A Resource for Psychology Faculty

Why Qualitative Research Matters in Psychology

In a discipline dominated by statistical analyses and experimental designs, qualitative research offers a vital complementary approach to understanding human experience. In my conversations with other faculty, I hear that there is interest in incorporating qualitative methods into the curriculum but many faculty are unsure of where to start. I’m always grateful to hear of this interest because while quantitative methods excel at identifying patterns across large samples and testing hypotheses, qualitative methods allow us to explore the richness, complexity, and contextual nature of human experience in ways that numbers alone cannot capture.

As Clarke and Braun note in their work, many psychology curricula position qualitative methods as secondary to quantitative approaches, teaching them later in students’ educational journeys when students have already internalized the assumptions of “scientific psychology.” This placement inadvertently portrays qualitative research as less rigorous or valuable. Yet qualitative approaches have their own forms of rigor, their own standards of excellence, and their own unique contributions to make to psychological knowledge. Importantly, if we are concerned with epistemic justice we have to consider how this bias toward quantification can result in erasure of community expertise and wisdom.

This introduction aims to provide psychology faculty with enough background knowledge and confidence to begin integrating qualitative methods into their undergraduate teaching. While a single little resource cannot cover the full breadth and depth of qualitative inquiry in a single chapter, the hope is that this chapter can offer enough to help you guide students through their first meaningful engagement with qualitative research.

What Makes Qualitative Research Distinctive?

Qualitative research is not simply the absence of numbers or statistics. It represents a fundamentally different approach to knowledge construction with its own philosophical foundations, methodological traditions, and quality criteria. Key distinctive features include:

1. Focus on Meaning and Interpretation

Qualitative research is concerned with understanding how people make sense of their world and the meanings they attribute to their experiences. Rather than measuring predetermined variables, qualitative researchers explore how participants interpret, understand, and describe their lived realities.

2. Rich, Detailed Data

Qualitative data typically takes the form of text (interviews, field notes, open-ended survey responses), images, or recordings rather than numerical measurements. This data provides depth and detail about particular experiences or contexts rather than breadth across large samples.

3. Inductive Approach

While quantitative research often begins with theories and tests hypotheses deductively, qualitative research frequently works inductively, developing concepts, insights, and understanding from patterns in the data rather than collecting data to assess preconceived models or theories.

4. Recognition of Researcher Subjectivity

Instead of trying to eliminate researcher influence, qualitative approaches acknowledge that the researcher is an instrument in the research process. Through reflexivity (critical self-awareness), researchers examine how their own positioning, assumptions, and decisions shape the research.

5. Contextual Understanding

Qualitative research emphasizes understanding phenomena in their natural settings, recognizing that human experiences are embedded within particular social, cultural, and historical contexts that give them meaning.

Common Qualitative Data Collection Methods

In-depth Interviews

Structured, semi-structured, or unstructured conversations designed to elicit detailed accounts of participants’ experiences, perspectives, and understandings.

Focus Groups

Facilitated discussions with small groups that capitalize on group dynamics to explore shared and divergent experiences and generate insights through interaction.

Participant Observation

Immersion in a setting to observe and document behaviors, interactions, and practices in their natural context.

Document Analysis

Systematic examination of written texts, visual materials, or other artifacts to understand their content, meaning, and social function.

Qualitative Surveys

Open-ended questions that invite narrative responses rather than predetermined category selection.

Creative Methods

Techniques that go beyond traditional verbal data collection to engage different modes of expression and understanding, such as:

• Photo elicitation: Using images to stimulate discussion and reflection
• Visual mapping: Having participants create diagrams or maps representing their experiences
• Story completion tasks: Providing participants with story stems they complete to reveal implicit assumptions
• Diary and journal methods: Collecting longitudinal reflections through participant-maintained records
• Arts-based methods: Using drawing, collage, poetry, or other artistic forms to access and express experiences

Participatory and Liberatory Methods

Approaches that challenge traditional research hierarchies by positioning participants as co-researchers rather than subjects. These methods, rooted in the work of scholars like Paulo Freire and Orlando Fals Borda, include:

• Participatory Action Research (PAR): Collaborative research conducted with rather than on communities, aimed at producing knowledge and action useful to those communities
• Community-based participatory research: Research partnerships that equitably involve community members in all phases of the research process
• Testimonio: First-person narratives that document oppression, resistance, and survival, especially within Latin American contexts
• Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR): Engaging young people as researchers of issues affecting their lives and communities

These approaches are particularly valuable in psychology education as they explicitly address power dynamics in research, center the experiences of marginalized communities, and demonstrate how research can contribute to social justice and liberation.

An Overview of Qualitative Analytic Approaches

While there are numerous qualitative analytic approaches, each with its own philosophical foundations and procedures, below are several commonly used methods in psychology:

Thematic Analysis

One of the most accessible qualitative methods, thematic analysis identifies, analyzes, and reports patterns (themes) within data. As Braun and Clarke describe in their influential work, thematic analysis is theoretically flexible and can be used within different theoretical frameworks to answer different types of research questions. This makes it an excellent “starter method” for both students and faculty new to qualitative research.

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

Focuses on understanding how participants make sense of their personal and social worlds, with particular attention to the meanings that particular experiences hold for them. IPA is especially common in health psychology.

Grounded Theory

Aims to develop theory inductively from data through systematic analysis involving constant comparison between data, emerging concepts, and theoretical sampling. Unlike many qualitative approaches, it explicitly seeks to generate theory.

Discourse Analysis

Examines how language constructs social reality, focusing on the ways language is used to create meaning, establish identities, and reproduce or challenge power relations. There are several variants, including discursive psychology, Foucauldian discourse analysis, and critical discourse analysis.

Narrative Analysis

Explores how people construct and use stories to make sense of their experiences and communicate them to others, focusing on both the content and the structure of narratives.

Content Analysis

Systematically classifies and describes characteristics of textual, visual, or audio material through coding and categorization. Can be more quantitative (counting frequencies) or more qualitative (identifying meanings).

Getting Started: Teaching Qualitative Methods to Undergraduates

1. Establish Philosophical Foundations

Help students understand that qualitative research is not simply “quantitative research without numbers” but represents different assumptions about knowledge (epistemology) and reality (ontology). Introducing key concepts like constructionism, interpretivism, and the social construction of knowledge can help students grasp why qualitative methods approach research questions differently.

2. Start with Accessible Examples

Use published qualitative studies with clear methods sections and compelling findings to demonstrate what good qualitative research looks like. Choose topics that will engage students but aren’t overly sensitive, as Clarke and Braun suggest.

3. Emphasize Learning by Doing

As Clarke and Braun emphasize, practical engagement is crucial for learning qualitative methods. Rather than overwhelming students with theoretical complexity, give them hands-on experience with data collection and analysis. Small-scale exercises like conducting a brief interview, coding a transcript excerpt, or analyzing a set of open-ended survey responses provide valuable experiential learning. The following sections will offer sample activities to bring into the classroom.

4. Teach Reflexivity from the Start

Help students understand that their own positioning matters in qualitative research. The previous sections and activities in this resource may be a good starting point. Simple reflexive exercises asking students to note their assumptions about a research topic before they begin analysis can help develop this critical awareness.

5. Focus on One Method Deeply Rather Than Many Superficially

For introductory teaching, it’s better to give students a solid grounding in one qualitative approach (thematic analysis is often ideal) than to cover multiple methods superficially. Once students grasp the basic logic and practice of qualitative inquiry through one method, they can more easily transfer this understanding to other approaches.

6. Use Real Data When Possible

While created examples have their place, working with real data (even if anonymized or from secondary sources) helps students engage with the complexity and messiness of actual qualitative material. If possible, engage students in generating their own data through small-scale data collection activities. The following two sections will scaffold this possibility.

7. Balance Structure and Creativity

Novice qualitative researchers often feel anxious about the perceived “lack of rules” in qualitative analysis. Provide clear guidelines and structured processes while also encouraging creative analytical thinking and interpretation.

8. Connect to Disciplinary Knowledge

Help students see how qualitative research connects to and advances psychological theory and understanding, rather than presenting it as separate from the “main” content of psychology.

Common Challenges and How to Address Them

Challenge: Student Skepticism About Validity

Many psychology students have been thoroughly socialized into positivist understandings of validity and reliability, leading them to question whether qualitative research is “scientific.”

Addressing this: Introduce alternative quality criteria for qualitative research (like credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability) and discuss how rigor is established through different means. Show examples of high-quality qualitative studies published in respected psychology journals.

Challenge: The Complexity of Theoretical Frameworks

Qualitative research often engages with complex theoretical perspectives unfamiliar to undergraduate psychology students.

Addressing this: As Clarke and Braun suggest, consider teaching method before theory for beginners. Start with more accessible theoretical frameworks or use theoretically flexible methods like thematic analysis that don’t require mastery of complex theoretical positions before meaningful analysis can begin.

Challenge: Students Confusing Description and Analysis

Novice qualitative researchers often present summaries or descriptions of data rather than analyzing and interpreting it.

Addressing this: Provide clear examples of the difference between description (“The participant said X”) and analysis (“This statement suggests an underlying tension between personal autonomy and social expectations”). Use exercises that explicitly move students from description to interpretation.

Challenge: Time Constraints

Qualitative data collection and analysis can be time-intensive, making it challenging to fit meaningful qualitative research experiences into a standard undergraduate course schedule.

Addressing this: Consider using prepared datasets, excerpts from larger datasets, or qualitative datasets that can be analyzed relatively quickly (like responses to open-ended survey questions or short interview segments). Collaborative data collection where each student contributes to a shared dataset can also maximize available time.

Integrating Qualitative Methods with AI Tools

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into research and education, there are productive ways to incorporate AI tools while maintaining the integrity of qualitative inquiry:

Appropriate Uses:

• Using transcription software to convert interview recordings to text (with human verification)
• Employing coding assistance tools to help identify potential patterns
• Using visualization tools to map relationships between themes or concepts

Unhelpful Uses:

• Relying on AI to independently analyze and interpret qualitative data
• Uncritically accepting AI-generated themes without human evaluation
• Using AI-generated responses as if they were authentic human data

Teaching Critical AI Literacy:

Help students critically evaluate both the capabilities and limitations of AI in qualitative analysis, emphasizing that while AI tools can support certain aspects of the process, the interpretive dimension of qualitative research remains fundamentally human. The following sections will offer an activity to teach critical AI literacy in qualitative analysis.

Conclusion: The Value of Methodological Pluralism

Introducing qualitative methods to undergraduate psychology students does more than simply expand their methodological toolkit. It invites them to think differently about what knowledge is, how it is produced, and whose experiences are centered in psychological research. By creating space for qualitative inquiry alongside quantitative approaches, we foster methodological pluralism that strengthens psychological science as a whole.

As you begin integrating qualitative methods into your teaching, remember that your own journey of learning continues. Be transparent with students about your own process of exploring qualitative approaches. This not only models intellectual humility but also creates a collaborative learning environment where methodological curiosity and critical thinking can flourish.

References and Further Reading

Accessible Introductions to Qualitative Methods in Psychology

• Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London: Sage.
• Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
• Willig, C. (2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology (3rd ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

On Teaching Qualitative Methods

• Clarke, V. & Braun, V. (2013). Teaching thematic analysis: Overcoming challenges and developing strategies for effective learning. The Psychologist, 26(2), 120-123.
• Forrester, M. A., & Koutsopoulou, G. Z. (2008). Providing resources for enhancing the teaching of qualitative methods at the undergraduate level: Current practices and the work of the HEA Psychology Network group. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5(3), 173-178.

Key Methodological Papers

• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
• Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2008). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 53-80). London: Sage.
• Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.

Critical Perspectives on Methodology

• Gergen, K. J. (2001). Psychological science in a postmodern context. American Psychologist, 56(10), 803-813.
• Harding, S. (1991). Whose science? Whose knowledge?: Thinking from women’s lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Teo, T. (2015). Critical psychology: A geography of intellectual engagement and resistance. American Psychologist, 70(3), 243-254.