Thematic analysis
The most widely used approach — Braun & Clarke’s six phases, from familiarisation to reporting themes.
Free tool: Qualitative Coding Planner
Qualitative research methods: a plain-English guide
Qualitative research is the systematic study of meaning, experience, and process — turning words, not numbers, into evidence. It has its own toolkit (how you collect data, how you analyse it) and its own standards of rigor. This guide covers the parts students most often need to get right.
The core skills
Grounded theory
Building theory from the data itself via open, axial, and selective coding and constant comparison.
How to code qualitative data
Open, axial, and selective coding, and how to build a codebook that keeps it consistent.
Free tool: Qualitative Coding Planner
Conducting research interviews
Semi-structured interviews — the guide, the probes, and how to run them well.
Free tool: Interview Guide Builder
Trustworthiness & rigor
Credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability — and where saturation fits.
How it fits together
A qualitative study runs: a question about how or why → a design and purposive sample → data collection (often interviews) → coding and analysis (e.g. thematic analysis or grounded theory) → and, throughout, attention to trustworthiness. Rigor here isn’t about p-values — it’s about a transparent, defensible, reflexive process.
Use the tools as you work
- Qualitative Coding Planner — a coding plan + codebook template for your chosen approach.
- Interview Guide Builder — a full semi-structured guide with probes.
- Qualitative vs quantitative — if you’re still choosing your methodology.
Get the free Qualitative Analysis toolkit
Codebook templates, coding worksheets, interview-guide scaffolds, and a trustworthiness checklist from QDA with ChatGPT and QualCoder. We’ll email you the download link.
Frequently asked questions
What is qualitative research?
The systematic study of meaning, experience, and process using non-numerical data — interviews, observations, documents — analysed by coding and interpretation to answer “how” and “why” questions.
Which analysis approach should I use?
Thematic analysis is a flexible default; grounded theory builds theory; framework and content analysis suit applied/structured work. Match it to your question and epistemology.
How is rigor judged in qualitative research?
By trustworthiness — credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability — supported by reflexivity and an audit trail, not by statistics.