symptoms — 27 States, 2004, 2008, and 2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017;66(6):153–8. [cited 2019 May 14] Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6606a1.htm

Mughal S, Azhar Y, Siddiqui W. Postpartum Depression. 2024.

Abdollahi F, Lye MS, Zain AM, Ghazali SS, Zarghami M. Postnatal depression and its associated factors in women from different cultures. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. Kowsar Medical Publishing Company; 2011;5(2):5–11.

Abenova M, Myssayev A, Kanya L, Turliuc MN, Jamedinova U. Prevalence of postpartum depression and its associated factors within a year after birth in Semey, Kazakhstan: A cross sectional study. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022;16:101103.

Aguirre RT, Bolton KW. Qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis in social work research: Uncharted territory. J Soc Work. 2014;14(3):279–94. [cited 2019 Jan 14]. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017313476797

Nordberg A, Marcus Crawford BR, Regina Praetorius BT, Smith Hatcher S. Exploring Minority Youths’ Police Encounters: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis. Adolescent Soc Work J. 2016;33(2):137–49. [cited 2018 Feb 20]. Available from: https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1772422660?pq-origsite=summon

Ravi KE, Casolaro TE. Children’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis. Child Adolescent Soc Work J. 2017;1–13. [cited 2018 Feb 20]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-017-0525-1

Maxwell D, Robinson SR, Rogers K. “I keep it to myself”: a qualitative meta-interpretive synthesis of experiences of postpartum depression among marginalised women. Health Soc Care Community. 2019;27(3):e23–6.

Praetorius R, Maxwell D, Alam K. Wearing a happy mask: mother’s expressions of suicidality with postpartum depression. Soc Work Ment Health. 2020;18(4):429–59.

Edvardsson JD, Sandman PO, Rasmussen BH. Sensing an atmosphere of ease: A tentative theory of supportive care settings. Scand J Caring Sci. 2005;19(4):344–53. [cited 2021 May 27]. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16324058/

Leather P, Beale D, Santos A, Watts J, Lee L. Outcomes of environmental appraisal of different hospital waiting areas. Environ Behav. 2003;35(6):842–69.

Vedam S, Stoll K, Khemet Taiwo T, Rubashkin N, Cheyney M, Strauss N, et al. The Giving Voice to Mothers study: inequity and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth in the United States. Reprod Health. 2019;16(1):77. [cited 2020 May 4]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-019-0729-2

Nilsson C, Wijk H, Höglund L, Sjöblom H, Hessman E, Berg M. Effects of birthing room design on maternal and neonate outcomes: a systematic review. HERD. SAGE Publications Inc.; 2020;13(3):198–214.

Reid KM, Taylor MG. Social support, stress, and maternal postpartum depression: A comparison of supportive relationships. Soc Sci Res. 2015;54:246–62.

Harte JD, Sheehan A, Stewart SC, Foureur M. Childbirth supporters’ experiences in a built hospital birth environment: exploring inhibiting and facilitating factors in negotiating the supporter role. Health Environ Res Design J. 2016;9(3):135–61.

Hodnett E, Stremler R, Weston J, McKeever P. Re-conceptualizing the hospital labor room: the PLACE [Pregnant and Laboring in an Ambient Clinical Environment] pilot trial. Birth. 2009;36(2):159–66.

Van Maanen J. Ethnography as work: some rules of engagement. J Manage Stud. 2011;48(1):218–34.

Vargas-Bianchi L. Qualitative theory testing by deductive design and pattern matching analysis. SocArxiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/w4gxe . Published online July 30, 2020.

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;29: n71.

Scrimshaw SC, Backes EP, editors. Birth Settings in America. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press; 2020.

Admon LK, Dalton VK, Kolenic GE, et al. Trends in suicidality 1 year before and after birth among commercially insured childbearing individuals in the United States, 2006–2017. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online November 18, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3550

Attanasio LB, McPherson ME, Kozhimannil KB. Positive childbirth experiences in US hospitals: a mixed methods analysis. Matern Child Health J. 2014;18(5):1280–90.

Beebe KR, Humphreys J. Expectations, perceptions, and management of labor in nulliparas prior to hospitalization. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2006;51(5):347–53.

Bernhard C, Zielinski R, Ackerson K, English J. Home birth after hospital birth: women’s choices and reflections. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2014;59(2):160–6.

Boucher D, Bennett C, McFarlin B, Freeze R. Staying home to give birth: why women in the United States choose home birth. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2009;54(2):119–26.

Brooks JL, Holdtich-Davis D, Docherty SL, Theodorou CS. Birthing and parenting a premature infant in a cultural context. Qual Health Res. 2016;26(3):387–98.

Fair CD, Morrison T. “I felt part of the decision-making process”: a qualitative study on techniques used to enhance maternal control during labor and delivery. Int J Childbirth Educ. 2011;26(3):21–5.

Finn JM. Culture care of euro-american women during childbirth: using leininger’s theory. J Transcult Nurs. 1994;5(2):25–37.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Fowles ER. Labor concerns of women two months after delivery. Birth. 1998;25(4):235–40.

Gardner M, Suplee PD, Bloch J, Lecks K. Exploratory study of childbearing experiences of women with asperger syndrome. Nurs Womens Health. 2016;20(1):28–37.

Hall PJ, Foster JW, Yount KM, Jennings BM. Keeping it together and falling apart: Women’s dynamic experience of birth. Midwifery. 2018;58:130–6.

Hill N, Hunt E, Hyrkäs K. Somali immigrant women’s health care experiences and beliefs regarding pregnancy and birth in the United States. J Transcult Nurs. 2012;23(1):72–81.

Lipson JG, Rogers J. Pregnancy, birth, and disability: women’s health care experiences. Health Care Women Int. 2000;21(1):11–26.

Low LK, Martin K, Sampselle C, Guthrie B, Oakley D. Adolescents’ experiences of childbirth: contrasts with adults 1, 2 . J Midwifery Womens Health. 2003;48(3):192–8.

Low LK, Moffat A. Every Labor is Unique. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2006;31(5):307???312.

Lynch TA, Cheyney M, Chan M, Walia J, Burcher P. Temporal themes in periviable birth: a qualitative analysis of patient experiences. Matern Child Health J. 2019;23(3):422–30.

Lyndon A, Malana J, Hedli LC, Sherman J, Lee HC. Thematic analysis of women’s perspectives on the meaning of safety during hospital-based birth. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2018;47(3):324–32.

McKinney D. A Qualitative Study of the Bradley Method of Childbirth Education. International Journal of Childbirth Education. 2006;21(3).

Qureshi R, Pacquiao DF. Ethnographic study of experiences of Pakistani women immigrants with pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum care in the United States and Pakistan. J Transcult Nurs. 2013;24(4):355–62.

Raines DA, Morgan Z. Culturally sensitive care during childbirth. Appl Nurs Res. 2000;13(4):167–72.

Sauls DJ. Promoting a positive childbirth experience for adolescents. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2010;39(6):703–12.

Seo JY, Kim W, Dickerson SS. Korean immigrant women’s lived experience of childbirth in the United States. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2014;43(3):305–17.

Sheffield SM, Liddell JL. “If I Had a Choice, I’d Do It Natural”: Gulf South indigenous women’s preferences and experiences in childbirth. Int J Childbirth. 2023;13(1):23–36.

Smeltzer SC, Wint AJ, Ecker JL, Iezzoni LI. Labor, delivery, and anesthesia experiences of women with physical disability. Birth. 2017;44(4):315–24.

Taniguchi H, Baruffi G. Childbirth overseas: The experience of Japanese women in Hawaii. Nurs Health Sci. 2007;9(2):90–5.

Tiedje LB, Price E, You M. Childbirth Is Changing What Now? MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2008;33(3):144–50.

VandeVusse L. Decision making in analyses of women’s birth stories. Birth. 1999;26(1):43–50.

Yeo S, Fetters M, Maeda Y. Japanese couples’ childbirth experiences in michigan: implications for care. Birth. 2000;27(3):191–8.

LoGiudice JA, Beck CT. The lived experience of childbearing from survivors of sexual abuse: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times.” J Midwifery Womens Health. 2016;61(4):474–81.

Mackey MC. Women’s evaluation of the labor and delivery experience. Nursingconnections. 1998;11(3):19–32.

CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Matthews R, Callister LC. Childbearing women’s perceptions of nursing care that promotes dignity. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2004;33(4):498–507.

Ayerle GM, Schäfers R, Mattern E, Striebich S, Haastert B, Vomhof M, et al. Effects of the birthing room environment on vaginal births and client-centred outcomes for women at term planning a vaginal birth: BE-UP, a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2018 Nov 19;19(1):NA-NA.

Hollins Martin C, Fleming V. The birth satisfaction scale. Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2011;24(2):124–35.

Uvnäs-Moberg K. The physiology and pharmacology of oxytocin in labor and in the peripartum period. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024;230(3):S740–58.

Tatano BC. A metaethnography of traumatic childbirth and its aftermath: amplifying causal looping. Qual Health Res. 2011;21(3):301–11.

Beck CT. Birth trauma and its sequelae. J Trauma Dissociation. 2009;10(2):189–203.

Download references

Financial support for publication was provided by the University of Oklahoma Libraries’ Open Access Fund.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

December Maxwell

The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

Sarah R. Leat

The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

Toni Gallegos & Regina T. Praetorius

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Corresponding author.

Correspondence to Regina T. Praetorius .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not Applicable.

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Maxwell, D., Leat, S.R., Gallegos, T. et al. Sacred space: a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis of women’s experiences of supportive birthing environments. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 24 , 372 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06544-6

Download citation

Received : 06 November 2023

Accepted : 25 April 2024

Published : 15 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06544-6

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS)
Birthing process
Becoming a mother
Built environment

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

ISSN: 1471-2393

Submission enquiries: [email protected]
General enquiries: [email protected]

This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Published on 17.5.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

Reporting of Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Research Utilizing Social Media Data on Public Health Care: Scoping Review

Authors of this article:

Yujie Zhang 1, 2 * , MD ;
Jiaqi Fu 1, 2 * , MD ;
Jie Lai 1, 2 * , MD ;
Shisi Deng 1, 2 , MD ;
Zihan Guo 1, 2 , MD ;
Chuhan Zhong 1, 2 , MD ;
Jianyao Tang 1, 2 , MD ;
Wenqiong Cao 1 , BSc ;
Yanni Wu 1 , PhD

1 Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

2 School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

*these authors contributed equally

Corresponding Author:

Yanni Wu, PhD

Nanfang Hospital

Southern Medical University

No 1838 Guangzhou Avenue North

Baiyun District, Guangdong Province

Guangzhou, 510515

Phone: 86 02061641192

Email: [email protected]

Background: The internet community has become a significant source for researchers to conduct qualitative studies analyzing users’ views, attitudes, and experiences about public health. However, few studies have assessed the ethical issues in qualitative research using social media data.

Objective: This study aims to review the reportage of ethical considerations in qualitative research utilizing social media data on public health care.

Methods: We performed a scoping review of studies mining text from internet communities and published in peer-reviewed journals from 2010 to May 31, 2023. These studies, limited to the English language, were retrieved to evaluate the rates of reporting ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy issues. We searched 5 databases, that is, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase. Gray literature was supplemented from Google Scholar and OpenGrey websites. Studies using qualitative methods mining text from the internet community focusing on health care topics were deemed eligible. Data extraction was performed using a standardized data extraction spreadsheet. Findings were reported using PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines.

Results: After 4674 titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, 108 studies on mining text from the internet community were included. Nearly half of the studies were published in the United States, with more studies from 2019 to 2022. Only 59.3% (64/108) of the studies sought ethical approval, 45.3% (49/108) mentioned informed consent, and only 12.9% (14/108) of the studies explicitly obtained informed consent. Approximately 86% (12/14) of the studies that reported informed consent obtained digital informed consent from participants/administrators, while 14% (2/14) did not describe the method used to obtain informed consent. Notably, 70.3% (76/108) of the studies contained users’ written content or posts: 68% (52/76) contained verbatim quotes, while 32% (24/76) paraphrased the quotes to prevent traceability. However, 16% (4/24) of the studies that paraphrased the quotes did not report the paraphrasing methods. Moreover, 18.5% (20/108) of the studies used aggregated data analysis to protect users’ privacy. Furthermore, the rates of reporting ethical approval were different between different countries ( P =.02) and between papers that contained users’ written content (both direct and paraphrased quotes) and papers that did not contain users’ written content ( P <.001).

Conclusions: Our scoping review demonstrates that the reporting of ethical considerations is widely neglected in qualitative research studies using social media data; such studies should be more cautious in citing user quotes to maintain user privacy. Further, our review reveals the need for detailed information on the precautions of obtaining informed consent and paraphrasing to reduce the potential bias. A national consensus of ethical considerations such as ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy issues is needed for qualitative research of health care using social media data of internet communities.

Introduction

Social media are web-based computer-mediated tools to collaborate, share, or exchange information, ideas, pictures, or videos in virtual communities and networks such as message boards, communities, chat rooms, forums, Twitter, and Facebook [ 1 ]. Moreover, patients and researchers can use internet communities to provide health care and disseminate health information [ 2 , 3 ]. Health care refers to the efforts made to improve or maintain physical, mental, or emotional well-being, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and other physical and mental impairments [ 4 ]. Currently, with 57% of the global population’s access to social media, more than 40% of the patients and caregivers worldwide utilize the internet community for health care information needs [ 5 ]. With diverse populations accessing internet communities and sharing information about health care topics, researchers have the opportunity to collect and analyze text about health care from a diverse range of participants in the internet community, which was unavailable previously [ 6 ]. Usually, quantitative data are derived from information extraction, which can be analyzed statistically, and the summary results presented cannot be directly linked to individual participants. In contrast, qualitative research within internet community analysis posts and comments qualitatively or thematically involves a more detailed and in-depth analysis and understanding of the full written content [ 7 ]. However, a controversial ethical problem has been raised about conducting qualitative research containing internet users’ verbatim quotes that could lead to traceability of the original post, thereby causing a threat to an individual’s privacy [ 8 ]. Additionally, a previous study investigated public and patients’ views regarding ethics in research using social media data and reported that internet users were aggrieved if they found any of their quotes cited in a medical research paper without obtaining their informed consent [ 9 ]. Further, besides the privacy breach caused by posts being traced, there is greater harm for special groups or vulnerable groups if we do not highlight the importance of the technical standards for text mining and privacy protection in health care. For instance, some unusual postings, abnormal pictures, and interactions that were expressed by individuals with mental disorders in social media can be detected by researchers by using text mining tools without obtaining their consent [ 10 ]. The publication of research on mental disorders, including quotes in posts, can result in a high risk of information harm, which can lead to personal information being revealed and further stigmatization of the condition or disease [ 11 ]. Since 2001, ethical concerns have been debated for decades about ethical approval, informed consent, and how to ensure anonymity and preserve data privacy and confidentiality in qualitative research in the internet community [ 12 - 14 ].

With the rapid development of social media and internet research, some ethical guidelines or standards have been published to ensure that research based on internet communities is conducted ethically. The Association of Internet Researchers (internet research ethical guidelines 2.0 and 3.0) showed that researchers working without the direct approval of ethics review boards would have additional challenges to face, and obtaining informed consent is obviously impracticable in several big data projects. However, with the ethical issues about privacy breaches and harms of risk of discrimination, the Association of Internet Researchers recommended reserving the acquisition of informed consent to the dissemination stage by asking for informed consent from specific participants before publication of their quotes [ 15 , 16 ]. Furthermore, researchers should take responsibility for information confidentiality and anonymity according to the internet research ethics criteria prepared by the National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities guidelines, which recommend a basic research ethic norm for the analyses, reports, and evaluations that apply to all research [ 17 ]. Moreover, the National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities guidelines contain more details about the demand for legal consent and privacy standards imposed by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The General Data Protection Regulation is a European Union–wide regulation targeting the project of personal data processing. The General Data Protection Regulation defines personal data as any information relating to an identifiable person (data subject), including name, online identification number, location data, and other factors related to personal, physical, physiological, mental, or social identity [ 18 ]. The General Data Protection Regulation recommends using anonymous data and deleting identifiable information to ensure the confidentiality of the data. Consent should be obtained from the individual for use in scientific research [ 18 , 19 ]. The British Psychological Society guideline does not explicitly refer to the internet community but suggests that researchers may consider paraphrasing the verbatim quotes to reduce the risk of being traced or identified in qualitative research [ 20 ]. When paraphrasing, steps must be put into place to ensure that the original meaning of the message is maintained. Currently, there is no widespread consensus on ethical considerations by social media researchers.

Some researchers have tried to explore the reporting of existing ethical considerations in research papers using social media data. For instance, Sinnenberg et al [ 6 ] reported that only 32% and 12% of the papers mentioned acquiring ethical approval and informed consent, respectively, by utilizing multiple analysis methods, including surveillance, intervention, recruitment, engagement, content analysis, and network analysis with Twitter data before 2015. Thereafter, Takats et al [ 21 ] conducted an updated examination based on Sinnenberg et al’s [ 6 ] study. They found that of 367 studies using different methodological approaches, including sentiment mining, surveillance, and thematic exploration of public health research using Twitter data between 2010 to 2019, 17% of the studies included verbatim tweets and identifiable information about the internet users [ 21 ]. Similarly, Lathan et al [ 22 ] reviewed papers, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, by using Facebook data to explore public health issues and reported that only 48% and 10% of the papers obtained ethical approval and informed consent, respectively. Furthermore, in a study on research using YouTube data or comments, Tanner et al [ 23 ] found that only 26.1% of these studies sought ethical approval, only 1 paper (0.08%) sought informed consent, and 27.7% contained identifiable information. These findings indicate widespread neglect of ethical issues such as ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy issues in research papers using social media data.

Our study focuses on the ethical challenges of qualitative studies utilizing social media data. First, social media can be considered as sources for qualitative data collection because of the low cost, vast amount of available sources about health information, and users’ health behaviors, experiences, and attitudes. Second, qualitative research is context-dependent and mainly contains quotations and written content to support the viewpoint. It is acknowledged that quote materials from social media would potentially be traced back to the original posts and threaten the users’ privacy [ 24 ]. This is supported by findings reported by Ayers et al [ 25 ] who found that online searches of verbatim Twitter quotes in journal papers described as “content analyses” or “coded Twitter postings” can be traced back to individual internet users 84% of the time. Furthermore, Lathan et al [ 22 ] identified that 46% of the studies with verbatim or paraphrased quotes could be traced to the original posts in 10 minutes. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the extent to which ethical oversight is reported in qualitative studies using social media data. Moreover, qualitative research often involves personally sensitive data about health conditions and diseases; hence, anonymity and proper deidentification would be more important for researchers [ 26 , 27 ].

Previous studies have reviewed the ethical challenges and methodological use of social media platforms such as Twitter [ 6 , 21 ], Facebook [ 22 ], and YouTube [ 23 ] for health care research in both qualitative and quantitative studies. Although there is plenty of qualitative data pouring into social media such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Weibo, evidence is lacking on the investigation of ethical considerations targeting qualitative data in different software and web-based discussion forums to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the ethical issues. To address the ethical considerations in qualitative research of different internet communities and draw the attention of researchers and publishers to ethical issues, we conducted this study to evaluate the ethical practices and ethical considerations of qualitative studies on health care by using data of internet communities. This review aims to (1) assess the rates of reporting institutional review board (IRB) approval and informed consent in studies focused on mining text in the internet community and social media, (2) compare these rates according to the year of publication, country conducting the research, website included in the study’s analysis, and journal’s guidelines about ethical approval for the type of study, and (3) describe whether the studies used anonymized/deidentified data.

Research Design

We conducted a scoping review to investigate how qualitative research mining social media data handles ethical approval, informed consent, and confidential issues. We performed this study according to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. The completed PRISMA-ScR checklist is provided in Multimedia Appendix 1 .

Search Strategy

All published qualitative studies from 2010 to March 31, 2023, focusing on mining text from online community and social media sources about health care in the following databases were included in this study: PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase. A standardized search string containing Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and non-MeSH entry terms was used in the search strategy. In addition, the reference lists of the retrieved papers and citation tracking were manually searched as a supplement to database searches to improve comprehensiveness. Gray literature was also identified through internet searches in Google Scholar and OpenGrey websites. The search strategies are represented in Multimedia Appendix 2 .

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

We divided the criteria into 2 parts. First, we limited the inclusion and exclusion criteria used at the title and abstract screening stage eligible for (1) studies mining existing text and posts from the internet community and social media data focusing on health care topics, (2) studies using qualitative methods or available qualitative parts in mixed methods studies to analyze data, and (3) studies only written in English. Ineligible studies were those related to investigating the use and dissemination of social media in health care, using social media or internet community as an intervention tool, and using social media to conduct web-based interviews, surveys, or focus groups. We also excluded studies published as reviews, case studies, conference abstracts, commentaries, policies, guidelines, and recommendations. Second, at the full screening stage, the specific eligible inclusion criteria were studies focused on mining text about health care topics with full-text papers. Studies that did not have the full text after contacting the authors and that were not originally in the English language were excluded.

Study Selection

All results of the searches were entered into the EndNote library, and duplicates were removed. Two researchers reviewed the titles and abstracts based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria independently. Those studies that were irrelevant to the study topic were discarded, and then the full text was screened to select eligible papers. Any disagreements were discussed and resolved by consensus or a third person.

Data Extraction

Data were extracted between April 2023 and May 2023. Two researchers independently read the full text carefully, and the results were extracted using a standardized data extraction spreadsheet, including research type, first author, study objective, sample size, publication time, country where the research was conducted or country of the first author, website or internet community the studies focus on, type of data collected from social media, language of collected posts or data, privacy level of data (public or privacy posts), study design, research results, published journal, and information about the ethical considerations. Disagreements were resolved by consensus of a third person. The information about ethical considerations was analyzed to investigate the rates of reporting ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy issues: whether IRB review was reported (IRB approval, IRB exemption, unnecessary, not mentioned) and the reason for not requiring IRB approval; whether informed consent was obtained from participants or the websites’ administrators, consent types (digitally informed consent or written informed consent, informed consent is not required, consent was waived by IRB), and the methods used to obtain consent in each study; and whether quoting a post in papers could lead to the identification of internet users in each study. The description of users’ posts (verbatim quote, paraphrase) was recorded. We also analyzed if posts were paraphrased to maintain the original meaning, if actions were taken to deidentify the internet users, and if the posts contained other identifying information (ie, usernames, photos, links, hashtags) attached to the post. As every journal would provide publication ethical considerations and requirements, we also searched the submission guidelines and editorial policies of each journal submission website to check whether the journal contained any ethical guidance targeting studies using data from internet community and social media platforms. Additional information was included about the details of ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy, for example, whether individuals can withdraw their quotes if they want to be excluded from the study at any time without any reprisal and whether the quotations were tested for deidentification via search engines. There was excellent agreement on the primary outcome between the 2 researchers (k>.95 for all).

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using SPSS software (IBM Corp). The chi-square test or Fisher exact tests (when cell size was less than 5) were used to test for differences between the rates of informed consent and ethical approval according to publication year, website, and different countries. All P values were 2-sided, and P values <.05 indicated significance.

Study Selection for the Review

We reviewed 4674 papers after removing the duplicates. After screening the titles, abstracts, and full-texts, we reviewed 108 eligible papers ( Figure 1 ). The full list of the included papers and all the extracted information are incorporated in Multimedia Appendix 3 [ 28 - 135 ]. Of the 108 studies reviewed, 73 (67.6%) were qualitative studies and 35 (32.4%) were mixed methods studies. All papers had text mined from internet communities or social media for qualitative analysis. The sample size ranged from 32 to 392,962. Approximately 82.4% (89/108) of the studies were published after 2018, and there was a sharp increase in the number of studies from 2019 to 2022. Moreover, nearly half of the studies (55/108, 50.9%) were published in the United States. Regarding the websites for mining text, the most widely used social media platform was Twitter (42/108, 38.9%), followed by Facebook (17/108, 15.7%).

Ethics Approval in These Studies

Our results indicated that of the 108 studies, 78 (72.2%) reported ethics approval. Of the 78 studies, 31 (40%) explicitly stated that ethics approval was obtained before the study was undertaken, 33 (42%) reported that the ethics approval was granted through exemptions by the local IRB, and 14 (18%) explicitly demonstrated that approval by the ethics committee was not required because publicly available data were collected from internet communities and social media platforms. However, 30 (27.8%) of the 108 studies did not mention about obtaining IRB approval ( Table 1 ).

Based on our exploration of the ethical guidelines of each journal to determine whether there were ethical requirements for studies mining social media data, only 36.1% (39/108) of the studies were published in journals that required ethical considerations for studies gathering data from social media platforms by using internet and digital technologies. Of the 39 studies published in 19 journals, 27 (69%) were published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research and its sister journals. The submission guidelines of the Journal of Medical Internet Research state that authors of manuscripts describing studies of internet, digital tools, and technologies are required to verify that they have adhered to local, national, regional, and international laws and regulations, and are required to verify that they complied with informed consent guidelines. Moreover, 2 journals also provided a specific requirement, that is, when researchers interact with individuals or obtain privacy information gathered from social media platforms, they should obtain ethics approval prior to conducting the study and informed consent from anyone who could potentially be identified. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in the ethics approval reportage between journals with ethics approval guidelines and those that did not have ethics guidelines for researchers gathering data from social media platforms ( P =.08). Notably, the rates of reporting ethics approval were different between different countries ( P =.02). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the rates of reporting ethical approval and different websites or publication years (all P >.05) ( Table 2 ).

Informed Consent

Of the 108 studies, 59 (54.7%) showed that they did not include any information about informed consent and 49 (45.3%) mentioned informed consent. Of the 49 studies that mentioned informed consent, 14 (13%) demonstrated that informed consent was waived by local institutional boards, and 21 (19%) reported that informed consent was not required because this information is publicly available in websites or did not involve human participants. We interpreted this as not seeking informed consent. Only 14 (12.9%) of the 108 studies explicitly indicated that informed consent was obtained ( Table 1 ). Among the 14 studies, 2 (14%) only provided a generic statement that informed consent was obtained but did not report the process of how the informed consent was obtained, while 12 (86%) received digital informed consent. Of the 12 studies that reported receiving digital informed consent, 6 reported that they sought permission from the communities’ or groups’ administrators and by posting a statement of the research objective on the group’s wall, while 5 studies contacted the participants privately via email, commenting below the posts and software to gain consent, and 1 study reported that it had sent a digital version of the informed consent book. Furthermore, among the studies that had obtained informed consent, 7 studies included the statement that the individuals’ posts would be removed if they wanted to be excluded from the study, and they could withdraw from the study whenever they wanted. In addition, the rates of reporting informed consent showed no statistical significance between publication years, different countries, and different websites (all P >.05) ( Table 2 ).

Confidentiality of the Information

All data sources were obtained from anonymous websites or communities, and the majority (104/108, 96.3%) of the data sources did not contain usernames. Notably, only 3.7% (4/108) of the studies contained the participants’ usernames or pseudonyms. One study reported that pseudonyms like Sasha had been used instead of the real name. The other 3 studies contained the expression for usernames but did not state whether pseudonyms were used. Except for 9 studies that used nonnative language quotes and 3 studies that were transcribed into text via video, among the 108 included studies, 76 (70.3%) quoted at least one native language post in their reports. Additionally, 20 studies presenting aggregated analysis or composite accounts did not include any quotation or written content. Of the 76 studies containing internet users’ written content, 52 (68%) contained just verbatim-quoted participants’ posts and 24 (32%) contained paraphrased posts ( Table 1 ). Among the 52 studies containing direct and verbatim quotations, which are likely to be traced to the original posts from users, only 17 (33%) studies took measures to deidentify the users. The 17 studies mentioned that all names or usernames were removed and personal identifying information was removed to maintain privacy, while 42% (22/52) of the studies did not mention any measures that were taken to deidentify the users and maintain confidentiality. Approximately 32% (24/76) of the studies described that they paraphrased posts and removed any explicitly identified personal information to maintain confidentiality to reduce the likelihood of users being identified via search engines. Of the 24 studies, 20 (83%) reported that the quotations were slightly modified or summarized for readability, the symbol information was removed using “…”, and key identifiable information was removed to protect privacy while maintaining the meaning of posts. Four of the 24 (17%) studies did not report the methods and details of paraphrasing. Notably, only 3% (2/76) of the studies containing users’ written content showed that researchers intentionally entered each quote into search engines to ensure that every quote did not lead to the original posts. Moreover, of the 76 studies containing written content, 62 (82%) did not contain other types of identity information attached to the posts, while 14 (18%) included other identifying data (hashtags, emojis, geolocation, photos, links, screenshots) attached to the original posts for analysis ( Table 1 ). Of the 14 studies including other identifying information, 4 (29%) contained photos and screenshots associated with the website pages. Of the 52 studies that disclosed verbatim quotes and other identifiable information, 26 (46%) studies reported informed consent consideration, and only 8 (15%) obtained explicitly informed consent. Additionally, of the 77% (40/52) of the studies that mentioned IRB or ethical review, 38% (15/40) received IRB approval, and 63% (25/40) of the studies were granted exemption. The proportion of reporting ethical approval in studies containing users’ written content was modestly higher than that in studies not containing users’ written content (60/76, 79% vs 14/32, 44%; P <.001) ( Table 2 ).

Principal Findings and Comparison to Prior Work

In this scoping review, we included 108 studies ( Multimedia Appendix 3 ; [ 28 - 135 ]) that focused on mining text from internet community and social media data for health care research, and we reviewed the ethical consideration reportage and outcome reports in these studies. We found that the rates of reporting IRB approval and informed consent in qualitative research on health care utilizing social media data were 59.3% (64/108) and 12.9% (14/108), respectively. Our findings demonstrate that the key ethical considerations for qualitative research in online communities are insufficiently discussed and described. However, the reporting rates of ethical considerations in the papers in our scoping review were much higher than those reported in systematic reviews including multiple analysis methodologies on only 1 social media platform. For example, ethics approval and informed consent were reported in 48% and 10% of research studies using only Facebook data [ 22 ], 32% and 0% from 2006 to 2019 [ 21 ], 40% and 0.9% (only 1 paper) from 2015 to 2016 in public health research using only Twitter data [ 25 ], and 26.1% and 0.8% (only 1 paper) in researches incorporating only YouTube data [ 23 ], respectively. In fact, previous studies were limited to only a few selected websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. There is a lack of research that incorporates a variety of different social media data for comparisons. Differences in the reporting of ethical considerations may be attributed to the different methodologies adopted by studies. For example, Lathan et al [ 22 ] analyzed the ethical considerations in studies including predictive or model development, while our research focuses on the ethical considerations in qualitative studies.

Importantly, our findings indicate that there is a need to develop a standardized and apparent approach for the reporting of ethical considerations in qualitative research of data from social media and online communities. Our research demonstrates that the rates of reporting ethics approval are different in different countries ( P =.02). Specifically, a wide variety of national research ethics governing bodies and over 1000 laws, regulations, and standards provide oversight for human subjects research in 130 countries. Obviously, a guideline is needed for best ethical practices for qualitative research involving posts from social media platforms. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between the rates of reporting ethical approval and those of journals specifying ethical requirements for studies involving text mining ( P =.08). This inconsistent result of publication guidelines and reports of ethical approval consent is similar to previous findings on the ethical standards in COVID-19 human studies [ 136 ]. Although there are journal publication guidelines for studies mining social media data, the reports of ethical approval and consent in the papers published in such journals do not exactly follow the guidelines. Consequently, this finding indicates that more ethical awareness is needed among researchers, editors, and reviewers for qualitative studies on data mining.

Besides the different legal and regulations in different countries, the inconsistency in the ethics approval in published papers may be because social media research is a highly interdisciplinary science, and computer science researchers may be less experienced or may pay less attention to the key ethical issues of protecting human subjects [ 137 ]. Medical and health science researchers may have considered some ethical concerns about gathering social media data but they may not be familiar with the relevant guidelines. For example, the Association of Internet Researchers has a detailed ethical guideline targeting social scientists conducting digital research, while it may be less popular and less well-known among medical and health care researchers. At the institute level, Ferretti et al [ 138 ] noticed that institutionalized review committees, especially the individual IRB institutes for universities and health care systems lack knowledge about the methodology, text mining technical standards, data security, and ethical harms for studies using big data and social media as sources. Because of this lack of knowledge, institutional ethics committees may have inconsistent ethical criteria and perspectives about web-based projects using social media data [ 139 ]. Therefore, some ethics review committees exclude research on internet communities from ethical oversights because their ethics standards are confined only to medical fields. Above all, it is additionally challenging for ethical approval institutions because of the continuous development and dynamic change of studies using social media data. Furthermore, it is necessary for ethics committee members to be trained about the ethical issues in studies mining text from social media. Inviting interdisciplinary researchers to join in the approval process would be an appropriate method to increase the awareness of ethical considerations [ 140 , 141 ].

Interestingly, the reporting rate of obtaining informed consent for mining social media data in qualitative studies was unexpected. The most influential ethical reports such as the Nuremberg Code [ 142 ], Declaration of Helsinki [ 143 ], and the Belmont Report [ 144 ] have demonstrated the principle of informed consent in research involving humans. Our review shows that only 12.9% (14/108) of the studies explicitly obtained informed consent and 32.4% (35/108) of the studies reported that informed consent was exempted by IRB or was not required, as the information was available publicly in websites or did not involve human participants. Our results are similar to those of Wongkoblap et al [ 145 ] who reported that only 16.7% of the studies received informed consent from participants prior to data analysis on data mining of social network data on mental health disorders.

There are multiple reasons for the challenges in obtaining informed consent in an internet setting. First, it is impractical for researchers to gain individual informed consent from a large number of users in an internet community [ 146 ]. Second, members of ethics review boards lack consensus about the need for informed consent from an internet community for qualitative research under the current legal definition [ 147 ]. Moreover, there has been a debate on the criteria of human subject research in using social media data. The federal regulation recommends that if data in the studies are obtained from public social media websites, where data are identifiable and do not require interaction with individuals, such studies do not constitute human subject research, while studies involving the identification of private information or interaction with the individual can be considered as human subject research [ 148 ]. In contrast, some researchers believe that social media and big data research are not ethically exceptional and should be treated in the same manner and with the same rules as those for traditional forms of research [ 149 ]. There is ambiguity as to what is appropriate or should be standard practice for obtaining informed consent.

Currently, it is challenging to maintain privacy and protect the traceability of individuals posting content in the internet community. Our findings indicated that 70.3% (76/108) of the studies contained internet users’ written content, of which 68% (52/76) included verbatim quotations of users’ posts that could lead to identification, and 18% (14/76) of the studies included other identifiable information such as links, screenshots, and emojis linked to original posts, which are similar to the findings of Ayers et al [ 25 ] and Lathan et al [ 22 ]. Usha Lawrance et al [ 150 ] and Wilkinson and Thelwall [ 151 ] argued that using direct quotes to support findings would lead to the identification of users and breach users’ confidentiality in internet community data. Moreover, quoting social media posts or disclosing usernames violate the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ ethics standards, which state that identifying information such as written descriptions and photos should not be published unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the participants give written informed consent for publication [ 152 ]. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that the proportion of studies containing users’ written content (both direct and paraphrased quotations) is higher than that of studies that do not include any quotation or written content (60/76, 79% vs 14/32, 44%; P <.001)——a tentative explanation is that some researchers realized that ethical reportage should be stricter for qualitative papers with quotations from social media posts due to privacy and security issues. This is supported by Boyd and Crawford [ 153 ] who stated that rigorous thinking about the process of mining and anonymizing big data is required for ethics boards to ensure that people are protected. Our findings show that 32% (24/76) of the studies intentionally paraphrased the quotes to ensure that users could not locate them, and 20 studies used aggregated data interconnected with anonymity. Moreover, it is recommended by Wilkinson and Thelwall [ 151 ], Bond et al [ 154 ], and Markham et al [ 155 ] that researchers should not directly quote and work with aggregate data sets and separate texts from their original context, which is more acceptable to participants. In addition, the British Psychological Society guidelines recommend that researchers consider paraphrasing any verbatim quotes to reduce the risk of these being traced to the source [ 20 ]. Notably, 13 of the 25 papers in this study showed that they did not report the precautions taken for paraphrasing. This may be due to the lack of detailed methodology and consensus about paraphrasing quotes to reduce bias and maintaining the original meaning.

Limitations and Strengths

Our scoping review has several limitations. First, our research was limited to qualitative studies and the qualitative parts in mixed methods studies on text mining from social media, and it is unclear whether ethical considerations are critical in quantitative studies among internet communities. Second, we were restricted to studies published in English language and those with the full text available, and therefore, we could be underestimating the number of relevant papers published in other languages. Third, the rates of reporting ethical approval, informed consent, and privacy of this research relied on self-reported data. Thus, it is possible that although certain studies did not report the process of ethical considerations, such considerations may have been followed during the research. Conversely, some studies may have mentioned about the ethical considerations but may not have conducted them in practice. Hence, there is a bias because of the lack of accurate documentation that must be considered.

Social media text mining can be a useful tool for researchers to understand patient experiences of health conditions and health care. However, as illustrated by the absence of ethical discourse in publications, our analysis indicates significant gaps in the ethical considerations and governance of qualitative research of internet posts. Therefore, a complete and consistent consensus guideline of ethical considerations in qualitative research of internet posts is needed to protect users’ data. With the continued advancing development of text-mining techniques, qualitative studies mining text from social media should be more cautious while using user quotations to maintain user privacy and protect the traceability of the internet users posting content. We suggest that authors should report their results by using aggregated findings or deidentified ways like paraphrasing instead of verbatim quotations, which can prevent internet users from being identified through search engines. In addition, authors should provide more detailed information about the precautions taken for obtaining informed consent and paraphrasing to reduce the potential bias. Furthermore, journals and editors should pay more attention to the reporting standards of ethical consideration and privacy issues in qualitative research involving social media data.

Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72304131) and the Outstanding Youths Development Scheme of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University (2023J005). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of this manuscript. We sincerely thank the funders of this study.

Data Availability

All data extracted and analyzed during this study are presented in this paper and in the multimedia appendices.

Authors' Contributions

YW was responsible for the protocol of the research and redrafted the paper critically. YZ and JF performed literature searches. YZ, JL, and WC performed study identification and screening. ZG, SD, CZ, and JT extracted and analyzed the data from the included journals. YZ and JL wrote the first draft of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist.

Search strategy for each database.

Summary of included literature.

Obar JA, Wildman S. Social media definition and the governance challenge: An introduction to the special issue. Telecommunications Policy. Oct 2015;39(9):745-750. [ CrossRef ]
Kaplan AM, Haenlein M. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons. Jan 2010;53(1):59-68. [ CrossRef ]
VanDam C, Kanthawala S, Pratt W, Chai J, Huh J. Detecting clinically related content in online patient posts. J Biomed Inform. Nov 2017;75:96-106. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Health care. Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care [accessed 2023-06-01]
Moorhead SA, Hazlett DE, Harrison L, Carroll JK, Irwin A, Hoving C. A new dimension of health care: systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. J Med Internet Res. Apr 23, 2013;15(4):e85. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sinnenberg L, Buttenheim AM, Padrez K, Mancheno C, Ungar L, Merchant RM. Twitter as a tool for health research: A systematic review. Am J Public Health. Jan 2017;107(1):e1-e8. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. Jan 2006;3(2):77-101. [ CrossRef ]
Hswen Y, Naslund JA, Brownstein JS, Hawkins JB. Monitoring online discussions about suicide among Twitter users with schizophrenia: exploratory study. JMIR Ment Health. Dec 13, 2018;5(4):e11483. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Golder S, Ahmed S, Norman G, Booth A. Attitudes toward the ethics of research using social media: a systematic review. J Med Internet Res. Jun 06, 2017;19(6):e195. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Athanasopoulou C, Sakellari E. Facebook and health information: content analysis of groups related to schizophrenia. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2015;213:255-258. [ Medline ]
Conway M, O'Connor D. Social media, big data, and mental health: current advances and ethical implications. Curr Opin Psychol. Jun 2016;9:77-82. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Eysenbach G, Till JE. Ethical issues in qualitative research on internet communities. BMJ. Nov 10, 2001;323(7321):1103-1105. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Heilferty CM. Ethical considerations in the study of online illness narratives: a qualitative review. J Adv Nurs. May 2011;67(5):945-953. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Roberts LD. Ethical issues in conducting qualitative research in online communities. Qualitative Research in Psychology. Apr 20, 2015;12(3):314-325. [ CrossRef ]
Franzke A, Bechmann A, Zimmer M, Ess C, the Association of Internet Researchers. Internet research: ethical guidelines 3.0. Association of Internet Researchers. 2020. URL: https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf [accessed 2023-05-30]
Markham A, Buchanan E. Ethical decision-making and internet research: recommendations from the AoIR ethics working committee (version 2.0). AoIR. 2012. URL: https://aoir.org/reports/ethics2.pdf [accessed 2023-06-05]
The NCFREITSSH(. Ethical guidelines for internet research. 2022. URL: https://www.forskningsetikk.no/en/guidelines/social-sciences-humanities-law-and-theology/a-guide-to-internet-research-ethics [accessed 2023-06-13]
Chapter 3: Rights of the data subject. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). European Commission. Official Journal of the European Union; 2018. URL: https://gdpr-info.eu/chapter-3/ [accessed 2023-11-29]
Hand DJ. Aspects of data ethics in a changing world: where are we now? Big Data. Sep 01, 2018;6(3):176-190. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
British Psychological Society. Ethics guidelines for internet-mediated research. 2021. URL: https://explore.bps.org.uk/binary/bpsworks/64374754e0c1dd30/5a757d7c2d39a9837f0eedec1b9ba28fa5e9e38f0bffa9950b678ab727803959/rep155_2021.pdf [accessed 2023-05-30]
Takats C, Kwan A, Wormer R, Goldman D, Jones HE, Romero D. Ethical and methodological considerations of Twitter data for public health research: systematic review. J Med Internet Res. Nov 29, 2022;24(11):e40380. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Lathan HS, Kwan A, Takats C, Tanner JP, Wormer R, Romero D, et al. Ethical considerations and methodological uses of Facebook data in public health research: A systematic review. Soc Sci Med. Apr 2023;322:115807. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Tanner J, Takats C, Lathan H, Kwan A, Wormer R, Romero D, et al. Approaches to research ethics in health research on YouTube: systematic review. J Med Internet Res. Oct 04, 2023;25:e43060. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Stockdale J, Cassell J, Ford E. "Giving something back": A systematic review and ethical enquiry into public views on the use of patient data for research in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Wellcome Open Res. 2018;3:6. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Ayers JW, Caputi TL, Nebeker C, Dredze M. Don't quote me: reverse identification of research participants in social media studies. NPJ Digit Med. 2018;1:30. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Aitken M, de St Jorre J, Pagliari C, Jepson R, Cunningham-Burley S. Public responses to the sharing and linkage of health data for research purposes: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies. BMC Med Ethics. Nov 10, 2016;17(1):73. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Hunter RF, Gough A, O’Kane N, McKeown G, Fitzpatrick A, Walker T, et al. Ethical issues in social media research for public health. Am J Public Health. Mar 2018;108(3):343-348. [ CrossRef ]
Ahmed OH, Sullivan SJ, Schneiders AG, McCrory P. iSupport: do social networking sites have a role to play in concussion awareness? Disabil Rehabil. 2010;32(22):1877-1883. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Bender JL, Jimenez-Marroquin M, Jadad AR. Seeking support on Facebook: a content analysis of breast cancer groups. J Med Internet Res. Feb 04, 2011;13(1):e16. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Gajaria A, Yeung E, Goodale T, Charach A. Beliefs about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and response to stereotypes: youth postings in Facebook groups. J Adolesc Health. Jul 2011;49(1):15-20. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Degroot JM. Maintaining relational continuity with the deceased on Facebook. Omega (Westport). Nov 01, 2012;65(3):195-212. [ CrossRef ]
Donelle L, Booth RG. Health tweets: an exploration of health promotion on twitter. Online J Issues Nurs. Sep 30, 2012;17(3):4. [ FREE Full text ] [ Medline ]
Rui JR, Chen Y, Damiano A. Health organizations providing and seeking social support: a Twitter-based content analysis. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. Sep 2013;16(9):669-673. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Lyles CR, López A, Pasick R, Sarkar U. "5 mins of uncomfyness is better than dealing with cancer 4 a lifetime": an exploratory qualitative analysis of cervical and breast cancer screening dialogue on Twitter. J Cancer Educ. Mar 2013;28(1):127-133. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Lee JL, DeCamp M, Dredze M, Chisolm MS, Berger ZD. What are health-related users tweeting? A qualitative content analysis of health-related users and their messages on twitter. J Med Internet Res. Oct 15, 2014;16(10):e237. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Ahlwardt K, Heaivilin N, Gibbs J, Page J, Gerbert B, Tsoh JY. Tweeting about pain: comparing self-reported toothache experiences with those of backaches, earaches and headaches. J Am Dent Assoc. Jul 2014;145(7):737-743. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Struik LL, Baskerville NB. The role of Facebook in Crush the Crave, a mobile- and social media-based smoking cessation intervention: qualitative framework analysis of posts. J Med Internet Res. Jul 11, 2014;16(7):e170. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Abdel-Razig S, Anglade P, Ibrahim H. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a physician group's WhatsApp chat: qualitative content analysis. JMIR Form Res. Dec 07, 2021;5(12):e31791. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Reddy A. Skincare in social media: analyzing prominent themes in online dermatologic discussions. Cureus. May 7, 2021:e14890. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
van der Pijl MSG, Hollander MH, van der Linden T, Verweij R, Holten L, Kingma E, et al. Left powerless: A qualitative social media content analysis of the Dutch #breakthesilence campaign on negative and traumatic experiences of labour and birth. PLoS One. 2020;15(5):e0233114. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Rath L, Vijiaratnam N, Skibina O. Alemtuzumab in multiple sclerosis: lessons from social media in enhancing patient care. Int J MS Care. 2017;19(6):323-328. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Bloom R, Beck S, Chou W, Reblin M, Ellington L. In their own words: experiences of caregivers of adults with cancer as expressed on social media. ONF. Sep 1, 2019;46(5):617-630. [ CrossRef ]
Grumme V, Gordon S. Social media use by transplant recipients for support and healing. Comput Inform Nurs. Dec 2016;34(12):570-577. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Haug NA, Bielenberg J, Linder SH, Lembke A. Assessment of provider attitudes toward #naloxone on Twitter. Subst Abus. 2016;37(1):35-41. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Oren E, Martinez L, Hensley RE, Jain P, Ahmed T, Purnajo I, et al. Twitter communication during an outbreak of hepatitis A in San Diego, 2016–2018. Am J Public Health. Oct 2020;110(S3):S348-S355. [ CrossRef ]
Parker C, Zomer E, Liew D, Ayton D. Characterising experiences with acute myeloid leukaemia using an Instagram content analysis. PLoS One. 2021;16(5):e0250641. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Kurko T, Linden K, Kolstela M, Pietilä K, Airaksinen M. Is nicotine replacement therapy overvalued in smoking cessation? Analysis of smokers' and quitters' communication in social media. Health Expect. Dec 2015;18(6):2962-2977. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Reuter K, Lee D. Perspectives toward seeking treatment among patients with psoriasis: protocol for a Twitter content analysis. JMIR Res Protoc. Feb 18, 2021;10(2):e13731. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Mollema L, Harmsen IA, Broekhuizen E, Clijnk R, De Melker H, Paulussen T, et al. Disease detection or public opinion reflection? Content analysis of tweets, other social media, and online newspapers during the measles outbreak in The Netherlands in 2013. J Med Internet Res. May 26, 2015;17(5):e128. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
O'Hagan ET, Traeger AC, Bunzli S, Leake HB, Schabrun SM, Wand BM, et al. What do people post on social media relative to low back pain? A content analysis of Australian data. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. Aug 2021;54:102402. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Zhou F, Zhang W, Cai H, Cao Y. Portrayals of 2v, 4v and 9vHPV vaccines on Chinese social media: a content analysis of hot posts on Sina Weibo. Hum Vaccin Immunother. Nov 02, 2021;17(11):4433-4441. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Golder S, Bach M, O'Connor K, Gross R, Hennessy S, Gonzalez Hernandez G. Public perspectives on anti-diabetic drugs: exploratory analysis of Twitter posts. JMIR Diabetes. Jan 26, 2021;6(1):e24681. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Mercier R, Senter K, Webster R, Henderson RA. Instagram users? experiences of miscarriage. Obstet Gynecol 2020 Jan;? Jan 2020;135(1):166-173. [ CrossRef ]
Alghamdi A, Abumelha K, Allarakia J, Al-Shehri A. Conversations and misconceptions about chemotherapy in Arabic tweets: content analysis. J Med Internet Res. Jul 29, 2020;22(7):e13979. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Golder S, O'Connor K, Hennessy S, Gross R, Gonzalez-Hernandez G. Assessment of beliefs and attitudes about statins posted on Twitter: a qualitative study. JAMA Netw Open. Jun 01, 2020;3(6):e208953. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Stekelenburg N, Horsham C, O'Hara M, Janda M. Using social media to determine the affective and cognitive components of tweets about sunburn. Dermatology. Feb 27, 2020;236(2):75-80. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Meeking K. Patients' experiences of radiotherapy: Insights from Twitter. Radiography (Lond). Aug 2020;26(3):e146-e151. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Shah S, Bradbury-Jones C, Taylor J. Using Facebook to tell stories of premature ageing and sexual and reproductive healthcare across the life course for women with cerebral palsy in the UK and USA. BMJ Open. Feb 17, 2020;10(2):e032172. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Pretorius K, Choi E, Kang S, Mackert M. Sudden infant death syndrome on Facebook: qualitative descriptive content analysis to guide prevention efforts. J Med Internet Res. Jul 30, 2020;22(7):e18474. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Karmegam D, Mapillairaju B. What people share about the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter? An exploratory analysis. BMJ Health Care Inform. Nov 2020;27(3):e100133. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Hairston TK, Links AR, Harris V, Tunkel DE, Walsh J, Beach MC, et al. Evaluation of parental perspectives and concerns about pediatric tonsillectomy in social media. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Jan 01, 2019;145(1):45-52. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Årsand E, Bradway M, Gabarron E. What are diabetes patients versus health care personnel discussing on social media? J Diabetes Sci Technol. Mar 2019;13(2):198-205. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Jiang X, Jiang W, Cai J, Su Q, Zhou Z, He L, et al. Characterizing media content and effects of organ donation on a social media platform: content analysis. J Med Internet Res. Mar 12, 2019;21(3):e13058. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Oser TK, Minnehan KA, Wong G, Parascando J, McGinley E, Radico J, et al. Using social media to broaden understanding of the barriers and facilitators to exercise in adults with type 1 diabetes. J Diabetes Sci Technol. May 2019;13(3):457-465. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sutton J, Vos SC, Olson MK, Woods C, Cohen E, Gibson CB, et al. Lung cancer messages on Twitter: content analysis and evaluation. J Am Coll Radiol. Jan 2018;15(1 Pt B):210-217. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Thomas J, Prabhu AV, Heron DE, Beriwal S. Twitter and brachytherapy: An analysis of "tweets" over six years by patients and health care professionals. Brachytherapy. 2018;17(6):1004-1010. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Kelly-Hedrick M, Grunberg PH, Brochu F, Zelkowitz P. "It's totally okay to be sad, but never lose hope": content analysis of infertility-related videos on YouTube in relation to viewer preferences. J Med Internet Res. May 23, 2018;20(5):e10199. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Gage-Bouchard EA, LaValley S, Mollica M, Beaupin LK. Cancer communication on social media: examining how cancer caregivers use Facebook for cancer-related communication. Cancer Nurs. 2017;40(4):332-338. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Rael CT, Pierre D, Frye V, Kessler D, Duffy L, Malos N, et al. Evaluating blood donor experiences and barriers/facilitators to blood donation in the United States using YouTube video content. Transfusion. Sep 2021;61(9):2650-2657. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Fisher S, Jehassi A, Ziv M. Hidradenitis suppurativa on Facebook: thematic and content analyses of patient support group. Arch Dermatol Res. Aug 2020;312(6):421-426. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Abdoli S, Hessler D, Vora A, Smither B, Stuckey H. Descriptions of diabetes burnout from individuals with Type 1 diabetes: an analysis of YouTube videos. Diabet Med. Aug 2020;37(8):1344-1351. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Myneni S, Lewis B, Singh T, Paiva K, Kim SM, Cebula AV, et al. Diabetes self-management in the age of social media: large-scale analysis of peer interactions using semiautomated methods. JMIR Med Inform. Jun 30, 2020;8(6):e18441. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Charlie AM, Gao Y, Heller SL. What do patients want to know? questions and concerns regarding mammography expressed through social media. J Am Coll Radiol. Oct 2018;15(10):1478-1486. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Watts G, Christou P, Antonarakis G. Experiences of individuals concerning combined orthodontic and orthognathic surgical treatment: a qualitative Twitter analysis. Med Princ Pract. 2018;27(3):227-235. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Pai RR, Alathur S. Assessing mobile health applications with Twitter analytics. Int J Med Inform. May 2018;113:72-84. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Cheng TY, Liu L, Woo BK. Analyzing Twitter as a platform for Alzheimer-related dementia awareness: thematic analyses of tweets. JMIR Aging. Dec 10, 2018;1(2):e11542. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Bridges N, Howell G, Schmied V. Exploring breastfeeding support on social media. Int Breastfeed J. 2018;13:22. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Anderson JG, Hundt E, Dean M, Keim-Malpass J, Lopez RP. "The Church of Online Support": examining the use of blogs among family caregivers of persons with dementia. J Fam Nurs. Feb 2017;23(1):34-54. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Kearney MD, Selvan P, Hauer MK, Leader AE, Massey PM. Characterizing HPV vaccine sentiments and content on Instagram. Health Educ Behav. Dec 2019;46(2_suppl):37-48. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Davies SH, Langer MD, Klein A, Gonzalez-Hernandez G, Dowshen N. Adolescent perceptions of menstruation on Twitter: opportunities for advocacy and education. J Adolesc Health. Jul 2022;71(1):94-104. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Van Diepen C, Rosales Valdes D. A content analysis on the perceptions of LGBTQ+ (centred) health care on Twitter. Health Expect. Dec 2022;25(6):3238-3245. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Pleasure ZH, Frohwirth LF, Li N, Polis CB. A content analysis of Reddit users' posts about challenges to contraceptive care-seeking during COVID-19-related restrictions in the United States. J Health Commun. Oct 03, 2022;27(10):746-754. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Du Y, Dennis B, Ramirez V, Li C, Wang J, Meireles CL. Experiences and disease self-management in individuals living with chronic kidney disease: qualitative analysis of the National Kidney Foundation's online community. BMC Nephrol. Mar 04, 2022;23(1):88. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sadek Attalla S, Ow NL, McNarry M, De Simoni A. Experiences of exercise in patients with asthma: a qualitative analysis of discussions in a UK asthma online community. BJGP Open. Apr 29, 2022;6(3):BJGPO.2021.0162. [ CrossRef ]
Bartmess M, Talbot C, O'Dwyer ST, Lopez RP, Rose KM, Anderson JG. Using Twitter to understand perspectives and experiences of dementia and caregiving at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dementia (London). Jul 2022;21(5):1734-1752. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Brewer G, Centifanti L, Caicedo JC, Huxley G, Peddie C, Stratton K, et al. Experiences of mental distress during COVID-19: thematic analysis of discussion forum posts for anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Illn Crises Loss. Oct 2022;30(4):795-811. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Castillo LIR, Hadjistavropoulos T, Beahm J. Social media discussions about long-term care and the COVID-19 pandemic. J Aging Stud. Dec 2022;63:101076. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Colaceci S, Anderson G, Ricciuto V, Montinaro D, Alazraki G, Mena-Tudela D. Experiences of birth during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and Spain: A thematic analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Jun 18, 2022;19(12):7488. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Tripathi SD, Parker PD, Prabhu AV, Thomas K, Rodriguez A. An examination of patients and caregivers on Reddit Navigating Brain Cancer: content analysis of the brain tumor Subreddit. JMIR Cancer. Jun 22, 2022;8(2):e35324. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Jina-Pettersen N. Fear, neglect, coercion, and dehumanization: is inpatient psychiatric trauma contributing to a public health crisis? J Patient Exp. 2022;9:23743735221079138. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Rossi NA, Devarajan K, Chokshi SN, Ochoa VJ, Benavidez M, Malaya LT, et al. Social media depictions of cochlear implants: An Instagram and TikTok analysis. Otol Neurotol. 2023;44(1):e13-e21. [ CrossRef ]
Singh GK, Rego J, Chambers S, Fox J. Health professionals' perspectives of the role of palliative care during COVID-19: content analysis of articles and blogs posted on Twitter. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. Apr 2022;39(4):487-493. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Koly KN, Tasnim Z, Ahmed S, Saba J, Mahmood R, Farin FT, et al. Mental healthcare-seeking behavior of women in Bangladesh: content analysis of a social media platform. BMC Psychiatry. Dec 19, 2022;22(1):797. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Belcher R, Sim D, Meykler M, Owens-Walton J, Hassan N, Rubin R, et al. A qualitative analysis of female Reddit users' experiences with low libido: how do women perceive their changes in sexual desire? J Sex Med. Feb 27, 2023;20(3):287-297. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Culp F, Wu Y, Wu D, Ren Y, Raynor P, Hung P, et al. Understanding alcohol use discourse and stigma patterns in perinatal care on Twitter. Healthcare (Basel). Nov 26, 2022;10(12):2375. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Ferrey A, Ashworth G, Cabling M, Rundblad G, Ismail K. A thematic analysis of YouTube comments on a television documentary titled 'Diabulimia: The world's most dangerous eating disorder'. Diabet Med. May 2023;40(5):e15025. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Watt S, Salway T, Gómez-Ramírez O, Ablona A, Barton L, Chang H, et al. Rumination, risk, and response: a qualitative analysis of sexual health anxiety among online sexual health chat service users. Sex. Health. May 23, 2022;19(3):182-191. [ CrossRef ]
Naganathan G, Bilgen I, Cleland J, Reel E, Cil T. #COVID19 and #Breastcancer: a qualitative analysis of tweets. Curr Oncol. Nov 08, 2022;29(11):8483-8500. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Potgieter I, Hoare DJ, Fackrell K. Hyperacusis in children: a thematic analysis of discussions in online forums. Am J Audiol. Mar 03, 2022;31(1):166-174. [ CrossRef ]
Manning Hutson M, Hosking SM, Mantalvanos S, Berk M, Pasco J, Dunning T. What injured workers with complex claims look for in online communities: netnographic analysis. J Med Internet Res. Apr 07, 2022;24(4):e17180. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Lawless MT, Hunter SC, Pinero de Plaza MA, Archibald MM, Kitson AL. "You Are By No Means Alone": a netnographic study of self-care support in an online community for older adults. Qual Health Res. Nov 2022;32(13):1935-1951. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Keim-Malpass J, Mitchell EM, Sun E, Kennedy C. Using Twitter to understand public perceptions regarding the #HPV vaccine: opportunities for public health nurses to engage in social marketing. Public Health Nurs. Jul 2017;34(4):316-323. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Yamada R, Rasmussen KM, Felice JP. "What is 'enough,' and how do I make it?": a qualitative examination of questions mothers ask on social media about pumping and providing an adequate amount of milk for their infants. Breastfeed Med. 2019;14(1):17-21. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Osadchiy V, Mills JN, Eleswarapu SV. Understanding patient anxieties in the social media era: qualitative analysis and natural language processing of an online male infertility community. J Med Internet Res. Mar 10, 2020;22(3):e16728. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Thomas TH, Nauth-Shelley K, Thompson MA, Attai DJ, Katz MS, Graham D, et al. The needs of women treated for ovarian cancer: results from a #gyncsm Twitter chat. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2018;5(2):149-157. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Mehta N, Zhu L, Lam K, Stall NM, Savage R, Read SH, et al. Health forums and Twitter for dementia research: opportunities and considerations. J Am Geriatr Soc. Dec 2020;68(12):2881-2889. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Gupta R, Ariefdjohan M. Mental illness on Instagram: a mixed method study to characterize public content, sentiments, and trends of antidepressant use. J Ment Health. Aug 2021;30(4):518-525. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
He L, He C, Reynolds T, Bai Q, Huang Y, Li C, et al. Why do people oppose mask wearing? A comprehensive analysis of U.S. tweets during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Am Med Inform Assoc. Jul 14, 2021;28(7):1564-1573. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Loeb S, Mihalcea R, Perez-Rosas V, Xu A, Taylor J, Byrne N, et al. Leveraging social media as a thermometer to gauge patient and caregiver concerns: COVID-19 and prostate cancer. Eur Urol Open Sci. Mar 2021;25:1-4. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Graf I, Gerwing H, Hoefer K, Ehlebracht D, Christ H, Braumann B. Social media and orthodontics: A mixed-methods analysis of orthodontic-related posts on Twitter and Instagram. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. Aug 2020;158(2):221-228. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Boon-Itt S, Skunkan Y. Public perception of the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter: sentiment analysis and topic modeling study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. Nov 11, 2020;6(4):e21978. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Wang J, Zhou Y, Zhang W, Evans R, Zhu C. Concerns expressed by Chinese social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic: content analysis of Sina Weibo microblogging data. J Med Internet Res. Nov 26, 2020;22(11):e22152. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Wahbeh A, Nasralah T, Al-Ramahi M, El-Gayar O. Mining physicians' opinions on social media to obtain insights into COVID-19: mixed methods analysis. JMIR Public Health Surveill. Jun 18, 2020;6(2):e19276. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Çınar S, Boztepe H, Prof. The use of social media among parents of infants with cleft lip and/or palate. J Pediatr Nurs. 2020;54:e91-e96. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Jiang T, Osadchiy V, Mills JN, Eleswarapu SV. Is It all in my head? self-reported psychogenic erectile dysfunction and depression are common among young men seeking advice on social media. Urology. Aug 2020;142:133-140. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Dzubur E, Khalil C, Almario CV, Noah B, Minhas D, Ishimori M, et al. Patient concerns and perceptions regarding biologic therapies in ankylosing spondylitis: insights from a large-scale survey of social media platforms. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Feb 2019;71(2):323-330. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Gonzalez G, Vaculik K, Khalil C, Zektser Y, Arnold C, Almario CV, et al. Women's experience with stress urinary incontinence: insights from social media analytics. Journal of Urology. May 2020;203(5):962-968. [ CrossRef ]
Jha SR, McDonagh J, Prichard R, Newton PJ, Hickman LD, Fung E, et al. #Frailty: A snapshot Twitter report on frailty knowledge translation. Australas J Ageing. Dec 2018;37(4):309-312. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Litchman ML, Snider C, Edelman LS, Wawrzynski SE, Gee PM. Diabetes online community user perceptions of successful aging with diabetes: analysis of a #DSMA Tweet chat. JMIR Aging. Jun 22, 2018;1(1):e10176. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Jones J, Pradhan M, Hosseini M, Kulanthaivel A, Hosseini M. Novel approach to cluster patient-generated data into actionable topics: case study of a web-based breast cancer forum. JMIR Med Inform. Nov 29, 2018;6(4):e45. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Gonzalez G, Vaculik K, Khalil C, Zektser Y, Arnold C, Almario CV, et al. Using large-scale social media analytics to understand patient perspectives about urinary tract infections: thematic analysis. J Med Internet Res. Jan 25, 2022;24(1):e26781. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sormunen T, Westerbotn M, Aanesen A, Fossum B, Karlgren K. Social media in the infertile community-using a text analysis tool to identify the topics of discussion on the multitude of infertility blogs. Womens Health (Lond). 2021;17:17455065211063280. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Berkovic D, Ackerman IN, Briggs AM, Ayton D. Tweets by people with arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic: content and sentiment analysis. J Med Internet Res. Dec 03, 2020;22(12):e24550. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Della Rosa S, Sen F. Health topics on Facebook Groups: content analysis of posts in multiple sclerosis communities. Interact J Med Res. Feb 11, 2019;8(1):e10146. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Awofeso N, Imam SA, Ahmed A. Content analysis of media coverage of childhood obesity topics in UAE newspapers and popular social media platforms, 2014-2017. Int J Health Policy Manag. Feb 01, 2019;8(2):81-89. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Smith DJ, Mac VV, Hertzberg VS. Using Twitter for nursing research: a tweet analysis on heat illness and health. J Nurs Scholarsh. May 2021;53(3):343-350. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Green BM, Van Horn KT, Gupte K, Evans M, Hayes S, Bhowmick A. Assessment of adaptive engagement and support model for people with chronic health conditions in online health communities: combined content analysis. J Med Internet Res. Jul 07, 2020;22(7):e17338. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Osakwe ZT, Cortés YI. Impact of COVID-19: a text mining analysis of Twitter data in Spanish language. Hisp Health Care Int. Dec 2021;19(4):239-245. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sümeyye Yorulmaz D, Karadeniz H. Vaccination refusal debate on social media in Turkey: a content analysis of the comments on Instagram blogs. Iran J Public Health. Mar 2022;51(3):615-623. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Choi E, Becker H, Kim S. A blog text analysis to explore psychosocial support in adolescents and young adults with cancer. Cancer Nurs. Dec 11, 2022;46(2):143-151. [ CrossRef ]
Jun J, Wickersham K, Zain A, Ford R, Zhang N, Ciccarelli C, et al. Cancer and COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter: the voice and vaccine attitude of cancer community. J Health Commun. Jan 02, 2023;28(1):1-14. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Yashpal S, Raghunath A, Gencerliler N, Burns LE. Exploring public perceptions of dental care affordability in the United States: mixed method analysis via Twitter. JMIR Form Res. Jul 01, 2022;6(7):e36315. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Damier P, Henderson EJ, Romero-Imbroda J, Galimam L, Kronfeld N, Warnecke T. Impact of off-time on quality of life in Parkinson's patients and their caregivers: insights from social media. Parkinsons Dis. 2022;2022:1800567. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Miller WR, Malloy C, Mravec M, Sposato MF, Groves D. Nursing in the spotlight: Talk about nurses and the nursing profession on Twitter during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Nurs Outlook. 2022;70(4):580-589. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Hriberšek M, Eibensteiner F, Kapral L, Teufel A, Nawaz FA, Cenanovic M, et al. "Loved ones are not 'visitors' in a patient's life"-The importance of including loved ones in the patient's hospital stay: An international Twitter study of #HospitalsTalkToLovedOnes in times of COVID-19. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1100280. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
O'Sullivan L, Killeen RP, Doran P, Crowley RK. Adherence with reporting of ethical standards in COVID-19 human studies: a rapid review. BMC Med Ethics. Jun 28, 2021;22(1):80. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Denecke K, Bamidis P, Bond C, Gabarron E, Househ M, Lau AYS, et al. Ethical issues of social media usage in healthcare. Yearb Med Inform. Aug 13, 2015;10(1):137-147. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Ferretti A, Ienca M, Sheehan M, Blasimme A, Dove ES, Farsides B, et al. Ethics review of big data research: What should stay and what should be reformed? BMC Med Ethics. Apr 30, 2021;22(1):51. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Kohn T, Shore C. The Ethics of University Ethics Committees: risk management and the research imagination. Death Public Univ Uncertain Futur High Educ Knowl Econ. May 2017:229-249. [ CrossRef ]
Friesen P, Redman B, Caplan A. Of straws, camels, research regulation, and IRBs. Ther Innov Regul Sci. Jul 2019;53(4):526-534. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Sellers C, Samuel G, Derrick G. Reasoning "uncharted territory": notions of expertise within ethics review panels assessing research use of social media. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2020;15(1-2):28-39. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Kious B. The Nuremberg Code: its history and implications. Princet J Bioeth. 2001;4:7-19. [ Medline ]
World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA. Nov 27, 2013;310(20):2191-2194. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Department of Health‚ Education‚Welfare, National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of BiomedicalBehavioral Research. The Belmont Report. Ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. J Am Coll Dent. 2014;81(3):4-13. [ Medline ]
Wongkoblap A, Vadillo MA, Curcin V. Researching mental health disorders in the era of social media: systematic review. J Med Internet Res. Jun 29, 2017;19(6):e228. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Alim S. An initial exploration of ethical research practices regarding automated data extraction from online social media user profiles. First Monday. Jul 2014;19(7):105-127. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Vitak J, Proferes N, Shilton K, Ashktorab Z. Ethics regulation in social computing research: examining the role of institutional review boards. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. Dec 2017;12(5):372-382. [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Moreno MA, Goniu N, Moreno PS, Diekema D. Ethics of social media research: common concerns and practical considerations. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. Sep 2013;16(9):708-713. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Metcalf J, Crawford K. Where are human subjects in Big Data research? The emerging ethics divide. Big Data & Society. Jun 01, 2016;3(1):205395171665021. [ CrossRef ]
Usha Lawrance J, Nayahi Jesudhasan JV. Privacy preserving parallel clustering based anonymization for big data using MapReduce framework. Applied Artificial Intelligence. Oct 17, 2021;35(15):1587-1620. [ CrossRef ]
Wilkinson D, Thelwall M. Researching personal information on the public web. Social Science Computer Review. Aug 17, 2010;29(4):387-401. [ CrossRef ]
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: writing and editing for biomedical publication. Croat Med J. Dec 2003;44(6):770-783. [ FREE Full text ] [ Medline ]
Boyd D, Crawford K. Critical questions for big data. Information, Communication & Society. Jun 2012;15(5):662-679. [ CrossRef ]
Bond CS, Ahmed OH, Hind M, Thomas B, Hewitt-Taylor J. The conceptual and practical ethical dilemmas of using health discussion board posts as research data. J Med Internet Res. Jun 07, 2013;15(6):e112. [ FREE Full text ] [ CrossRef ] [ Medline ]
Markham A, Tiidenberg K, Herman A. Ethics as methods: doing ethics in the era of big data research—introduction. Social Media + Society. Jul 19, 2018;4(3):205630511878450-205630511878416. [ CrossRef ]

Abbreviations

Edited by T Leung, T de Azevedo Cardoso; submitted 02.08.23; peer-reviewed by E Zibrowski, J Scheibner; comments to author 06.10.23; revised version received 29.11.23; accepted 16.04.24; published 17.05.24.

©Yujie Zhang, Jiaqi Fu, Jie Lai, Shisi Deng, Zihan Guo, Chuhan Zhong, Jianyao Tang, Wenqiong Cao, Yanni Wu. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 17.05.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Publications
Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

Advanced Search
Journal List
Can J Hosp Pharm
v.68(3); May-Jun 2015

Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Analysis, and Management

Introduction.

In an earlier paper, 1 we presented an introduction to using qualitative research methods in pharmacy practice. In this article, we review some principles of the collection, analysis, and management of qualitative data to help pharmacists interested in doing research in their practice to continue their learning in this area. Qualitative research can help researchers to access the thoughts and feelings of research participants, which can enable development of an understanding of the meaning that people ascribe to their experiences. Whereas quantitative research methods can be used to determine how many people undertake particular behaviours, qualitative methods can help researchers to understand how and why such behaviours take place. Within the context of pharmacy practice research, qualitative approaches have been used to examine a diverse array of topics, including the perceptions of key stakeholders regarding prescribing by pharmacists and the postgraduation employment experiences of young pharmacists (see “Further Reading” section at the end of this article).

In the previous paper, 1 we outlined 3 commonly used methodologies: ethnography 2 , grounded theory 3 , and phenomenology. 4 Briefly, ethnography involves researchers using direct observation to study participants in their “real life” environment, sometimes over extended periods. Grounded theory and its later modified versions (e.g., Strauss and Corbin 5 ) use face-to-face interviews and interactions such as focus groups to explore a particular research phenomenon and may help in clarifying a less-well-understood problem, situation, or context. Phenomenology shares some features with grounded theory (such as an exploration of participants’ behaviour) and uses similar techniques to collect data, but it focuses on understanding how human beings experience their world. It gives researchers the opportunity to put themselves in another person’s shoes and to understand the subjective experiences of participants. 6 Some researchers use qualitative methodologies but adopt a different standpoint, and an example of this appears in the work of Thurston and others, 7 discussed later in this paper.

Qualitative work requires reflection on the part of researchers, both before and during the research process, as a way of providing context and understanding for readers. When being reflexive, researchers should not try to simply ignore or avoid their own biases (as this would likely be impossible); instead, reflexivity requires researchers to reflect upon and clearly articulate their position and subjectivities (world view, perspectives, biases), so that readers can better understand the filters through which questions were asked, data were gathered and analyzed, and findings were reported. From this perspective, bias and subjectivity are not inherently negative but they are unavoidable; as a result, it is best that they be articulated up-front in a manner that is clear and coherent for readers.

THE PARTICIPANT’S VIEWPOINT

What qualitative study seeks to convey is why people have thoughts and feelings that might affect the way they behave. Such study may occur in any number of contexts, but here, we focus on pharmacy practice and the way people behave with regard to medicines use (e.g., to understand patients’ reasons for nonadherence with medication therapy or to explore physicians’ resistance to pharmacists’ clinical suggestions). As we suggested in our earlier article, 1 an important point about qualitative research is that there is no attempt to generalize the findings to a wider population. Qualitative research is used to gain insights into people’s feelings and thoughts, which may provide the basis for a future stand-alone qualitative study or may help researchers to map out survey instruments for use in a quantitative study. It is also possible to use different types of research in the same study, an approach known as “mixed methods” research, and further reading on this topic may be found at the end of this paper.

The role of the researcher in qualitative research is to attempt to access the thoughts and feelings of study participants. This is not an easy task, as it involves asking people to talk about things that may be very personal to them. Sometimes the experiences being explored are fresh in the participant’s mind, whereas on other occasions reliving past experiences may be difficult. However the data are being collected, a primary responsibility of the researcher is to safeguard participants and their data. Mechanisms for such safeguarding must be clearly articulated to participants and must be approved by a relevant research ethics review board before the research begins. Researchers and practitioners new to qualitative research should seek advice from an experienced qualitative researcher before embarking on their project.

DATA COLLECTION

Whatever philosophical standpoint the researcher is taking and whatever the data collection method (e.g., focus group, one-to-one interviews), the process will involve the generation of large amounts of data. In addition to the variety of study methodologies available, there are also different ways of making a record of what is said and done during an interview or focus group, such as taking handwritten notes or video-recording. If the researcher is audio- or video-recording data collection, then the recordings must be transcribed verbatim before data analysis can begin. As a rough guide, it can take an experienced researcher/transcriber 8 hours to transcribe one 45-minute audio-recorded interview, a process than will generate 20–30 pages of written dialogue.

Many researchers will also maintain a folder of “field notes” to complement audio-taped interviews. Field notes allow the researcher to maintain and comment upon impressions, environmental contexts, behaviours, and nonverbal cues that may not be adequately captured through the audio-recording; they are typically handwritten in a small notebook at the same time the interview takes place. Field notes can provide important context to the interpretation of audio-taped data and can help remind the researcher of situational factors that may be important during data analysis. Such notes need not be formal, but they should be maintained and secured in a similar manner to audio tapes and transcripts, as they contain sensitive information and are relevant to the research. For more information about collecting qualitative data, please see the “Further Reading” section at the end of this paper.

DATA ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT

If, as suggested earlier, doing qualitative research is about putting oneself in another person’s shoes and seeing the world from that person’s perspective, the most important part of data analysis and management is to be true to the participants. It is their voices that the researcher is trying to hear, so that they can be interpreted and reported on for others to read and learn from. To illustrate this point, consider the anonymized transcript excerpt presented in Appendix 1 , which is taken from a research interview conducted by one of the authors (J.S.). We refer to this excerpt throughout the remainder of this paper to illustrate how data can be managed, analyzed, and presented.

Interpretation of Data

Interpretation of the data will depend on the theoretical standpoint taken by researchers. For example, the title of the research report by Thurston and others, 7 “Discordant indigenous and provider frames explain challenges in improving access to arthritis care: a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory,” indicates at least 2 theoretical standpoints. The first is the culture of the indigenous population of Canada and the place of this population in society, and the second is the social constructivist theory used in the constructivist grounded theory method. With regard to the first standpoint, it can be surmised that, to have decided to conduct the research, the researchers must have felt that there was anecdotal evidence of differences in access to arthritis care for patients from indigenous and non-indigenous backgrounds. With regard to the second standpoint, it can be surmised that the researchers used social constructivist theory because it assumes that behaviour is socially constructed; in other words, people do things because of the expectations of those in their personal world or in the wider society in which they live. (Please see the “Further Reading” section for resources providing more information about social constructivist theory and reflexivity.) Thus, these 2 standpoints (and there may have been others relevant to the research of Thurston and others 7 ) will have affected the way in which these researchers interpreted the experiences of the indigenous population participants and those providing their care. Another standpoint is feminist standpoint theory which, among other things, focuses on marginalized groups in society. Such theories are helpful to researchers, as they enable us to think about things from a different perspective. Being aware of the standpoints you are taking in your own research is one of the foundations of qualitative work. Without such awareness, it is easy to slip into interpreting other people’s narratives from your own viewpoint, rather than that of the participants.

To analyze the example in Appendix 1 , we will adopt a phenomenological approach because we want to understand how the participant experienced the illness and we want to try to see the experience from that person’s perspective. It is important for the researcher to reflect upon and articulate his or her starting point for such analysis; for example, in the example, the coder could reflect upon her own experience as a female of a majority ethnocultural group who has lived within middle class and upper middle class settings. This personal history therefore forms the filter through which the data will be examined. This filter does not diminish the quality or significance of the analysis, since every researcher has his or her own filters; however, by explicitly stating and acknowledging what these filters are, the researcher makes it easer for readers to contextualize the work.

Transcribing and Checking

For the purposes of this paper it is assumed that interviews or focus groups have been audio-recorded. As mentioned above, transcribing is an arduous process, even for the most experienced transcribers, but it must be done to convert the spoken word to the written word to facilitate analysis. For anyone new to conducting qualitative research, it is beneficial to transcribe at least one interview and one focus group. It is only by doing this that researchers realize how difficult the task is, and this realization affects their expectations when asking others to transcribe. If the research project has sufficient funding, then a professional transcriber can be hired to do the work. If this is the case, then it is a good idea to sit down with the transcriber, if possible, and talk through the research and what the participants were talking about. This background knowledge for the transcriber is especially important in research in which people are using jargon or medical terms (as in pharmacy practice). Involving your transcriber in this way makes the work both easier and more rewarding, as he or she will feel part of the team. Transcription editing software is also available, but it is expensive. For example, ELAN (more formally known as EUDICO Linguistic Annotator, developed at the Technical University of Berlin) 8 is a tool that can help keep data organized by linking media and data files (particularly valuable if, for example, video-taping of interviews is complemented by transcriptions). It can also be helpful in searching complex data sets. Products such as ELAN do not actually automatically transcribe interviews or complete analyses, and they do require some time and effort to learn; nonetheless, for some research applications, it may be a valuable to consider such software tools.

All audio recordings should be transcribed verbatim, regardless of how intelligible the transcript may be when it is read back. Lines of text should be numbered. Once the transcription is complete, the researcher should read it while listening to the recording and do the following: correct any spelling or other errors; anonymize the transcript so that the participant cannot be identified from anything that is said (e.g., names, places, significant events); insert notations for pauses, laughter, looks of discomfort; insert any punctuation, such as commas and full stops (periods) (see Appendix 1 for examples of inserted punctuation), and include any other contextual information that might have affected the participant (e.g., temperature or comfort of the room).

Dealing with the transcription of a focus group is slightly more difficult, as multiple voices are involved. One way of transcribing such data is to “tag” each voice (e.g., Voice A, Voice B). In addition, the focus group will usually have 2 facilitators, whose respective roles will help in making sense of the data. While one facilitator guides participants through the topic, the other can make notes about context and group dynamics. More information about group dynamics and focus groups can be found in resources listed in the “Further Reading” section.

Reading between the Lines

During the process outlined above, the researcher can begin to get a feel for the participant’s experience of the phenomenon in question and can start to think about things that could be pursued in subsequent interviews or focus groups (if appropriate). In this way, one participant’s narrative informs the next, and the researcher can continue to interview until nothing new is being heard or, as it says in the text books, “saturation is reached”. While continuing with the processes of coding and theming (described in the next 2 sections), it is important to consider not just what the person is saying but also what they are not saying. For example, is a lengthy pause an indication that the participant is finding the subject difficult, or is the person simply deciding what to say? The aim of the whole process from data collection to presentation is to tell the participants’ stories using exemplars from their own narratives, thus grounding the research findings in the participants’ lived experiences.

Smith 9 suggested a qualitative research method known as interpretative phenomenological analysis, which has 2 basic tenets: first, that it is rooted in phenomenology, attempting to understand the meaning that individuals ascribe to their lived experiences, and second, that the researcher must attempt to interpret this meaning in the context of the research. That the researcher has some knowledge and expertise in the subject of the research means that he or she can have considerable scope in interpreting the participant’s experiences. Larkin and others 10 discussed the importance of not just providing a description of what participants say. Rather, interpretative phenomenological analysis is about getting underneath what a person is saying to try to truly understand the world from his or her perspective.

Once all of the research interviews have been transcribed and checked, it is time to begin coding. Field notes compiled during an interview can be a useful complementary source of information to facilitate this process, as the gap in time between an interview, transcribing, and coding can result in memory bias regarding nonverbal or environmental context issues that may affect interpretation of data.

Coding refers to the identification of topics, issues, similarities, and differences that are revealed through the participants’ narratives and interpreted by the researcher. This process enables the researcher to begin to understand the world from each participant’s perspective. Coding can be done by hand on a hard copy of the transcript, by making notes in the margin or by highlighting and naming sections of text. More commonly, researchers use qualitative research software (e.g., NVivo, QSR International Pty Ltd; www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx ) to help manage their transcriptions. It is advised that researchers undertake a formal course in the use of such software or seek supervision from a researcher experienced in these tools.

Returning to Appendix 1 and reading from lines 8–11, a code for this section might be “diagnosis of mental health condition”, but this would just be a description of what the participant is talking about at that point. If we read a little more deeply, we can ask ourselves how the participant might have come to feel that the doctor assumed he or she was aware of the diagnosis or indeed that they had only just been told the diagnosis. There are a number of pauses in the narrative that might suggest the participant is finding it difficult to recall that experience. Later in the text, the participant says “nobody asked me any questions about my life” (line 19). This could be coded simply as “health care professionals’ consultation skills”, but that would not reflect how the participant must have felt never to be asked anything about his or her personal life, about the participant as a human being. At the end of this excerpt, the participant just trails off, recalling that no-one showed any interest, which makes for very moving reading. For practitioners in pharmacy, it might also be pertinent to explore the participant’s experience of akathisia and why this was left untreated for 20 years.

One of the questions that arises about qualitative research relates to the reliability of the interpretation and representation of the participants’ narratives. There are no statistical tests that can be used to check reliability and validity as there are in quantitative research. However, work by Lincoln and Guba 11 suggests that there are other ways to “establish confidence in the ‘truth’ of the findings” (p. 218). They call this confidence “trustworthiness” and suggest that there are 4 criteria of trustworthiness: credibility (confidence in the “truth” of the findings), transferability (showing that the findings have applicability in other contexts), dependability (showing that the findings are consistent and could be repeated), and confirmability (the extent to which the findings of a study are shaped by the respondents and not researcher bias, motivation, or interest).

One way of establishing the “credibility” of the coding is to ask another researcher to code the same transcript and then to discuss any similarities and differences in the 2 resulting sets of codes. This simple act can result in revisions to the codes and can help to clarify and confirm the research findings.

Theming refers to the drawing together of codes from one or more transcripts to present the findings of qualitative research in a coherent and meaningful way. For example, there may be examples across participants’ narratives of the way in which they were treated in hospital, such as “not being listened to” or “lack of interest in personal experiences” (see Appendix 1 ). These may be drawn together as a theme running through the narratives that could be named “the patient’s experience of hospital care”. The importance of going through this process is that at its conclusion, it will be possible to present the data from the interviews using quotations from the individual transcripts to illustrate the source of the researchers’ interpretations. Thus, when the findings are organized for presentation, each theme can become the heading of a section in the report or presentation. Underneath each theme will be the codes, examples from the transcripts, and the researcher’s own interpretation of what the themes mean. Implications for real life (e.g., the treatment of people with chronic mental health problems) should also be given.

DATA SYNTHESIS

In this final section of this paper, we describe some ways of drawing together or “synthesizing” research findings to represent, as faithfully as possible, the meaning that participants ascribe to their life experiences. This synthesis is the aim of the final stage of qualitative research. For most readers, the synthesis of data presented by the researcher is of crucial significance—this is usually where “the story” of the participants can be distilled, summarized, and told in a manner that is both respectful to those participants and meaningful to readers. There are a number of ways in which researchers can synthesize and present their findings, but any conclusions drawn by the researchers must be supported by direct quotations from the participants. In this way, it is made clear to the reader that the themes under discussion have emerged from the participants’ interviews and not the mind of the researcher. The work of Latif and others 12 gives an example of how qualitative research findings might be presented.

Planning and Writing the Report

As has been suggested above, if researchers code and theme their material appropriately, they will naturally find the headings for sections of their report. Qualitative researchers tend to report “findings” rather than “results”, as the latter term typically implies that the data have come from a quantitative source. The final presentation of the research will usually be in the form of a report or a paper and so should follow accepted academic guidelines. In particular, the article should begin with an introduction, including a literature review and rationale for the research. There should be a section on the chosen methodology and a brief discussion about why qualitative methodology was most appropriate for the study question and why one particular methodology (e.g., interpretative phenomenological analysis rather than grounded theory) was selected to guide the research. The method itself should then be described, including ethics approval, choice of participants, mode of recruitment, and method of data collection (e.g., semistructured interviews or focus groups), followed by the research findings, which will be the main body of the report or paper. The findings should be written as if a story is being told; as such, it is not necessary to have a lengthy discussion section at the end. This is because much of the discussion will take place around the participants’ quotes, such that all that is needed to close the report or paper is a summary, limitations of the research, and the implications that the research has for practice. As stated earlier, it is not the intention of qualitative research to allow the findings to be generalized, and therefore this is not, in itself, a limitation.

Planning out the way that findings are to be presented is helpful. It is useful to insert the headings of the sections (the themes) and then make a note of the codes that exemplify the thoughts and feelings of your participants. It is generally advisable to put in the quotations that you want to use for each theme, using each quotation only once. After all this is done, the telling of the story can begin as you give your voice to the experiences of the participants, writing around their quotations. Do not be afraid to draw assumptions from the participants’ narratives, as this is necessary to give an in-depth account of the phenomena in question. Discuss these assumptions, drawing on your participants’ words to support you as you move from one code to another and from one theme to the next. Finally, as appropriate, it is possible to include examples from literature or policy documents that add support for your findings. As an exercise, you may wish to code and theme the sample excerpt in Appendix 1 and tell the participant’s story in your own way. Further reading about “doing” qualitative research can be found at the end of this paper.

CONCLUSIONS

Qualitative research can help researchers to access the thoughts and feelings of research participants, which can enable development of an understanding of the meaning that people ascribe to their experiences. It can be used in pharmacy practice research to explore how patients feel about their health and their treatment. Qualitative research has been used by pharmacists to explore a variety of questions and problems (see the “Further Reading” section for examples). An understanding of these issues can help pharmacists and other health care professionals to tailor health care to match the individual needs of patients and to develop a concordant relationship. Doing qualitative research is not easy and may require a complete rethink of how research is conducted, particularly for researchers who are more familiar with quantitative approaches. There are many ways of conducting qualitative research, and this paper has covered some of the practical issues regarding data collection, analysis, and management. Further reading around the subject will be essential to truly understand this method of accessing peoples’ thoughts and feelings to enable researchers to tell participants’ stories.

Appendix 1. Excerpt from a sample transcript

The participant (age late 50s) had suffered from a chronic mental health illness for 30 years. The participant had become a “revolving door patient,” someone who is frequently in and out of hospital. As the participant talked about past experiences, the researcher asked:

What was treatment like 30 years ago?
Umm—well it was pretty much they could do what they wanted with you because I was put into the er, the er kind of system er, I was just on
endless section threes.
Really…
But what I didn’t realize until later was that if you haven’t actually posed a threat to someone or yourself they can’t really do that but I didn’t know
that. So wh-when I first went into hospital they put me on the forensic ward ’cause they said, “We don’t think you’ll stay here we think you’ll just
run-run away.” So they put me then onto the acute admissions ward and – er – I can remember one of the first things I recall when I got onto that
ward was sitting down with a er a Dr XXX. He had a book this thick [gestures] and on each page it was like three questions and he went through
all these questions and I answered all these questions. So we’re there for I don’t maybe two hours doing all that and he asked me he said “well
when did somebody tell you then that you have schizophrenia” I said “well nobody’s told me that” so he seemed very surprised but nobody had
actually [pause] whe-when I first went up there under police escort erm the senior kind of consultants people I’d been to where I was staying and
ermm so er [pause] I . . . the, I can remember the very first night that I was there and given this injection in this muscle here [gestures] and just
having dreadful side effects the next day I woke up [pause]
. . . and I suffered that akathesia I swear to you, every minute of every day for about 20 years.
Oh how awful.
And that side of it just makes life impossible so the care on the wards [pause] umm I don’t know it’s kind of, it’s kind of hard to put into words
[pause]. Because I’m not saying they were sort of like not friendly or interested but then nobody ever seemed to want to talk about your life [pause]
nobody asked me any questions about my life. The only questions that came into was they asked me if I’d be a volunteer for these student exams
and things and I said “yeah” so all the questions were like “oh what jobs have you done,” er about your relationships and things and er but
nobody actually sat down and had a talk and showed some interest in you as a person you were just there basically [pause] um labelled and you
know there was there was [pause] but umm [pause] yeah . . .

This article is the 10th in the CJHP Research Primer Series, an initiative of the CJHP Editorial Board and the CSHP Research Committee. The planned 2-year series is intended to appeal to relatively inexperienced researchers, with the goal of building research capacity among practising pharmacists. The articles, presenting simple but rigorous guidance to encourage and support novice researchers, are being solicited from authors with appropriate expertise.

Previous articles in this series:

Bond CM. The research jigsaw: how to get started. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(1):28–30.

Tully MP. Research: articulating questions, generating hypotheses, and choosing study designs. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(1):31–4.

Loewen P. Ethical issues in pharmacy practice research: an introductory guide. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2014;67(2):133–7.

Tsuyuki RT. Designing pharmacy practice research trials. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(3):226–9.

Bresee LC. An introduction to developing surveys for pharmacy practice research. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(4):286–91.

Gamble JM. An introduction to the fundamentals of cohort and case–control studies. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(5):366–72.

Austin Z, Sutton J. Qualitative research: getting started. C an J Hosp Pharm . 2014;67(6):436–40.

Houle S. An introduction to the fundamentals of randomized controlled trials in pharmacy research. Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014; 68(1):28–32.

Charrois TL. Systematic reviews: What do you need to know to get started? Can J Hosp Pharm . 2014;68(2):144–8.

Competing interests: None declared.

Qualitative Research in General

Breakwell GM, Hammond S, Fife-Schaw C. Research methods in psychology. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 1995. [ Google Scholar ]
Given LM. 100 questions (and answers) about qualitative research. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2015. [ Google Scholar ]
Miles B, Huberman AM. Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2009. [ Google Scholar ]
Patton M. Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2002. [ Google Scholar ]
Willig C. Introducing qualitative research in psychology. Buckingham (UK): Open University Press; 2001. [ Google Scholar ]

Group Dynamics in Focus Groups

Farnsworth J, Boon B. Analysing group dynamics within the focus group. Qual Res. 2010; 10 (5):605–24. [ Google Scholar ]

Social Constructivism

Social constructivism. Berkeley (CA): University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley Graduate Division, Graduate Student Instruction Teaching & Resource Center; [cited 2015 June 4]. Available from: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/ [ Google Scholar ]

Mixed Methods

Creswell J. Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2009. [ Google Scholar ]

Collecting Qualitative Data

Arksey H, Knight P. Interviewing for social scientists: an introductory resource with examples. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 1999. [ Google Scholar ]
Guest G, Namey EE, Mitchel ML. Collecting qualitative data: a field manual for applied research. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2013. [ Google Scholar ]

Constructivist Grounded Theory

Charmaz K. Grounded theory: objectivist and constructivist methods. In: Denzin N, Lincoln Y, editors. Handbook of qualitative research. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 2000. pp. 509–35. [ Google Scholar ]

IMAGES

100 Qualitative Research Titles For High School Students
Literature Review For Qualitative Research
Research Title Examples (Qualitative Research)
Choosing your qualitative research study title: making study title interesting
Title Example
Research Title Examples Qualitative Pdf / (PDF) The analysis of

VIDEO

Sample Titles for Qualitative and Quantitative Research
How to write Research Title with samples & proven tips
Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Methods: What is Qualitative Research (Module 1)
Writing Your Qualitative Research Title
WRITING A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TITLE PART 2
EXAMPLES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TITLES (WRITING RESEARCH TITLE PART 3)

COMMENTS

500+ Qualitative Research Titles and Topics
Qualitative research titles often reflect the study's focus on understanding the depth and complexity of human behavior, experiences, or social phenomena. Here are some examples across various fields: Education "Understanding the Impact of Project-Based Learning on Student Engagement in High School Classrooms: A Qualitative Study"
100+ Qualitative Research Topics To Write About In 2023
Here are fantastic examples of qualitative research titles: Female harm: how it is influenced by culture. The socioeconomic impacts of free education. The link between food insecurity and poor performance in schools. Alcoholism among college students: a critical study. How to mitigate child labor in our society.
What Is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative research, which involves collecting and ...
Choosing a Title
The working title should be developed early in the research process because it can help anchor the focus of the study in much the same way the research problem does. Referring back to the working title can help you reorient yourself back to the main purpose of the study if you find yourself drifting off on a tangent while writing.
Qualitative Methods
Below are the three key elements that define a qualitative research study and the applied forms each take in the investigation of a research problem. The Design Naturalistic -- refers to studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-manipulative and non-controlling; the researcher is open to whatever emerges [i.e., there is a ...
Qualitative Study
Qualitative research is a type of research that explores and provides deeper insights into real-world problems.[1] Instead of collecting numerical data points or intervening or introducing treatments just like in quantitative research, qualitative research helps generate hypothenar to further investigate and understand quantitative data. Qualitative research gathers participants' experiences ...
A Front-to-Back Guide to Writing a Qualitative Research Article
Fordham University, New York, USA. Abstract. Purpose - This paper aims to offer junior scholars a front-to-back guide to writing an academic, theoretically positioned, qualitative research ...
Planning Qualitative Research: Design and Decision Making for New
While many books and articles guide various qualitative research methods and analyses, there is currently no concise resource that explains and differentiates among the most common qualitative approaches. We believe novice qualitative researchers, students planning the design of a qualitative study or taking an introductory qualitative research course, and faculty teaching such courses can ...
Criteria for Good Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Review
From the selected databases, the search retrieved a total of 765 publications. Then, the duplicate records were removed. After that, based on the title and abstract, the remaining 426 publications were screened for their relevance by using the following inclusion and exclusion criteria (see Table 2).Publications focusing on evaluation criteria for good qualitative research were included ...
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research
Abstract. The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, second edition, presents a comprehensive retrospective and prospective review of the field of qualitative research. Original, accessible chapters written by interdisciplinary leaders in the field make this a critical reference work. Filled with robust examples from real-world research ...
What is Qualitative in Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
Writing the title and abstract for a research paper: Being concise
Introduction. This article deals with drafting a suitable "title" and an appropriate "abstract" for an original research paper. Because the "title" and the "abstract" are the "initial impressions" or the "face" of a research article, they need to be drafted correctly, accurately, carefully, meticulously, and consume time and energy.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] Often, these ...
Qualitative Research: Sage Journals
Qualitative Research is a peer-reviewed international journal that has been leading debates about qualitative methods for over 20 years. The journal provides a forum for the discussion and development of qualitative methods across disciplines, publishing high quality articles that contribute to the ways in which we think about and practice the craft of qualitative research.
Chapter 1. Introduction
Although qualitative research studies can and often do change and develop over the course of data collection, it is important to have a good idea of what the aims and goals of your study are at the outset and a good plan of how to achieve those aims and goals. Chapter 2 provides a road map of the process.
How to Write a Research Paper Title with Examples
Make sure your research title describes (a) the topic, (b) the method, (c) the sample, and (d) the results of your study. You can use the following formula: [ Result ]: A [ method] study of [ topic] among [ sample] Example: Meditation makes nurses perform better: a qualitative study of mindfulness meditation among German nursing students. Avoid ...
Qualitative Research Resources: Finding Qualitative Studies
How to search for and evaluate qualitative research, integrate qualitative research into systematic reviews, report/publish qualitative research. ... Authors also do not always identify their methods using the word "qualitative" in their titles or abstracts; in some cases they may use terminology for a specific qualitative method instead ...
18 Qualitative Research Examples (2024)
Definition: Case study research is a qualitative research method that involves an in-depth investigation of a single instance or event: a case. These 'cases' can range from individuals, groups, or entities to specific projects, programs, or strategies (Creswell, 2013). ... Example of Qualitative Longitudinal Research. Title: Patient and ...
Case Study Methodology of Qualitative Research: Key Attributes and
A case study is one of the most commonly used methodologies of social research. This article attempts to look into the various dimensions of a case study research strategy, the different epistemological strands which determine the particular case study type and approach adopted in the field, discusses the factors which can enhance the effectiveness of a case study research, and the debate ...
Qualitative Research: Getting Started
Qualitative research was historically employed in fields such as sociology, history, and anthropology. 2 Miles and Huberman 2 said that qualitative data "are a source of well-grounded, rich descriptions and explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts. With qualitative data one can preserve chronological flow, see precisely which ...
Collecting qualitative data using a smartphone app: Learning from
This article discusses the use of a smartphone application ('app') as a method for undertaking diary-based qualitative research with a group of participants with lived experience of multiple disadvantage (experience of two or more of homelessness, offending, mental ill-health and substance misuse). As part of a multi-method approach to the study, an app was designed for participants to ...
What are the strengths and limitations to utilising creative methods in
There is increasing interest in using patient and public involvement (PPI) in research to improve the quality of healthcare. Ordinarily, traditional methods have been used such as interviews or focus groups. However, these methods tend to engage a similar demographic of people. Thus, creative methods are being developed to involve patients for whom traditional methods are inaccessible or non ...
Sacred space: a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis of women's
The title and abstract screened for content relating to the desired topic, and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Inclusion criteria were that the studies were U.S. based only, included pregnant women's experiences of hospital or birthing center birth, and were qualitative research with quotations presented in the article.
Choosing a Qualitative Research Approach
Choosing a Qualitative Approach. Before engaging in any qualitative study, consider how your views about what is possible to study will affect your approach. Then select an appropriate approach within which to work. Alignment between the belief system underpinning the research approach, the research question, and the research approach itself is ...
PDF Qualitative Methods Courses
EDLPS 558 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Education: Offered annually (Autumn and Winter, 3 credits): This course is designed to provide a basic overview of qualitative research methods from an educational justice perspective. The course includes readings, activities and discussions that ask students to examine the experiences ...
Reporting of Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Research Utilizing
Background: The internet community has become a significant source for researchers to conduct qualitative studies analyzing users' views, attitudes, and experiences about public health. However, few studies have assessed the ethical issues in qualitative research using social media data. Objective: This study aims to review the reportage of ethical considerations in qualitative research ...
A Practical Guide to Writing Quantitative and Qualitative Research
INTRODUCTION. Scientific research is usually initiated by posing evidenced-based research questions which are then explicitly restated as hypotheses.1,2 The hypotheses provide directions to guide the study, solutions, explanations, and expected results.3,4 Both research questions and hypotheses are essentially formulated based on conventional theories and real-world processes, which allow the ...
Crafting Qualitative Research Titles for Academic Tracks
San Jose High School. SJLSHS. SJLSHS 13. AdmiralWombat4248. 5/17/2024. View full document. Contextualized to the Academic Track Practical Research 1 Research Titles You will formulate three research titles on the qualitative research topic that the group has chosen to work on. The topic must reflect the characteristics of qualitative research ...
Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Analysis, and Management
For example, the title of the research report by Thurston and others, 7 "Discordant indigenous and provider frames explain challenges in improving access to arthritis care: a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory," indicates at least 2 theoretical standpoints. The first is the culture of the indigenous population of Canada ...

500+ Qualitative Research Titles and Topics

Qualitative Research Titles

Health Science

Business and Management

Environmental Studies

Anthropology

Communication Studies

Information Technology

Tourism and Hospitality

Qualitative Research Topics

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

You may also like

200+ Funny Research Topics

500+ Sports Research Topics

300+ American History Research Paper Topics

500+ Cyber Security Research Topics

500+ Environmental Research Topics

500+ Economics Research Topics

Qualitative Research Topics & Ideas For Students

Exceptional Qualitative Research Topics In Social Science

We Are Here for You

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Basic Research Design for Qualitative Studies

Strengths of Using Qualitative Methods

Limitations of Using Qualitative Methods

Research Tip

Another Research Tip

Criteria for Good Qualitative Research: A Comprehensive Review

Cite this article

Similar content being viewed by others

Good Qualitative Research: Opening up the Debate

What is Qualitative in Research

Introduction

Criteria for Evaluating Qualitative Studies

Qualitative Research: Interpretive Paradigms

Improving Quality: Strategies

How to Assess the Quality of the Research Findings?

Quality Checklists: Tools for Assessing the Quality

Conclusions, Future Directions, and Outlook

Prospects : A Road Ahead for Qualitative Research

Author information

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Additional information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Share this article

The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd edn)

Signed in as

Personal account

Institutional access

IP based access

Sign in through your institution

Society Members

Sign in through society site

Sign in using a personal account

Viewing your signed in accounts

Signed in but can't access content

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Chapter 1. Introduction

Why an Open Access Textbook on Qualitative Research Methods?

What is Research?

What is Qualitative Research?

Examples of Qualitative Research

Example 1 : The End Game (ethnography + interviews)

Example 2: Racing for Innocence (Interviews + Content Analysis + Fictional Stories)

Example 3: Amplified Advantage (Mixed Methods: Survey Interviews + Focus Groups + Archives)

How Is This Book Organized?

Chapter Descriptions

Recommended Reading: Other Qualitative Research Textbooks

Patton’s Ten Suggestions for Doing Qualitative Research

6 Important Tips on Writing a Research Paper Title

Importance of a Research Title

Why do Research Titles Matter?

Characteristics of a Good Research Title

Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper Title

Resources for Further Reading