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Qualitative Research Resources: Qualitative Research Basics
Find sources of qualitative training & support at UNC. How to search for and evaluate qualitative research, integrate qualitative research into systematic reviews, report/publish qualitative research. Includes some Mixed Methods resources.
Created by Health Science Librarians
About this Basics Page
If you are thinking of performing qualitative research, or are looking for a refresher on the topic, here are some resources to get you started. We have also included a few resources on mixed methods research. Note that some of the books listed here are available through the UNC libraries as both print and ebooks.
Ebooks & eresources
Fundamentals of Qualitative Research by Call Number: Also in print Davis 5th floor: H62 .S31857 2011ISBN: 9780199838356Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Qualitative Research in the Health Sciences (online only) by ISBN: 9781135039677Publication Date: 2013-06-26
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods (online) by Call Number: H61 .S234 2008, Davis 5th floor. Check availability of print copy.ISBN: 1412941636Publication Date: 2008
The SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods Research Design by ISBN: 9781529723960Publication Date: 2023-11-06
- Qualitative Online Books & Resources by SAGE PublicationsIncludes both basics and resources beyond the basics.
- Video: What Has Given Rise to the Interest In Mixed Methods Research Today?Creswell, John W. (2010). SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA. The speaker takes as his starting point the idea that this methodology is fairly new, about 20 years old. It is now often described as the third methodoligical movement - an amalgam of quantitative and qualitative research.
- Video: When Should I Choose A Mixed Methods ApproachCreswell, John W. (2010), SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA. Online Video, 6:21 minutes. The speaker analyzes the choice of a mixed methods approach to social research rather than a quantitative or qualitative one.
Print Books
Unlinked titles are in print only, so follow the link to check current availability.
Qualitative Research by Call Number: H62 .S31865 2018 @ Davis 5th floor Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781506305493Publication Date: 2017-01-23
Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods by Call Number: HSL 3rd Floor: W 20.5 P322q 2015 Check availability of print copy; older editions Davis Library: order via Carolina Blu.ISBN: 9781412972123Publication Date: 2015
Doing Qualitative Research by Call Number: W 84.61 D657 1999, at the Health Sciences Library. Check availability of print copyISBN: 0761914978Publication Date: 1999-08-27
Qualitative Data Analysis by Call Number: H62 .M437 2014, at Davis Library on the 5th floor. Check availability of print copyISBN: 1452257876Publication Date: 2013-04-18
Qualitative Data Analysis by Call Number: H62 .M437 2020 Davis Library (6th floor) Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781506353074Publication Date: 2019-01-22
Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design by Call Number: H61 .C73 2018 Davis Library (6th floor) Check availability of print copyISBN: 1506330207Publication Date: 2017-01-25
Qualitative Methods for Health Research by Call Number: W 20.5 G796q 2014, at the Health Sciences Library. Check availability of print copyISBN: 1446253090Publication Date: 2013-12-20
Qualitative Methods for Health Research by Call Number: NC State University Libraries Veterinary Medicine Library Stacks R853 .Q34 G74 2018 Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781473997103Publication Date: 2018-04-05
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research by Call Number: H62 .H2455 2011, copies at Information Science and Park Libraries. Check availability of print copies.ISBN: 1412974178Publication Date: 2011-04-27
- The Sage Handbook of Qualitative ResearchNewer editions of The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research are located at other institutions and are available in the UNC Catalog through TRLN.
Mixed Methods in Health Sciences Research by Call Number: W 84.3 C976m 2015, at the Health Sciences Library. Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781483306773Publication Date: 2014-10-20
A Concise Introduction to Mixed Methods Research by Call Number: Davis Library 5th floor: H62 .C69618 2015 Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781483359045Publication Date: 2014-04-22
A Concise Introduction to Mixed Methods Research 2nd ed. by Call Number: Located at other institutions and available through TRLN Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781544355757Publication Date: 2021-09-01
Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd ed. by Call Number: Davis 5th floor & ILS Library: H62 .C6962 2011 Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781412975179Publication Date: 2010-06-22
Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research 3rd ed. by Call Number: H62 .C6962 2018 Davis Library (6th floor) Check availability of print copyISBN: 9781483344379Publication Date: 2017-10-06
Articles
From across a range of disciplines, the following articles all provide good but brief overviews of what qualitative research is and what kind of methods are involved.
- Shelton RC, Philbin MM, Ramanadhan S. Qualitative Research Methods in Chronic Disease: Introduction and Opportunities to Promote Health Equity. Annu Rev Public Health. 2022 Apr 5;43:37-57. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-012420-105104. PMID: 34936827; PMCRelevant beyond chronic disease. From the abstract: ...We introduce frameworks and methodological approaches common to qualitative research, discuss how and when to apply them in order to advance health equity, and highlight relevant strengths and challenges. We provide an overview of data collection, sampling, and analysis for qualitative research, and we describe research questions that can be addressed by applying qualitative methods across the continuum of chronic disease research. Finally, we offer recommendations to promote the strategic application of rigorous qualitative methods
Fossey, E., C. Harvey, F. McDermott, and L. Davidson. (2002) "Understanding and Evaluating Qualitative Research." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 36(6): 717-732.
Ingham-Broomfield, Rebecca (2015) A nurse's guide to Qualitative Research. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 32(3):34-40.
Small, Mario L. (2011) How to Conduct a Mixed Method Study: Recent Trends in a Rapidly Growing Literature. Annual Review of Sociology 37: 55-84.
Smith, Mary Lee.(1987) Publishing Qualitative Research. American Educational Research Journal 24(2): 173-183.
Snowden, Claire (Trials) and David Gough (Systematic Reviews) (eds) Qualitative Methods, Trials, and Systematic Reviews. Joint Publication, Trials and Systematic Reviews.
- Snowden, Claire (2015). Trials editorial about the special joint publication: Qualitative and mixed methods research in trials. Trials 16: 558.
- Gough, David (2015). Systematic Reviews editorial about the special joint publication: Qualitative and mixed methods in systematic reviews. Systemaatic Reviews 4:81.
- The two sister-journals, Trials and Systematic Reviews, have, on the face of it, different readerships and deal with different issues. In both journals there is, however, a common and growing interest in the contribution of qualitative methods. We are seeing an expansion of the use and application of a range of techniques with entry into novel research areas and pursuit of new lines of inquiry. Our contributors are working within specific methods, with mixed methods, and across paradigms. This special issue covers these innovative and challenging areas, with the aim of sharing methodological practice, findings and reflections to drive forward and further the respective fields.
Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46.
Databases
- Sage Research MethodsLibrary of research methods tools. Learn about quantitative and qualitative methods in the Little Green Book and Little Blue Book series, practice data analysis, and use the Project Planner tool to organize research projects. Also included are social research case studies, videos, datasets for teaching and instruction, and analytical tools.
- Sage Research Methods Little Blue BooksSAGE's Little Blue Books, provide short introductions of qualitative research methods.
- SAGE Research Methods QualitativeAs of June 2016, the interface on SAGE Research Methods has changed. If you are looking for the Methods Map, you can access it here. (This links to the qualitative methods section, but you can still find other methods by clicking on the various options).
Click on the Methods Map image to go to the Sage Research Methods Map webpage.
Websites
- JAMAEvidence Contains slideshows on evaluating various kinds of evidence, including qualitative studies.
- Measuring, Learning, and Evaluation Project for the Urban Reproductive Health InitiativeThis project ran 2010-2015. Some project resources are still available.
- NIH OBSSR (Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences Research) Best Practices for Mixed Methods Research in Health Sciences, 2011The OBSSR commissioned a team in 2010 to develop a resource that would provide guidance to NIH investigators on how to rigorously develop and evaluate mixed methods research applications.
- NIH OBSSR eSource: Introductory Social and Behavioral Science Training MaterialseSource is a collection of online chapters that provide an introduction to selected behavioral and social science research approaches, including theory development and testing, survey methods, measurement, and study design.
- NSF Workshop on Interdisciplinary Standards for Systematic Qualitative ResearchOn May 19-20, 2005, a workshop on Interdisciplinary Standards for Systematic Qualitative Research was held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Virginia. The workshop was cofunded by a grant from four NSF Programs—Cultural Anthropology, Law and Social Science, Political Science, and Sociology… It is well recognized that each of the four disciplines have different research design and evaluation cultures as well as considerable variability in the emphasis on interpretation and explanation, commitment to constructivist and positivist epistemologies, and the degree of perceived consensus about the value and prominence of qualitative research methods.
- Technical Note: Mixed-Methods Evaluations (USAID)This open source resource from USAID (2013) discusses the mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods in mixed methods research.
- Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector's Field Guide (2005)From FHI 360/Family Health International with support from US AID. Natasha Mack, Cynthia Woodsong, Kathleen M. MacQueen, Greg Guest, and Emily Name. The guide is divided into five modules covering the following topics:
Module 1 – Qualitative Research Methods Overview
Module 2 – Participant Observation
Module 3 – In-Depth Interviews
Module 4 – Focus Groups
Module 5 – Data Documentation and Management
Search the UNC Library Catalog
Other sections on this page contain a sampling of the available works on qualitative research and mixed methods research, but there are many more. To search the UNC library catalog for more resources, click on the links below.
Qualitative Literacy
Qualitative Literacy by ISBN: 0520390679Publication Date: 2022-08-23Suppose you were given two qualitative studies: one is a piece of empirically sound social science and the other, though interesting and beautifully written, is not. How would you tell the difference? Qualitative Literacy presents criteria to assess qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviewing and participant observation. This guide provides the tools needed to identify and evaluate quality in field research.
Outstanding Publication Award. 2023. Methodology Section, American Sociological Association.
Not a checklist, this is a thorough discussion of assessing the scientific merit of a study based on in-depth interviews or participant observation, first by assessing exposure (e.g. time exposed in the field). Then, assuming sufficient exposure, the authors propose looking for signs of
- cognitive empathy, how those interviewed or observed perceive themselves and their social world, the meaning they attach to those perceptions, the motives they express for their actions
- palpability: the evidence would be palpable or concrete rather than abstract or general
- heterogeneity: showing diversity across people, over time, among situations, or between contexts
- follow-up: responding to the unexpected; following up on unanticipated statements or observations
- self-awareness: showing that the author is explicitly aware of the impact of their presence on who was accessed and what they disclosed