Qualitative Research Methods

This page is intended as a resource for students who might be engaging with Qualitative Research Methods for the first time.

Recommended Textbooks/Chapters

Bhattacharya, K. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. Taylor & Francis.

Bischoping, K., & Gazso, A. (2015). Analyzing talk in the social sciences: Narrative, conversation and discourse strategies. Sage.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London, UK: Sage. [Google Books]

Brodsky, A. E. (2008). Researcher as instrument. In L. M. Given (Ed.). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods, London, UK: Sage.

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

Gallagher, K. (Ed.). (2008). The methodological dilemma: Creative, critical and collaborative approaches to qualitative research. Routledge.

Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2018). Qualitative methods for health research. Sage. [Google Books]

Luker, K. (2009). Salsa dancing into the social sciences. Harvard University Press.

Mason, J. (2017). Qualitative researching. Sage.

Maxwell, J. A. (2012). A realist approach for qualitative research. Sage.

Potter,J & Hepburn, A. (2012). Eight challenges for interview researchers. J.F. Gubrium and J.A. Holstein (Eds). Handbook of Interview Research (2nd Ed.) (pp. 555-570). London:Sage. [www]

Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., & Ormston, R. (Eds.). (2013). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. SAGE Publications Limited.

Smith, B., & Sparkes, A. C. (2013). Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health: From process to product. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852187

Recommended Journal Articles

Arsel, Z. (2017). Asking questions with reflexive focus: A tutorial on designing and conducting interviews. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(4), 939-948. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx096

Aspers, P., & Corte, U. (2019). What is qualitative in qualitative research. Qualitative sociology, 42(2), 139-160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-019-9413-7

Baker, S.E. and Edwards, R. (2012) How many qualitative interviews is enough. Discussion Paper. NCRM. (Unpublished) http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2273/

Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The qualitative report, 13(4), 544-559. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol13/iss4/2

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis?. Qualitative research in psychology, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238

Charmaz, K., & Thornberg, R. (2020). The pursuit of quality in grounded theory. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780357

De Oliveira, B. (2018). On the news today: challenging homelessness through participatory action research. Housing, Care and Support. Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/HCS-01-2018-0002

Deterding, N. M., & Waters, M. C. (2018). Flexible coding of in-depth interviews: A twenty-first-century approach. Sociological methods & research, 0049124118799377. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0049124118799377

Eisenhardt, K. M., Graebner, M. E., & Sonenshein, S. (2016). Grand challenges and inductive methods: Rigor without rigor mortis. Academy of Management Journal. Vol. 59, No. 4, 1113-1123 https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.4004

Hammersley, M. (2007). The issue of quality in qualitative research. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 30(3), 287-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270701614782

Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1049732305276687

King, N., Horrocks, C., & Brooks, J. (2018). Interviews in Qualitative Research. London, UK: Sage..

Lamont, M., & Swidler, A. (2014). Methodological pluralism and the possibilities and limits of interviewing. Qualitative Sociology, 37(2), 153-171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-014-9274-z

Langley, A., & Meziani, N. (2020). Making interviews meaningful. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(3), 370-391. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0021886320937818

Lavis, V. (2010). Multiple researcher identities: Highlighting tensions and implications for ethical practice in qualitative interviewing. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(4), 316-331. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780880902929506

Lester, J. N., & O’Reilly, M. (2015). Is evidence-based practice a threat to the progress of the qualitative community? Arguments from the bottom of the pyramid. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(7), 628-632. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1077800414563808

O’Reilly, M., & Parker, N. (2013). ‘Unsatisfactory Saturation’: a critical exploration of the notion of saturated sample sizes in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 13(2), 190-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112446106 [www]

Peek, L., & Fothergill, A. (2009). Using focus groups: Lessons from studying daycare centers, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Qualitative research, 9(1), 31-59. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1468794108098029

Petty, N. J., Thomson, O. P., & Stew, G. (2012). Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 1: Introducing the philosophy of qualitative research. Manual therapy, 17(4), 267-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2012.03.006

Pillow, W. (2003). Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research. International journal of qualitative studies in education, 16(2), 175-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839032000060635

Pratt, M. G. (2017). From the editors: For the lack of a boilerplate: Tips on writing up (and reviewing) qualitative research. Academy of Management JournalVol. 52, No. 5 https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.44632557

Sandelowski, M., & Leeman, J. (2012). Writing usable qualitative health research findings. Qualitative health research, 22(10), 1404-1413. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732312450368

Scotland, J. (2012). Exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: Relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms. English Language Teaching, 5(9), 9. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1080001.pdf

Smagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written communication, 25(3), 389-411. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0741088308317815

Small, M. L. (2009). How many cases do I need?' On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research. Ethnography, 10(1), 5-38. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1466138108099586

Smith, B., & McGannon, K. R. (2018). Developing rigor in qualitative research: Problems and opportunities within sport and exercise psychology. International review of sport and exercise psychology, 11(1), 101-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2017.1317357

Smith, B. (2018). Generalizability in qualitative research: Misunderstandings, opportunities and recommendations for the sport and exercise sciences. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 10(1), 137-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2017.1393221

Tavory, I. (2020). Interviews and inference: Making sense of interview data in qualitative research. Qualitative Sociology, 43(4), 449-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-020-09464-x

Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237-246.

Timmermans, S., & Tavory, I. (2012). Theory construction in qualitative research: From grounded theory to abductive analysis. Sociological theory, 30(3), 167-186. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0735275112457914

Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121

Yardley, L. (2000). Dilemmas in qualitative health research. Psychology and Health, 15(2), 215-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440008400302

Recommended Examples of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research in Age and Ageing - https://academic.oup.com/ageing/pages/qualitative_research

Further Recommended Reading

Becker, H. S. (2014). What about Mozart? What about murder?: Reasoning from cases. University of Chicago Press. [GoogleBooks]

also on Becker, Gopnik, A. (2015) The Outside Game: How the sociologist Howard Becker studies the conventions of the unconventional. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/12/outside-game