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Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period

BMC medical research methodology, 2018-11, Vol.18 (1), p.148-148, Article 148 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

COPYRIGHT 2018 BioMed Central Ltd. ;Copyright © 2018. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. ;The Author(s). 2018 ;ISSN: 1471-2288 ;EISSN: 1471-2288 ;DOI: 10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7 ;PMID: 30463515

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  • Title:
    Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period
  • Author: Vasileiou, Konstantina ; Barnett, Julie ; Thorpe, Susan ; Young, Terry
  • Subjects: Data adequacy ; Evaluation ; Interviewing ; Interviews ; Medical research ; Qualitative health research ; Qualitative interviews ; Qualitative research ; Research design ; Researchers ; Sample size ; Sample size characterisation ; Sample size justification ; Theory
  • Is Part Of: BMC medical research methodology, 2018-11, Vol.18 (1), p.148-148, Article 148
  • Description: Choosing a suitable sample size in qualitative research is an area of conceptual debate and practical uncertainty. That sample size principles, guidelines and tools have been developed to enable researchers to set, and justify the acceptability of, their sample size is an indication that the issue constitutes an important marker of the quality of qualitative research. Nevertheless, research shows that sample size sufficiency reporting is often poor, if not absent, across a range of disciplinary fields. A systematic analysis of single-interview-per-participant designs within three health-related journals from the disciplines of psychology, sociology and medicine, over a 15-year period, was conducted to examine whether and how sample sizes were justified and how sample size was characterised and discussed by authors. Data pertinent to sample size were extracted and analysed using qualitative and quantitative analytic techniques. Our findings demonstrate that provision of sample size justifications in qualitative health research is limited; is not contingent on the number of interviews; and relates to the journal of publication. Defence of sample size was most frequently supported across all three journals with reference to the principle of saturation and to pragmatic considerations. Qualitative sample sizes were predominantly - and often without justification - characterised as insufficient (i.e., 'small') and discussed in the context of study limitations. Sample size insufficiency was seen to threaten the validity and generalizability of studies' results, with the latter being frequently conceived in nomothetic terms. We recommend, firstly, 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. Secondly, we invite researchers critically to consider how saturation parameters found in prior methodological studies and sample size community norms might best inform, and apply to, their own project and encourage that data adequacy is best appraised with reference to features that are intrinsic to the study at hand. Finally, those reviewing papers have a vital role in supporting and encouraging transparent study-specific reporting.
  • Publisher: England: BioMed Central Ltd
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 1471-2288
    EISSN: 1471-2288
    DOI: 10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7
    PMID: 30463515
  • Source: GFMER Free Medical Journals
    PubMed Central
    Springer Nature OA/Free Journals
    ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
    ProQuest Central
    DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
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