Time and qualitative research.

Abstract

Qualitative researchers may bear a special obligation in relation to time, as the context they hope to preserve for the phenomena they study is, in large part, temporal. Temporal concerns are integral to qualitative research, whether the focus is on disciplines in which largely qualitative methods are used, paradigms of inquiry that are primarily associated with qualitative methods, or on qualitative methods themselves. Temporal factors play a critical role in purposive sampling, the content and structure of data collection and analysis techniques, and in the re-presentation of data in the qualitative research report. Qualitative research designs may be oriented to synchronic and/or diachronic analyses. The Trajectory Model is a useful framework for sampling, data collection, and analysis. The Storyline Graph is a tool especially useful in narrative research.