The DOI matches its Crossref record; 8 of the 8 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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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“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
Citations
Cites
Handbook of Qualitative Research
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The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017) · Aldine (Routledge reprint) · doi:10.4324/9780203793206 · Cited by 25,789
How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability
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Building Theories from Case Study Research
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989) · The Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/258557 · Cited by 17,455
Hartley, J. (2004) · Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research · doi:10.4135/9781446280119.n26 · Cited by 15,461
Sample size in qualitative research
Sandelowski, M. (1995) · Research in Nursing & Health · doi:10.1002/nur.4770180211 · Cited by 4,372
The Significance of Saturation
Morse, J. M. (1995) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/104973239500500201 · Cited by 2,663
Decentralization in wikipedia governance.
Forte, A., Larco, V., & Bruckman, A. (2009) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.2753/mis0742-1222260103 · Cited by 300 · cited 1×
“Fort, Larco, and Bruckman [11] stated, “When themes began arising over and over in these interviews, we followed up by recruiting participants who have been involved in particular issues and policies” (p. 54).”
Background
Research works printed but not linked: 36
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 1,001–1,002 of 1,002
Cardon, P. W., Marshall, B., & Risvold, W. (2025) · International Journal of Business Communication · doi:10.1177/23294884251362797 · Cited by 1
“To identify patterns of sampling and storytelling in high-impact articles, we adopted an approach used by Marshall et al. (2013) in a study of qualitative interviews in IS journals.”
InfluentialSelf-citationTonalete, A. L., Mongao, D. D., Hayudini, M. A. A., Jalaidi, S. M., & Muktar, R. J. (2025) · Environment and Social Psychology · doi:10.59429/esp.v10i8.3314 · Cited by 1
“These studies are typically conducted on small, carefully curated samples, prioritizing depth of insight over statistical generalizability, which aligns with their primary objective of understanding complex phenomena [38,39] .”
Metadata
- 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
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