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Methodological reviews are commissioned by the Hub on a range of methodological topics. Their format includes syntheses of literature in relation to methodological issues, descriptions of innovative approaches and discussions of methodological challenges.

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How many qualitative interviews is enough?: expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research

• University of Brighton
• Sport and Leisure Cultures Research and Enterprise Group

Research output : Working paper

Bibliographical note

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• how_many_interviews.pdf Accepted author manuscript, 1.18 MB Licence: Unspecified

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• qualitative interview Social Sciences 100%
• qualitative research Social Sciences 83%
• research project Social Sciences 78%
• career Social Sciences 68%
• expert Social Sciences 66%
• social scientist Social Sciences 51%
• resources Social Sciences 23%
• interview Social Sciences 22%

T1 - How many qualitative interviews is enough?: expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research

AU - Baker, S.E.

AU - Edwards, R.

AU - Doidge, Mark

N1 - Review paper authored by Baker & Edwards. Mark Doidge provided early career reflections.

PY - 2012/3/26

Y1 - 2012/3/26

N2 - Students conducting a piece of qualitative research frequently ask ‘how many interviews is enough?’ Early career researchers and established academics also consider this question when designing research projects. In this NCRM Methods Review paper we gather and review responses to the question of ‘how many’ from 14 renowned social scientists and 5 early career researchers. The riposte to the question of ‘how many’ from most contributors is ‘it depends’. In considering what ‘it depends upon’ however, the responses offer guidance on the epistemological, methodological and practical issues to take into account when conducting research projects. This includes advice about assessing research aims and objectives, validity within epistemic communities and available time and resources.

AB - Students conducting a piece of qualitative research frequently ask ‘how many interviews is enough?’ Early career researchers and established academics also consider this question when designing research projects. In this NCRM Methods Review paper we gather and review responses to the question of ‘how many’ from 14 renowned social scientists and 5 early career researchers. The riposte to the question of ‘how many’ from most contributors is ‘it depends’. In considering what ‘it depends upon’ however, the responses offer guidance on the epistemological, methodological and practical issues to take into account when conducting research projects. This includes advice about assessing research aims and objectives, validity within epistemic communities and available time and resources.

M3 - Working paper

BT - How many qualitative interviews is enough?: expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research

PB - National Centre for Research Methods, Southampton

CY - National Centre for Research Methods, Southampton, UK

How many qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research

Baker, Sarah Elsie and Edwards, Rosalind (eds.) (2012) How many qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research ( National Centre for Research Methods Reviews ) Southampton, GB. National Centre for Research Methods 43 pp.

Students conducting a piece of qualitative research frequently ask ‘how many interviews is enough?’ Early career researchers and established academics also consider this question when designing research projects. In this NCRM Methods Review paper we gather and review responses to the question of ‘how many’ from 14 renowned social scientists and 5 early career researchers. The riposte to the question of ‘how many’ from most contributors is ‘it depends’. In considering what ‘it depends upon’ however, the responses offer guidance on the epistemological, methodological and practical issues to take into account when conducting research projects. This includes advice about assessing research aims and objectives, validity within epistemic communities and available time and resources

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