The DOI matches its Crossref record; 34 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Saturation in qualitative research: An evolutionary concept analysis
Open accessAbstract
Background and Aim: Qualitative research plays an important role in improving nursing knowledge. Understanding the concept of saturation is essential to conducting rigorous qualitative research that contributes to evidence-based practice. The purpose of this study is to clarify the concept of saturation in qualitative research. Method: Evolutionary concept analysis was performed. A literature search was conducted using a variety of online databases for the years 2005- 2023. In total, 33 articles and books were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify the attributes, antecedents and consequences of saturation. The validity of the data was obtained by examining the analysis process by two independent researchers. Results: Saturation in qualitative research is a context-dependent, subjective process that requires detailed systematic analysis. Saturation is used in four ways in qualitative research: theoretical saturation, data saturation, code or thematic saturation, and meaning saturation. The antecedents of saturation were classified into two categories: study related factors and researcher related factors. The consequences of saturation were identified as: ensuring credibility and quality in qualitative research and time, energy and budget saving. Conclusion: This concept analysis serves to enhance the understanding of the concept of saturation, thereby offering valuable resources for qualitative researchers. By gaining a profound comprehension of saturation and its various types, researchers can ensure the validity of their studies while also optimizing time and resource allocation by avoiding redundant data collection. Future investigation warranted to elucidate how factors associated with reaching saturation impact estimations sample size.
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“The number of participating services in the research was determined by theoretical saturation from the qualitative analyses (25) in which the data collection was concluded when the information started to become redundant or repeated, even with the inclusion of new participants and services, as detected through a floating reading of the transcripts of the conducted interviews and fields diaries.”
From A mindfulness-based intervention for Substance Use Disorder in a Brazilian vulnerable population: a feasibility mixed method study (2024) · cites this paper as [25]
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Citations
Cites
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“There are several reasons for pseudo-saturation, such as prematurely ending data collection, not exploring different perspectives or contexts, or overlooking important sources of information (Aldiabat & Le Navenec, 2018; Guest et al., 2006; Morse, 2015a).”
BackgroundInfluentialSaturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization
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“…still susceptible to false saturation due to the lack of discovery of relationships between codes and obtained themes, and still requires more data for the researcher to fully understand the depth, richness, and complexity of the phenomenon (Hennink et al., 2017; Low, 2019; Saunders et al., 2018).”
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“Information redundancy helps conceptualize saturation (Alam, 2021; Braun & Clarke, 2021; Bryman, 2006).”
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“An important aspect of theoretical saturation is that in an iterative process, the researcher simultaneously engages in sampling, data collection, and data analysis (Sandelowski, 1995).”
Background
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Metadata
- Authors
- Rahimi, S., & khatooni, M.
- Affiliations
- Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Rahimi, Sara
- Venue
- International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-06
- Volume
- 6
- Pages
- 100174
- ISSN
- 2666-142X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11080421
- OpenAlex
- W4390604507
- Cited by
- 560
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 273 · 2025: 236 · 2024: 51
- FWCI
- 704.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Qazvin University of Medical Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Keywords
- saturation, qualitative research, data saturation, theoretical saturation, research credibility, sample size determination, nursing research
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