Writing Guidelines for Qualitative Research

In general qualitative research should take on a narrative voice. The researcher talks to the
readers and has a goal to share as much as possible about the process and the findings of the
research. Detail is important and “rich descriptions” are an important feature of most qualitative
work. This means that careful attention to word choices and tone are important.

Some specific guidelines are

1. Avoid passive structures. Readers want to know who did what.
2. Avoid contractions unless you are quoting a participant in the study.
3. Do not use “etc.” (not specific enough for academic writing)
4. Avoid using second person pronouns (you/your)
5. Use the pronoun “I” or “we” if you are working with others. (It is important to note that the
use of first-person pronouns is a discipline-specific cultural item, and within education,
different individuals will have different perspectives. So for the purpose of this paper and
most REFLECTIVE writing in the program, use first person, but ALWAYS check with
individual instructors about their specific requests related to first-person pronouns. However,
most if not all should agree on avoiding second-person pronoun, you, in academic [including
reflective] writing.
6. Write authentically; do not write to impress upon others how much you know.
7. Most adjectives can be deleted. (Show; don’t tell.)
8. Use Latin abbreviations correctly.
a. e.g., means “for example”
b. i.e., means “defined as”
9. Present the rationale for your decisions; make your logical reasoning explicit.
10. Use section titles as the roadmap for readers, but also consider creative titles that connect the
section to the study. (SooHoo’s articles are good examples. Gourd & Gourd strived to have
meaningful section titles (double meaning depending on whether you think of the “ing”
words as verbs or as adjectives) in the bullying project I posted on Catalyst.

Some formatting guidelines.

1. Follow APA, of course, including formatting titles of the paper. APA guidelines explain how
titles should be used.
2. Double space. (Do not triple or 1.5 space lines. It is slows many readers down.)
3. Indent paragraphs.
4. Do not insert blank lines between paragraphs.
5. Use one inch margins and 12 pt font such as Times New Roman. Black text only.
6. Do not justify the right margin; justify the left, but not the right.

Qualities of Good Writing

Clarity—grammatical, concrete, parallel, logical, accurate, examples and support provided,
organized, no clichés
Accuracy—careful, complex interpretations of author/s, data, concepts
Analysis—critical thinking, clear purpose, multiple perspectives, connections, accurate
Authenticity—honest, humble investigation; tone encourages confidence in the author while
recognizing difficulty in knowing with certainty.
Relevance—significant issues and themes, connecting ideas; no obvious omissions
Multiple Perspectives—issues discussed with sensitivity and openness to multiple positions;
absolutes and generalizations avoided. (For example, using words such as “perhaps,”
“may,” and “seems” rather than or in addition to “is” indicates reasoning without
indicating an absolute.)
Sophistication—complex but clear sentence construction, transitional words, word choice, not
colloquial, proofread. (Rely on the examples provided throughout Robinson & Lai for
quality writing examples. Chapter 9, especially has some examples specific to quality
writing and style.)
Organization—clearly stated purpose and points, support provided for claims, no unnecessary
redundancy, appropriate transitions

Good writing (as listed on the course syllabus)

1. conveys significant points;
2. includes details and data that clarify meaning and support points;
3. organizes and connects ideas in ways that others can easily access them;
4. considers multiple perspectives and possibilities rather than a single, “universal” perspective,
5. avoids unsupportable generalizations,
6. demonstrates sensitivity and accountability to individuals discussed, and
7. adheres to conventions of writing (e.g., grammatical, punctuation, word choice, avoids
plagiarizing by citing references)