Are We There Yet? Data Saturation in Qualitative Research
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Failure to reach data saturation has an impact on the quality of the research conducted and hampers content validity. The aim of a study should include what determines when data saturation is achieved, for a small study will reach saturation more rapidly than a larger study. Data saturation is reached when there is enough information to replicate the study when the ability to obtain additional new information has been attained, and when further coding is no longer feasible. The following article critiques two qualitative studies for data saturation: Wolcott (2004) and Landau and Drori (2008). Failure to reach data saturation has a negative impact on the validity on one’s research. The intended audience is novice student researchers.
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Themes derived from only one participant might encompass the theme less comprehensively, diminishing meaning saturation.
“This diminishes meaning saturation since themes derived from only one participant might encompass it less comprehensive (Fusch and Ness, 2015; Hennink et al., 2017).”
From How to promote usage of telehealth interventions for farmers' mental health? A qualitative study on supporting and hindering aspects for acceptance and satisfaction with a personalized telephone coaching for depression prevention (2023) · cites this paper as Fusch and Ness, 2015
In “One Size Does Not Fit All” (page unavailable), the paper says saturation depends on the depth and richness of data, not participant numbers alone. “Data Collection Methods to Reach Saturation” (page unavailable) cautions against relying on a one-time phenomenon from one participant. It does not specifically say that a theme reported by only one participant is necessarily less comprehensive or diminishes meaning saturation. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredRecruitment ceased once data saturation had been achieved.
“Recruitment ceased once data saturation had been achieved [48].”
From Fear of depression recurrence among individuals with remitted depression: a qualitative interview study (2024) · cites this paper as [48]
The study reached theoretical saturation within memos, the point at which no new insights emerged from additional data, and thus the interviews were concluded.
“During the later stages of analysis, we reached theoretical saturation within our memos, the point at which no new insights emerged from additional data, and thus the interviews were concluded [3, 52].”
From 'The plan is just survival': Data Work in Kenya and the Regime of Entrapment (2026) · cites this paper as [52]
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Cites
How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability
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'The plan is just survival': Data Work in Kenya and the Regime of Entrapment
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- Authors
- Fusch, P., & Ness, L.
- Affiliations
- Walden University (US)
- Venue
- The Qualitative Report
- Publisher
- Nova Southeastern University
- Published
- 2015-09-08
- ISSN
- 1052-0147 (ISSN-L)
- 2160-3715
- OpenAlex
- W1780778418
- Cited by
- 4,460
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 262 · 2025: 510 · 2024: 520 · 2023: 546 · 2022: 561 · 2021: 583 · 2020: 484 · 2019: 414 · 2018: 313 · 2017: 191 · 2016: 69 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 962.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- The Qualitative Report (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- ScholarWorks (Walden University) (submittedVersion)
- 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
- data saturation, qualitative research, content validity, research validity, coding, replication, research design, research students
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