Science Explorer Interactive view Map

Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics

Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 13k research works in it since 1950. 29.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on qualitative research methods and ethics, with an emphasis on reflexivity, interpretative phenomenological analysis, interviewing techniques, translation challenges, researcher positionality, fieldwork experiences, and the ethical considerations of anonymity and participant observation.

  • Reflexivity
  • Ethics
  • Qualitative Research
  • Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
  • Interviewing
  • Translation
  • Positionality
  • Fieldwork
  • Anonymity
  • Participant Observation
Research works
13k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3.8k
per year above
Top-10% rate
29.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+24%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research?

By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (676 and 400 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 676 works
  2. 2 United Kingdom 400 works
  3. 3 Canada 177 works
  4. 4 Australia 161 works
  5. 5 Germany 106 works
  6. 6 South Africa 56 works
  7. 7 Netherlands 52 works
  8. 8 France 44 works
  9. 9 Denmark 44 works
  10. 10 New Zealand 41 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 38.5%United Kingdom: 22.8%Canada: 10.1%Australia: 9.1%6 others listed: 19.5%38%largest
United States676 · 38.5%United Kingdom400 · 22.8%Canada177 · 10.1%Australia161 · 9.1%6 others listed342 · 19.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Health Affairs publishes the most Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research, followed by University of Toronto and The University of Melbourne.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Health Affairs United States 16 works
  2. 2 University of Toronto Canada 15 works
  3. 3 The University of Melbourne Australia 13 works
  4. 4 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 13 works
  5. 5 The University of Sydney Australia 13 works
  6. 6 University of Oxford United Kingdom 13 works
  7. 7 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 13 works
  8. 8 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 12 works
  9. 9 University College London United Kingdom 11 works
  10. 10 University of Alberta Canada 11 works

Who are the leading researchers in Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics include Yvonna S. Lincoln, Norman K. Denzin and Carolyn Ellis.

  1. 1 Yvonna S. Lincoln 9.6k citations
  2. 2 Norman K. Denzin 8.6k citations
  3. 3 Carolyn Ellis 6.2k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research done?

The largest centres of Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Melbourne (Australia), New York (United States) and Toronto (Canada).

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 London United Kingdom 81 works
  2. 2 Melbourne Australia 39 works
  3. 3 New York United States 31 works
  4. 4 Toronto Canada 28 works
  5. 5 Sydney Australia 28 works
  6. 6 Los Angeles United States 20 works
  7. 7 Bethesda United States 19 works
  8. 8 Cambridge United Kingdom 19 works
  9. 9 Oxford United Kingdom 19 works
  10. 10 Amsterdam Netherlands 18 works
See Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics on the map

Where is the best place to study Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Saskatchewan, Newcastle University and The University of Melbourne score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%60%mean 37.8%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of Saskatchewan: 9, 50.4%Newcastle University: 10, 36.1%The University of Melbourne: 14, 33.6%University College London: 11, 44.1%University of Auckland: 10, 33.1%The University of Sydney: 13, 36.0%University of Oxford: 13, 34.2%University of Manchester: 10, 55.1%University of Georgia: 9, 33.4%University of Edinburgh: 13, 22.0%University of Saskat…University College L…Newcastle UniversityThe University of Me…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of Saskatchewan Canada 67.250.4%12.9×9 +50.4%
2Newcastle University United Kingdom 63.336.1%10.5×10 +35.7%
3The University of Melbourne Australia 56.033.6%6.2×14 +35.7%
4University College London United Kingdom 54.644.1%3.6×11 +98.1%
5University of Auckland New Zealand 54.033.1%8.1×10 +40.8%
6The University of Sydney Australia 53.636.0%6.0×13 +4.8%
7University of Oxford United Kingdom 52.134.2%4.4×13 +62.4%
8University of Manchester United Kingdom 51.955.1%5.6×10 -21.7%
9University of Georgia United States 50.333.4%8.7×9 +50.6%
10University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 49.322.0%7.3×13 +0.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 24% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.