The online survey as a qualitative research tool
Open accessAbstract
Fully qualitative surveys, which prioritise qualitative research values, and harness the rich potential of qualitative data, have much to offer qualitative researchers, especially given online delivery options. Yet the method remains underutilised, and there is little in the way of methodological discussion of qualitative surveys. Underutilisation and limited methodological discussion perhaps reflect the dominance of interviewing in qualitative research, and (misplaced) assumptions about qualitative survey data lacking depth. By discussing our experiences of developing online surveys as a tool for qualitative research, we seek to challenge preconceptions about qualitative surveys, and to demonstrate that qualitative surveys are an exciting, flexible method with numerous applications, and advantages for researchers and participants alike. We offer an overview and practical design information, illustrated with examples from some of our studies.
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The study aimed to recruit at least 100 participants to support thematic analysis of online survey responses.
“Braun et al. [13] discuss an upper end of 100+ participants to support thematic analysis of online survey responses, and, while this is largely determined by the richness of the data and saturation, we aimed to recruit at least 100 participants.”
From Facilitators and barriers to social distancing for young people during the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as [13]
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Using thematic analysis in psychology
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) · Qualitative Research in Psychology · doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa · Cited by 194,414 · see citing works
Self-citationReflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
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“Some of these cannot be entirely anticipated in advance (Malterud et al., 2016; Morse, 2000), and dataset richness and ability to address the questions become more important considerations than reaching an exact number – in our example studies, samples of 87 (Study 3), 98 (Study 2) and 134 (Study…”
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- Authors
- Braun, V., Clarke, V., Boulton, E., Davey, L., & McEvoy, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Braun, Virginia
- Venue
- International Journal of Social Research Methodology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-08-16
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 641-654
- ISSN
- 1364-5579 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-5300
- OpenAlex
- W3051124794
- Cited by
- 1,619
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 326 · 2025: 377 · 2024: 337 · 2023: 274 · 2022: 167 · 2021: 134 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 193.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- International Journal of Social Research Methodology (publishedVersion)
- UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- source
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- online surveys, qualitative survey, survey design, online data collection, qualitative data
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