| Autobiography | Life stories written by persons about themselves.
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| Biographical study | A form of qualitative research in which the researcher works with the individual to clarify important life experiences
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| Case study | An in-depth investigation of an individual, group, or institution to determine the variables, and relationship among the variables, influencing the current behavior or status of the subject of the study.
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| Confirming sample | In qualitative research, a sample selected to validate or extend previous findings.
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| Critical sample | In qualitative research, a sample considered to be enlightening because it is unusual.
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| Extreme case sample | A purposive sampling method used to study extreme or exceptional cases to heighten understanding (e.g., by exposing implicit assumptions and norms).
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| Foreshadowed problem | The problem or topic that serves, in a general way, as the focus for a qualitative inquiry.
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| Generalization in qualitative research | A statement or claim that applies to more than one individual, group, object or situation.
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| Grounded theory study | A form of qualitative research which derives interpretations inductively from raw data with continual interplay between data and emerging interpretations.
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| Homogeneous sample | In qualitative research, a sample selected in which all members are similar with respect to one or more characteristics.
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| Intrinsic case study | One that attempts to generalize beyond the particular case.
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| Instrumental case study | One that focuses on a particular individual or situation with little effort to generalize.
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| Life histories | A form of biographical study that combines autobiography and biography.
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| Maximal variation sample | In qualitative research, a sample selected in order to represent diversity in one or more characteristics.
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| Multiple-(collective) case study | A study of multiple cases at the same time.
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| Narrative research | Study of the life experiences of an individual as told to the researcher or found in documents and archival material.
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| Opportunistic sample | In qualitative research, a sample chosen to take advantage of conditions that arise during a study.
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| Oral history | Personal reflections of events and their causes gathered from one or more individuals.
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| Phenomenological study | A form of qualitative research in which the researcher attempts to identify commonalities in the perceptions of several individuals regarding a particular phenomenon.
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| Portraiture | A form of qualitative research in which the researcher and the individual being portrayed work together to define meaning.
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| Positivism | A philosophic viewpoint emphasizing an 'objective' reality which includes universal laws governing all things including human behavior.
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| Postmodernism | An intensive criticism of scientific research.
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| Purposive sample | A nonrandom sample selected because prior knowledge suggests it is representative, or because those selected have the needed information.
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| Qualitative research | Research in which the investigator attempts to study naturally occurring phenomena in all their complexity.
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| Replication | Refers to conducting a study again; the second study may be a repetition of the original study, using different subjects, or may change specified aspects of the study.
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| Snowball sample | In qualitative research, a sample selected as the need arises during a study.
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| Theoretical sample | In qualitative research, a sample that helps the researcher understand or formulate a concept or interpretation.
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| Typical sample | In qualitative research, a sample judged to be representative of the population of interest.
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