The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative methods are central to research conducted in Education, Nursing, Sociology, Anthropology, and other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences and health sciences. The range of methods available to researchers is very broad (e.g., interviews, focus groups, observation) and projects are informed by various approaches (e.g., phenomenology, grounded theory, discourse analysis). Students, scholars and professionals who are new to qualitative research typically need guidance in defining the boundaries of this type of research, such as selecting specific methods, knowing what types of data are appropriate for qualitative research, identifying theoretical frameworks for particular projects, etc. It is…