How do I find qualitative research articles?
Qualitative research looks at how and why. It will often use:
- interviews
- questionnaires
- surveys.
To locate qualitative research articles, use a subject-specific database or a general library database like Academic Search Ultimate or Google Scholar.
Locating qualitative research takes a bit of investigation. Try these methods.
Begin by entering your keywords and conducting a search.
Example:
gardening AND mental health AND students
Since qualitative research is based on interviews, questions, observations, and surveys, you will need to look at article titles and abstracts for clues.
Words to scan for or include in your search include:
- Action research
- Case study
- Content analysis
- Discourse analysis
- Ethnographic
- Focus group
- Grounded theory
- Interview
- Narrative
- Observational
So you could search:
gardening AND students AND case study
Take a look at Penn State University Libraries’ list of tips (Empirical Research in the Social Sciences and Education) for additional words that you can use to scan for qualitative research.
Learn more
See this guide from NYU: Locating Qualitative Research.
