Does Sample Size Matter in Qualitative Research?: A Review of Qualitative Interviews in is Research

Marshall, Bryan; Cardon, Peter W.; Poddar, Amit; Fontenot, Renée J.

doi:10.1080/08874417.2013.11645667

Cited by 940 publications

(700 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

665

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…One limitation to qualitative research is that it has high internal validity and low external validity. High internal validity is gained through this study's high sample size as qualitative research is said to generally target 20-30 participants (Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, & Fontenot, 2013). Additionally, this research sample data was collected using the exact same interview instructions and retrieved from nine separate sections of a graduate-level project management fundamentals course, each taught by a different professor, suggesting that with many external variables, the results were consistent.…”

Section: Limitationssupporting

confidence: 48%

Project manager insights: An analysis of career progression

Marion¹,

Richardson²,

Earnhardt³

2014

Organisational Project Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The project manager is key to the success of any project. But the path to becoming a successful project manager is ill defined. In this study, the authors analyzed interview results of 87 project managers' responses to questions associated with entry into the field, career progression, and advice for the new project manager, seeking to better understand practicing project manager career progression. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify recurring themes from the interview summaries. The themes and the resulting conceptual framework provide evidence that supports the development of successful project manager career path. Further, the results suggest individual project management competencies in soft skills as a key enabler of project execution.

show abstract

Section: Limitationssupporting

confidence: 48%

Project manager insights: An analysis of career progression

Marion¹,

Richardson²,

Earnhardt³

2014

Organisational Project Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, according to previous research, 20 informants are typically considered an acceptable sample size to achieve data saturation [61], especially when the study focuses on well-defined research questions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Company Dependencies and Impacts on Ecosystem Services: Expert Perceptions from China

Wan

D'amato

Toppinen

et al. 2017

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global awareness of sustainability issues is growing rapidly, and business organizations are called to address wider social and environmental concerns along with economic performance. However, limited systematic knowledge exists on the interactions between forest industries and natural ecosystems. We thus investigated the role of ecosystem services in the context of China's forest sector. A qualitative research approach was used to elicit company external expert viewpoints on the topic. Our analysis focused on three themes: (1) forest company dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services; (2) business risks arising from dependencies and impacts; and (3) risk response strategies. The interviewed 20 experts identified a series of forest company dependencies and impacts (including negative and positive impacts) on several ecosystem services. The extent of dependencies and impacts is largely influenced by the business portfolio of the company. The perceived business risks include intense competition and the consequently increasing price for natural resources, which would affect forest company business plans, costs and outputs. The suggested strategies for turning risks into opportunities include outsourcing wood, changing production focus, promoting industrial upgrading and implementing regular assessments of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services. The findings of our study can guide companies' decision-making in managing forest ecosystems sustainably.

show abstract

“…Also the number of cases under investigation plays a different role in qualitative studies (Marshall et al 2013;Sandelowski 1995). A large number of cases is not necessarily an indication of better information because it is not the quantity of information but rather the significance and thus the quality of the information that is relevant, irrespective of the frequency in which it occurs.…”

Section: Importance Of the Number Of Cases And Theoretical Saturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Otherwise, there is a risk that the sample is overloaded and cluttered with redundant, and thus, unnecessary information (Marshall et al 2013;Mason 2010;Sandelowski 1995).…”

Section: Importance Of the Number Of Cases And Theoretical Saturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggregation, Validation, and Generalization of Qualitative Data - Methodological and Practical Research Strategies Illustrated by the Research Process of an empirically Based Typology

Weis

Willems

2016

Integr. psych. behav.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The article deals with the question of how aggregated data which allow for generalizable insights can be generated from single-case based qualitative investigations. Thereby, two central challenges of qualitative social research are outlined: First, researchers must ensure that the single-case data can be aggregated and condensed so that new collective structures can be detected. Second, they must apply methods and practices to allow for the generalization of the results beyond the specific study. In the following, we demonstrate how and under what conditions these challenges can be addressed in research practice. To this end, the research process of the construction of an empirically based typology is described. A qualitative study, conducted within the framework of the Luxembourg Youth Report, is used to illustrate this process. Specifically, strategies are presented which increase the likelihood of generalizability or transferability of the results, while also highlighting their limitations.

show abstract

Does Sample Size Matter in Qualitative Research?: A Review of Qualitative Interviews in is Research

Cited by 940 publications

References 23 publications

Project manager insights: An analysis of career progression

Project manager insights: An analysis of career progression

Forest Company Dependencies and Impacts on Ecosystem Services: Expert Perceptions from China

Aggregation, Validation, and Generalization of Qualitative Data - Methodological and Practical Research Strategies Illustrated by the Research Process of an empirically Based Typology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About