Qualitative Methods
Writing Qualitative
Research Papers
Writing Qualitative Research Papers
Writing well is a craft and a challenge. The organization, grammar, spelling, and even appearance of your paper is important. The focus of your qualitative research paper is the analytic description which should be at least somewhat original and novel, not just restating analyses that have been published elsewhere. However, there is more to a quality social science research paper than just the analysis. Qualitative research papers generally include the following components:
- title
- author's name and affiliation
- abstract
- introduction
- literature review
- methods
- findings & results
- conclusion
- references
Seldom is a paper written in the order above. When you sit down to write your paper, it is a good idea to have a general outline or overview of the paper. Then, beginning to draft the methods section is often an easy way to get started. The methods section should be a straightforward account of what you have done. Next, draft the introduction so that you have a rough idea how you will organize your main argument. Then work on the literature section and it is a good idea to enter your citations in the reference section as you write the paper so you won't forget (or lose) any. Following this, write your findings and results section--your analysis, including your illustrative data excerpts. At this point one is then ready to write the conclusion. Then one returns to polish the introduction and literature review to make sure that they match the issues raised conclusion.
After writing all the paper components, the editing and rewriting begins. Editing and rewriting are fundamental to writing well. The entire manuscript should be reworked for cohesion, accuracy, and consistency. The last thing you will work on will be the abstract. Finally, you will need to decide on a title.
