Qualitative Research

This guide provides resources as well as help with how to locate qualitative research resources.

Search Terms

Keywords (the * indicates the word may have different endings)

Action research	Descriptive qualitative research	Generic qualitative description	Oral history
Activities of daily living	Descriptive qualitative stud*	Grounded theory	Participatory action research
Appreciative inquiry	Descriptive stud*	Health-related quality of life	Participant observation
Assessment*	Discourse analysis	Hermeneutic*	Phenomengraph*
Autoethnograph*	Ethnograph*	Interview	Phenomenolog*
Biographical research	Ethnomethodolog*	Lived experience	Qualitative
Case stud*	Exploratory stud*	Narrativ*	Qualitative meta-synthesis
Constant comparative	Field notes	Naturalistic study	Qualitative method*
Content analysis	Field stud*	Observational method*	Qualitative research
Conversation analysis	Focus group*	Opinion*	Qualitative stud*

Databases - Top Picks

The online databases serve as indexes to the literature, primarily periodicals. They include citations, abstracts and sometimes full-text. Click on the More Info link for a complete description of the database.

SAGE Research Methods Online
more...less...
SAGE Research Methods Online (SRMO) is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. SRMO contains books, journals and videos. Researchers can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand a particular method or identify a new method, and write up their research. Since SRMO focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it can be used by researchers from the social sciences, health sciences and more.
CINAHL Complete
more...less...
CINAHL Complete is the worlds most comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 1,300 journals indexed in CINAHL. This authoritative file contains full text for many of the most used journals in the CINAHL index, with no embargo.
ERIC (ProQuest)
more...less...
Citations and abstracts for education literature, including articles, books, papers, proceedings and other documents from 1966 to present. Includes links to full-text for most ERIC documents (ED) from 1993 to present.
MEDLINE (EBSCO)
more...less...
Citations and abstracts to medical literature including clinical medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health, health care services and administration, biological and physical sciences, etc. Links to selected full-text articles.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global
more...less...
Bibliographic database of information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Citations for dissertations beginning in 1861, abstracts for dissertations published from 1980 forward, and full-text from 1997 forward. Select open access dissertations are also included.
APA PsycInfo (formerly PsycINFO)
more...less...
Citations and abstracts to literature in psychology, the behavioral sciences, and other related disciplines. Includes psychological research and its applications. Contains material of relevance to psychologists and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
Sage Journals
more...less...
Collection contains over 100 journals, primarily covering management, education, psychology, health, and nursing. If you want full text articles only, select 'Sage Content Available to Me' and set the starting value of Date Range to January, 1999.
Social Services Abstracts
more...less...
Citations and abstracts of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development.
Sociological Abstracts
more...less...
Citations and abstracts to research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Scholars tab provides author profiles from Scholar Universe.