Cited by 1,636Qualitative Research Methods and ApplicationsFocus Groups and Qualitative MethodsQualitative Research Methods and Ethics

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Does Sample Size Matter in Qualitative Research?: A Review of Qualitative Interviews in is Research

Marshall, Bryan, Cardon, Peter, Poddar, Amit, Fontenot, Renee·2013·Journal of Computer Information Systems

DOI 10.1080/08874417.2013.11645667

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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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Ezcan, V., Goulding, J. S., & Arif, M. (2020) · Building Research & Information · doi:10.1080/09613218.2019.1709786 · Cited by 32
“Given this, three case studies were selected in order to satisfy data replication requirements (Yin, 2013; Marshall et al., 2013).”
Background
Exploring the linkages between managerial leadership, communication and teamwork in successful event delivery
Giudici, M., & Filimonau, V. (2019) · Tourism Management Perspectives · doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2019.100558 · Cited by 62
The two-way perspective of tourism undergraduates towards (post-)viral world: The future of tourism, and vocational development and career
Seyitoğlu, F., Atsız, O., Kaya, F., & Taş, S. (2022) · Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education · doi:10.1016/j.jhlste.2022.100400 · Cited by 30
Physician Perspectives on Severe Behavior and Restraint Use in a Hospital Setting for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Salvatore, G. L., Simmons, C. A., & Tremoulet, P. D. (2021) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05327-8 · Cited by 30
Digital corporate reporting and value relevance: evidence from the US and Japan
Shan, Y., & Troshani, I. (2020) · International Journal of Managerial Finance · doi:10.1108/ijmf-01-2020-0018 · Cited by 30
Smart Institutional Intervention in the Adoption of Digital Infrastructure: The Case of Government Cloud Computing in Oman
Alzadjali, K., & Elbanna, A. R. (2019) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-019-09918-w · Cited by 34
“Data collection continued until saturation was reached and no further information was emerging from data sources (Marshall et al. 2013; Fossey et al. 2002; Saunders et al. 2007).”
Background
The art of retaining seasonal employees: three industry-specific leadership styles
Araslı, H., & Arıcı, H. E. (2018) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2018.1478412 · Cited by 40
Do new cancer drugs offer good value for money? The perspectives of oncologists, health care policy makers, patients, and the general population
Lizán, L., Dilla, T., Paz, S., Garrido, P., Avendaño, C., Cruz, J. J., Espinosa, J., & Sacristán, J. A. (2015) · Patient Preference and Adherence · doi:10.2147/ppa.s93760 · Cited by 29
“designs, with the most common sample size being between 20 and 30 interviews.(34)”
Background
Metaverse consumer behavior: Investigating factors driving consumer participation in the transitory metaverse, avatar personalization, and digital fashion adoption
Ki, C.-W. C., Chong, S. M., Aw, E. C., Lam, M. M.-L., & Wong, C. W. Y. (2024) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104094 · Cited by 42
Examining the role of ClassPoint tool in shaping EFL students' perceived E-learning experiences: A social cognitive theory perspective
Akram, H., & Abdelrady, A. H. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104775 · Cited by 38
Smart HRM 4.0 for achieving organizational performance: a dynamic capability view perspective
Pillai, R., & Srivastava, K. B. L. (2022) · International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management · doi:10.1108/ijppm-04-2022-0174 · Cited by 44
Identifying Non-Technical Skill Gaps in Software Engineering Education: What Experts Expect But Students Don’t Learn
Groeneveld, W., Vennekens, J., & Aerts, K. (2021) · ACM Transactions on Computing Education · doi:10.1145/3464431 · Cited by 37
Lived Experiences and Challenges of the Families of COVID-19 Victims: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study in Tehran, Iran
Lebni, J. Y., Irandoost, S. F., Safari, H., Xosravi, T., Ahmadi, S., Soofizad, G., Azar, F. E. F., Hoseini, A. S., & Mehedi, N. (2022) · INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing · doi:10.1177/00469580221081405 · Cited by 37
“That indicates the codes were repeating themselves, and no scientific findings were achieved.(21) Thus, by interviewing 21 participants, theoretical saturation was attained.”
Background
Measure what matters: descriptive and predictive metrics of HRM-pathway toward organizational performance
Pillai, R., & Sivathanu, B. (2021) · International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management · doi:10.1108/ijppm-10-2020-0509 · Cited by 48
SMART Mental Health Project: process evaluation to understand the barriers and facilitators for implementation of multifaceted intervention in rural India
Tewari, A., Kallakuri, S., Devarapalli, S., Peiris, D., Patel, A., & Maulik, P. (2021) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/s13033-021-00438-2 · Cited by 29
“FGDs and IDIs data were analyzed inductively to identify and analyse patterns and themes until we reached thematic saturation [16].”
Method
NOSACQ-50 for Safety Climate Assessment in Agricultural Activities: A Case Study in Central Italy
Fargnoli, M., & Lombardi, M. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17249177 · Cited by 29
“On the other hand, it has to be remarked that the number of complete responses collected is in line with the sampling size suggested in several studies concerning qualitative case study research aimed at generating new propositions and understandings [94,95].”
Result
Consumer attitudes towards flying amidst growing climate concern
Cocolas, N., Walters, G., Ruhanen, L., & Higham, J. (2020) · Journal of Sustainable Tourism · doi:10.1080/09669582.2020.1849234 · Cited by 29
“A total of twenty interviews were conducted at which point data saturation was clearly evident (Marshall et al., 2013).”
Background
Digital transformation of global business processes: the role of dual embeddedness
Ekman, P., Thilenius, P., Thompson, S., & Whitaker, J. (2019) · Business Process Management Journal · doi:10.1108/bpmj-02-2019-0080 · Cited by 29
How digital platforms influence luxury purchase behavior in India?
Jain, V., & Schultz, D. (2019) · doi:10.1080/13527266.2016.1197295 · Cited by 29
“This approach is common in qualitative research (Marshall et al. 2013) when the scholars have to explore a unique phenomenon (Strauss and Corbin 1990; Carson et al. 2001).”
Background
Qualitative Methods in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Vandermause, R., Barg, F., Esmail, L., Edmundson, L., Girard, S., & Perfetti, A. (2017) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732316668298 · Cited by 29
What Drives the End User to Build a Feral Information System?
Spierings, A. (2013) · Advances in business information systems and analytics book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-5027-5.ch008 · Cited by 25
Sample Size in Qualitative Research Using In-Depth Interviews: A View from The Associate Editor 12 Years Later
Dworkin, S. L. (2024) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-024-02992-5 · Cited by 31
“Some authors have examined the sample size of articles that are top performing articles (Marshall et al., 2013) and found that those studies that have 30 or more interviews in the sample performed better than those with fewer than 30 interviews.”
COVID-19 lockdown as an opportunity to rethink urban freight distribution: Lessons from the Barcelona metropolitan area
Castillo, C., Viu-Roig, M., & Alvarez-Palau, E. J. (2022) · Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives · doi:10.1016/j.trip.2022.100605 · Cited by 28
“Table 2 shows the most relevant information regarding the different agents: The resulting sample size met the criteria established by Marshall et al. (2013), who posited that for qualitative research based on a case, a valid sample size should be between 15 and 30 interviews.”
Hotel food waste in Cyprus: An exploratory case study of hotels in Limassol
Demetriou, P. (2022) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2022.2026556 · Cited by 33
“According to Marshall et al. (2013), saturation in qualitative methods is achieved with around 30 interviews, which is in line with this study.”
Result
Mitigation of food loss and waste in primary production of a transition economy via stakeholder collaboration: A perspective of independent farmers in Russia
Filimonau, V., & Ермолаев, В. А. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.06.002 · Cited by 38
Living With Chronic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury: A Mixed-Methods Study.
Widerström-Noga, E., Anderson, K. D., Perez, S., Hunter, J., Martinez‐Arizala, A., Adcock, J. P., & Escalona, M. (2017) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2016.10.018 · Cited by 28
Exploring People’s Intention to Become Platform-based Gig Workers : An Empirical Qualitative Study
Gandhi, A., Hidayanto, A. N., Sucahyo, Y. G., & Ruldeviyani, Y. (2018) · 2018 International Conference on Information Technology Systems and Innovation (ICITSI) · doi:10.1109/icitsi.2018.8696017 · Cited by 28
“It has fulfilled the minimum sample size for qualitative case study as suggested by Marshall et al [30], They have various background and experience as shown in Table III.”
Method

Authors: Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., & Fontenot, R.
Affiliations: Georgia College & State University (US)
University of Southern California (US)
ORCID: Cardon, Peter
Poddar, Amit
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
DOI: 10.1080/08874417.2013.11645667
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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Does Sample Size Matter in Qualitative Research?: A Review of Qualitative Interviews in is Research

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