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Finding Quantitative and Qualitative Research Articles

What is a Qualitative Research Article?

Qualitative research:

  • focused on obtaining non-numerical data through open-ended and conversational communication
  • can gain data through research, observation, interviews, surveys/questionnaires, focus groups, case studies

Ovid/CINAHL Qualitative Terms

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) for Qualitative Research

MeSH Terms

MEDLINE has the following MeSH terms available, which can be used to retrieve qualitative research

  • Qualitative Research - research that derives data from observation, interviews, or verbal interactions and focuses on the meanings and interpretations of the participants. Year introduced: 2003

  • Interviews as Topic - conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews. Year introduced: 2008 (1980)

  • Focus Groups - a method of data collection and a qualitative research tool in which a small group of individuals are brought together and allowed to interact in a discussion of their opinions about topics, issues, or questions. Year introduced: 1993]

  • Nursing Methodology Research - research carried out by nurses concerning techniques and methods to implement projects and to document information, including methods of interviewing patients, collecting data, and forming inferences. The concept includes exploration of methodological issues such as human subjectivity and human experience. Year introduced: 1991(1989)

  • Anecdotes as Topic - brief accounts or narratives of an incident or event. Year introduced: 2008(1963)]

  • Narration - the act, process, or an instance of narrating, i.e., telling a story. In the context of MEDICINE or ETHICS, narration includes relating the particular and the personal in the life story of an individual. Year introduced: 2003

  • Video Recording - the storing or preserving of video signals for television to be played back later via a transmitter or receiver. Recordings may be made on magnetic tape or discs (VIDEODISC RECORDING). Year introduced: 1984

  • Tape Recording - recording of information on magnetic or punched paper tape. Year introduced: 1967(1964)

  • Personal Narratives as Topic - works about accounts of individual experience in relation to a particular field or of participation in related activities. Year introduced: 2013

CINAHL's "Qualitative Studies" 

In 1988, the phrase "Qualitative Studies" was added to the CINAHL subject thesaurus, and it is applied to records describing "investigations which use sensory methods such as listening or observing to gather and organize data into patterns or themes." 

You can search for any record that has this subject heading using the field tag MH: (MH "Qualitative Studies")

Explode Qualitative Studies (MH "Qualitative Studies+")

There are more specific subject headings under "Qualitative Studies" in the CINAHL subject hierarchy:

  • Action Research

  • Ethnographic Research

  • Ethnological Research

  • Ethnonursing Research

  • Grounded Theory

  • Naturalistic Inquiry

  • Phenomenological Research

Exploding' (+) this term will include those headings in the search as well (searching them all together with OR): (MH "Qualitative Studies+") 

 

Related Subject Headings 

There are a number of additional CINAHL Subject Headings that may indicate that a record is describes qualitative research.  For instance:

  • Focus Groups

  • Narratives

  • Interviews

  • Descriptive Research

  • Descriptive Statistics

  • Audiorecording

  • Videorecording

  • Diaries

  • Observational Method

  • Projective Technique

  • Vignettes

Ovid's Qualitative Publication Types

MEDLINE records contain publication type metadata, allowing you to limit your search to only show records for publication types that are, by definition, most likely qualitative.  Possible Publication Type values include:

  • Interview: work consisting of a conversation with an individual regarding his or her background and other personal and professional details, opinions on specific subjects posed by the interviewer, etc. Year introduced: 2008(1993)
  • Diaries: works consisting of records, usually private, of writers' experiences, observations, feelings, attitudes, etc. They may also be works marked in calendar order in which to note appointments and the like. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.) Year introduced: 2008(1997)
  • Anecdotes: works consisting of brief accounts or narratives of incidents or events. Year introduced: 2008(1999)
  • Personal Narratives: works consisting of accounts of individual experience in relation to a particular field or of participation in related activities. Year introduced: 2013

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Qualitative Keywords

(These keywords can be used in Ovid & CINAHL)

As such, it is a good idea to also try using keyword searching to look in the other fields of the records (e.g., the title and abstract). 

The following string of search terms can be used across many different databases to try to locate records describing qualitative research:

(qualitative OR ethnograph* OR phenomenol* OR ethnonurs* OR grounded theor* OR purposive sample OR hermeneutic* OR heuristic* OR semiotics OR lived experience* OR narrative* OR life experiences OR cluster sample OR action research OR observational method OR content analysis OR thematic analysis OR constant comparative method OR field stud* OR theoretical sample OR discourse analysis OR focus group* OR ethnological research OR ethnomethodolog* OR interview*)

Locating Qualitative Research Articles