Does Sample Size Matter in Qualitative Research?: A Review of Qualitative Interviews in is Research
Abstract
This study examines 83 IS qualitative studies in leading IS journals for the following purposes: (a) identifying the extent to which IS qualitative studies employ best practices of justifying sample size; (b) identifying optimal ranges of interviews for various types of qualitative research; and (c) identifying the extent to which cultural factors (such as journal of publication, number of authors, world region) impact sample size of interviews. Little or no rigor for justifying sample size was shown for virtually all of the IS studies in this dataset. Furthermore, the number of interviews conducted for qualitative studies is correlated with cultural factors, implying the subjective nature of sample size in qualitative IS studies. Recommendations are provided for minimally acceptable practices of justifying sample size of interviews in qualitative IS studies.
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Saturation was obtained when the coding frame remained constant and analytic memos provided no additional insight.
“Additionally, in alignment with criteria provided by Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, and Fontenot (2013), saturation was obtained when the coding frame remained constant and analytic memos provided no additional insight.”
From Methodological Deficiencies in the Expert Testimony of Forensic Accountants: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Judicial Statements Pertaining to Daubert Exclusions (2021) · cites this paper as Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, and Fontenot, 2013
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“Although there is little consensus on the ideal number of interviews in qualitative studies, small samples with the selection interviewees to maximise the richness of information are valid and reliable for qualitative research (Marshall et al., 2013).”
BackgroundConcepts and evaluation of saturation in qualitative research
Yang, L.-P., Qi, L.-Q., & Zhang, B. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2022.00511 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“…(南京师范大学心理学院, 南京 210024) 摘 要 在质性研究中, 资料饱和通常被用以评估研究资料的充足性。但在研究实践中, 资料饱和却存在概 念模糊及操作性问题。作为某项质性研究所抽取的样本量已满足研究需要的标志, 按照在研究过程中判定时 点的先后顺序, 资料饱和可划分为数据饱和、编码或主题饱和、意义饱和及理论饱和 4 种主要形式。4 种形式 的资料饱和各有其特定的内涵、评估方式和判定标准。研究认为, 达到资料饱和的样本量标准不应统一设定, 其检验需嵌入具体的研究过程; 资料饱和存在逻辑上的不确定性, 适度追加抽样有助于进一步确认; 资料饱 和作为考察研究质量的一项重要指标,…”
Rapp, A., & Boldi, A. (2023) · ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction · doi:10.1145/3603497 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“We aligned the sample size with the common practices in qualitative research (Marshall et al. 2013 ] and with other HCI studies with similar designs and purposes [e.g., Rooksby et al. 2014 ; Lazar et al. 2015 ].”
MethodKumar, A., Krishnamoorthy, B., & Bhattacharyya, S. S. (2023) · International journal of organizational analysis · doi:10.1108/ijoa-01-2023-3581 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Parola, A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02255 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Lämmermann, L., Hofmann, P., & Urbach, N. (2023) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102728 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“Therefore, we deemed no further contribution through additional interviews since theoretical saturation on the constructs captured by the model had been reached (Marshall et al., 2013).”
BackgroundAguboshim, F. C. (2021) · World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews · doi:10.30574/wjarr.2021.10.3.0277 · Cited by 56
“The idea of data saturation is very helpful especially at the conceptual stage, but its concept and standard are elusive because it does not provide enough practical guidance for estimating sample size for a robust research prior to data collection [39].”
BackgroundInfluentialPerry, M., Cotes, L., Horton, B. P., Kunac, R., Snell, I., Taylor, B., Wright, A., & Devan, H. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18020552 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
“, Māori and Pasifika), people living in areas of high deprivation across Greater Wellington region to contribute, thereby maximizing the diversity of participant views [83].”
BackgroundPal, A., De', R., & Herath, T. (2020) · Inf. Syst. Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-020-09982-7 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Mitigating employee resistance and achieving well-being in digital transformation
Valtonen, A., & Holopainen, M. (2025) · Information Technology and People · doi:10.1108/itp-05-2024-0701 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Telling stories that sell: The role of storytelling and big data analytics in smart service sales
Boldosova, V. (2020) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.12.004 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Adel, A., Dai, X., Roshdy, R. S., & Yan, C.-F. (2020) · Journal of Islamic Marketing · doi:10.1108/jima-04-2020-0095 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Rethinking agency theory in developing countries: A case study of Pakistan
Yusuf, F., Yousaf, A., & Saeed, A. (2018) · Accounting forum · doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2018.10.002 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Rapp, A., & Tirabeni, L. (2020) · Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102434 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Filimonau, V., & Sulyok, J. (2020) · Tourism Management Perspectives · doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100759 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Strategies for implementing innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises
Haddad, M. I., Williams, I. A., Hammoud, M. S., & Dwyer, R. J. (2019) · World Journal of Entrepreneurship Management and Sustainable Development · doi:10.1108/wjemsd-05-2019-0032 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
“The minimum number of interviews was ten while the median was 39 (Marshall et al., 2013).”
Background
- Authors
- Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., & Fontenot, R.
- Affiliations
- Georgia College & State University (US)
- University of Southern California (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Computer Information Systems
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-09
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 11-22
- ISSN
- 0887-4417 (ISSN-L)
- 2380-2057
- OpenAlex
- W124963830
- Cited by
- 1,636
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 125 · 2025: 203 · 2024: 204 · 2023: 168 · 2022: 161 · 2021: 192 · 2020: 128 · 2019: 131 · 2018: 105 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 98 · 2015: 62 · 2014: 7
- FWCI
- 268.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Computer Information Systems (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- sample size justification, qualitative interviews, qualitative research rigor, information systems research, number of authors
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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