Are We There Yet? Data Saturation in Qualitative Research
TLDR
Data saturation is reached when there is enough information to replicate the study when the ability to obtain additional new information has been attained, and when further coding is no longer feasible as mentioned in this paper.Abstract:
Failure to reach data saturation has an impact on the quality of the research conducted and hampers content validity. The aim of a study should include what determines when data saturation is achieved, for a small study will reach saturation more rapidly than a larger study. Data saturation is reached when there is enough information to replicate the study when the ability to obtain additional new information has been attained, and when further coding is no longer feasible. The following article critiques two qualitative studies for data saturation: Wolcott (2004) and Landau and Drori (2008). Failure to reach data saturation has a negative impact on the validity on one’s research. The intended audience is novice student researchers. Keywords: Data Saturation, Triangulation, Interviews, Personal Lens, Bias.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization
Benjamin Saunders,Julius Sim,Tom Kingstone,Shula Baker,Jackie Waterfield,Bernadette Bartlam,Heather Burroughs,Clare Jinks +7 more
TL;DR: It is concluded that saturation should be operationalized in a way that is consistent with the research question(s), and the theoretical position and analytic framework adopted, but also that there should be some limit to its scope, so as to risk saturation losing its coherence and potency if its conceptualization and uses are stretched too widely.
Journal ArticleDOI
Code Saturation Versus Meaning Saturation: How Many Interviews Are Enough?
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared two approaches to assess saturation: code saturation and meaning saturation, and examined sample sizes needed to reach saturation in each approach, what saturation meant, and how to assess it.
Journal ArticleDOI
To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales
Virginia Braun,Victoria Clarke +1 more
TL;DR: It is argued that although the concepts of data-, thematic- or code-saturation, and even meaning-s saturation, are coherent with the neo-positivist, discovery-oriented, meaning excavation project of coding reliability types of TA, they are not consistent with the values and assumptions of reflexive TA.
Journal ArticleDOI
Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period
TL;DR: It is recommended that qualitative health researchers be more transparent about evaluations of their sample size sufficiency, situating these within broader and more encompassing assessments of data adequacy.
Journal ArticleDOI
Employing a Qualitative Description Approach in Health Care Research
TL;DR: This article provides a systematic and robust journey through the philosophical, ontological, and epistemological perspectives, which evidences the purpose of qualitative description research.
References
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Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
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Journal ArticleDOI
How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability
TL;DR: The authors operationalize saturation and make evidence-based recommendations regarding nonprobabilistic sample sizes for interviews and found that saturation occurred within the first twelve interviews, although basic elements for metathemes were present as early as six interviews.
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TL;DR: The Research Act as discussed by the authors is a textbook for methods courses and a major contribution to sociological theory, which teaches students the principles of research and how to construct and test theories by presenting four major approaches to experimentation: survey research, participant observation, life histories, and symbolic interaction.
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Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
TL;DR: In this article, the Foundations of Social Research are discussed, and a background to research is discussed, as well as research design and experimental thinking, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis are discussed.