Oliver James Clark
Manchester Metropolitan University; Technical University Eindhoven
Co-Authors: Peder Isager
It’s always quant over qual: A pilot study on methods and barriers in qualitative psychology
Unlike quantitative psychology, questionable research practices (QRPs) and their consequences in qualitative psychology (QP) are relatively ill-defined. It is possible that recent recommendations for promoting transparency in quantitative science will be needlessly applied to QP research as hallmarks of rigour in future publication decisions.
Based on text responses of five QP researchers, we highlight the challenges faced by QP researchers. We report claims that transparency and justification are already features of QP but may be deemed weaknesses by uninitiated reviewers. Based on this small sample, we suggest that the influence of QRPs on qualitative analysis may be more opaque, and QP researchers feel better equipped to identify these through reflexive analysis. Pre-registration of QP research might be beneficial to researchers who have yet to consider their epistemological stance. We suggest that a greater understanding of QP methods may benefit the wider psychological community.