Learn about qualitative research and analysis

It can be daunting learning qualitative approaches for the first time, so we have put together a collection of resources that can help understanding the concepts, philosophies and practical applications of qual methods.

Firstly, try our quick primer on qualitative methods, and how they differ from quantitative approaches.

There are also lots of debates about the use of software for qualitative analysis, and we have a quick overview of some of these arguments as well as a general introduction to the uses of qualitative software.

For external overviews of qualitative research, there are a couple of good places to start that depend on discipline and field. Psychology often utilises qualitative methods, and a good overview can be found here and for nursing studies here. The Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) has a good overview for a commercial/market research audience, and the UK equivalent AQR has a good glossary and reading list.

Short Articles on qualitative methods

Our own blog now contains more than 150 articles on all aspects of qualitative research. We have topic summaries on qualitative methodologies, including definitions of qualitative approaches, and common methods like interviews, focus groups and ethnography. There are also practical tips on things like transcription, recruitment and sample sizes.

We also have a collection of more than 20 articles specifically on approaches for analysing qualitative data, including overviews of common terms like grounded theory, IPA and in-vivo coding. There are also tips for creating and refining coding frameworks.

Finally, we have developed a collection of guides for using qualitative software of all types. Although some of the examples focus on Quirkos, most of the tutorials are generic enough to apply to most qualitative software packages. We also provide some points of comparison, for example how Quirkos compares to major competitors like Nvivo. For independent reviews, we recommend the University of Surrey CAQDAS network.

Finally, we are always happy to help Quirkos users with their qualitative projects, and helping them get started with the analysis process. We also strongly advocate learning by doing, which is why we offer a long free trial of the full version of Quirkos so you can see how it will help with your qualitative analysis.

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