Qualitative research focuses on gathering and analyzing or interpreting non-numerical data.
This most often takes the form of identifying patterns and themes in text or other non-numerical data, such as images or video. Qualitative research is most typically done through:
You can use Discovery's Advanced Search to try to limit your results to qualitative studies.
There are a handful of ways of doing this.
You can use the Subject Terms filter to search for terms like "Qualitative," "Interviews," and "Focus Groups."
A search using this method may look like this:
Not all articles have the type of research indicated in the subject terms. However, some articles reveal the type of research directly in the title. Search for Qualitative in the Title, as in the example below:
In some cases, you may want to remove certain types of research from your results. For example, searching for qualitative research using method 1 (Subject Terms) may also capture mixed methods studies, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. You can remove these by using the "NOT" operator, like so:
In this example, we have indicated that we are removing anything with Mixed Methods in the Subject Terms. However, you could have left the Select A Field dropdown menu blank, and it would remove any article that mentions mixed methods. You can combine Mixed Methods with other search terms, for example: NOT "Mixed Methods OR Meta-analyses OR Systematic Reviews."
EBSCO's Advanced Search looks similar to Discovery's Advanced Search, but you will find more options in EBSCO's Advanced Search. EBSCO's Advanced Search includes "Special Limiters" for the different databases Yorkville has subscribed to. This particular method is applicable only for APA PsycArticles. If you scroll down, you will find "Special Limiters for APA PsycArticles." In this section, you will find a variety of limiters, including METHODOLOGY.
In this section, there are a number of options for qualitative literature:
You can select more than one of these options by holding down the SHIFT key while selecting the methodologies you would like to include in your query.
It is important to remember that this does not guarantee that the results are all pure qualitative studies - many of the studies captured in your results may be mixed methods, for example.
Another avenue is to search specific journals using a keyword (like "anxiety") or a combination of keywords (like "anxiety and cognitive behavioural therapy").
You can search for a journal title in Discovery using the search bar on the main page. Select Journals A-Z, and then select "Title" in the drop-down menu. You can then enter the title of the journal, like in the example below:
After selecting the journal, you will be provided a link beneath the "Full-Text Access" hyperlink to the database providing the access to the journal. In some cases, you may be given more than one option.
After selecting the database through which you would like to access the journal, you will be directed to that journal's "page" within the database, and will then be able to search within the journal. In SAGE, for example, it will look like this after clicking the "Search" button in the top right, revealing the search bar:
The Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research, based out of Ontario's University of Toronto, has a series of public seminars discussing a variety of topics within qualitative research.
The videos can be accessed here.
The International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, housed at the University of Alberta, has a Masterclass Webinar Series on qualitative methodology accessible to the public.
The videos and slides can be accessed here.
The Qualitative Applied Health Research Centre, housed at King's College London, maintains a podcast about qualitative research methods.
Podcast episodes can be found here.
The Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, a section of the APA Division 5 (Quantitative and Qualitative Measures), has a freely available series of interviews with distinguished researchers in a variety of subfields in psychology.
The interview series can be accessed here.
The JARS–Qual guidelines developed in 2018 mark the first time APA Style has included qualitative standards. They outline what should be reported in qualitative research manuscripts to make the review process easier.
The seventh edition of the Publication Manual also includes content on qualitative studies, including standards for journal article reporting, considerations for sharing qualitative data, and a description of case studies as a type of qualitative article.
JARS–Qual includes guidelines for manuscripts that report
You can find more information on JARS-Qual here. The PDF with the JARS-Qual can be found here.