Qualitative Research Resources: Finding Qualitative Studies
Created by Health Science Librarians
About this Page
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
Ready-Built Sets of Search Terms
- Hedges: Evidence Based Health Informatics, McMaster Universitycontains qualitative hedges for Medline, PsycInfo, and Embase
- ISSG Search Filters Resource: Qualitative Research FiltersThe 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 The Search Filters Resource aims to provide easy access to published and unpublished search filters.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.
Database-specific Search Strategies
A Few Articles on Search Strategies for Specific Databases
CINAHL:
Wilczynski NL, Marks S, Haynes RB.2007. Search strategies for identifying qualitative studies in CINAHL. Qualitative Health Research 17(5):705-10.
EMBASE:
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.
MEDLINE:
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.
PSYCHINFO:
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:
General Qual Search Strategies
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.
2007. Electronic searching to locate qualitative research: evaluation of three strategies. J Adv Nurs. 57(1):95-100
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
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.
2004. Finding qualitative research: an evaluation of search strategies. BMC Med Res Methodol 4:5
Web Resources
- Campbell Collaboration Information Retrieval GuideCampbell 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 ResearchIncludes 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 ArticlesThis 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.
