Writing Qualitative

Research Papers
Writing the Qualitative Research Report

• A qualitative study is not complete until the

research report is written
• Researcher analyzes data and writes the analysis in
back-and-forth reflective steps
• Writing the report is part of developing the
interpretation of the data
Characteristics of Qualitative Research Reports

• Author is a guide
• Report increases reader’s understanding of
complicated social phenomena
• Use of quotes as evidence for the themes
Special Challenges to Writing Qualitative Papers

• Qualitative writing demands the same general skills

as quantitative articles, but prejudice and
communication barriers are added challenges
• Fewer competent referees, fewer journals and
”quantitative” hegemony in science
• Qualitative papers are typically longer. This may be
an issue for journals or other settings where there
is a word limit.
• Clinical audiences may also be less inclined to read
longer, qualitative papers – requires a different kind
of written document
Qualitative Report Sections:
• Similar to quantitative reports
1. Introduction
2. Literature review/summary
3. Methods section – discussion of data collection and
analysis
4. Findings/Results
• Differs from quantitative – much more text based, rather than table
• May use graphics to display relationships of key themes
5. Discussion
• Limitations
• Implications of findings
• Future research
Background/Literature Review
• Shows that you want to establish your place in the research community
• Cover the culturally relevant literature, but do not limit yourself to that
• Should not only be descriptive: position yourself in relation to earlier
research. What has been missed or misinterpreted by earlier writers?
Why do you want to build on someone else’s work?

• Components:
• Conceptual/theoretical framework
• What you have learned from previous research & how
you position yourself
• Evidence that you are well informed on your topic
Writing the Methods Section
• When/where fieldwork or data collection was conducted
• Extent of researcher involvement in the environment during data
collection/study
• Information about participant recruitment (if applicable)
• Information about context/scene
• Detailed information about participants (data)
• Demographics, other descriptives
• IRB
• Analytic plan
• Underlying framework
• Transcription
• Determination of when saturation was reached
• Coding
• Triangulation (if applicable)
Writing the Results Section

• Qualitative research presents A LOT of data

• Decisions about what to present – prioritize
• What is the story you want to tell?
• In whose voice will the story be told?
• Representative vs. striking quotations/evidence
• “quantifying” how common a finding was
• Need to protect identity of participants
(descriptives or pseudonyms)
Writing the Discussion Section

• Similar to a quantitative discussion section

• High-level overview of findings
• Significance of findings – link back to previous research
• Limitations to study/data
• Next steps
• Overall conclusion

• Not generalizable
Presenting in Posters/Slides

• Similar to quantitative posters

• Summary headings
• Illustrative text portions instead of tables