Qualitative methods of data analysis in psychology: an analysis of the literature

Abstract

In this article, we present a general overview of the state of qualitative research in psychology by analyzing publications found in the Institute for Scientific Information’s Web of Science database. Our objective is to provide a global perspective on the use of qualitative methods in data analysis and the frequency with which they are used in the journals. In total, 4840 articles were analyzed. We used bibliometrics methods to describe the publication patterns. We find a considerable increase throughout the 1990s in the number of publications using qualitative methods. Specifically, content analysis, grounded theory and discourse analysis steadily increased. The most representative qualitative publication in psychology uses content analysis and is most likely published in a journal indexed in the Social Sciences edition of the Journal Citation Reports. The data that we have obtained seem to indicate that qualitative research publications will continue increasing in the coming years.