100 research outputs found
Two Multiâ Center Studies Evaluating Locally Delivered Doxycycline Hyclate, Placebo Control, Oral Hygiene, and Scaling and Root Planing in the Treatment of Periodontitis
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142011/1/jper0490.pd
Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization
Deposited on 20 October 2017 in Keele University Repository at: http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/4122/Saturation has attained widespread acceptance as a methodological principle in
qualitative research. It is commonly taken to indicate that, on the basis of the data that have
been collected or analysed hitherto, further data collection and/or analysis are unnecessary.
However, there appears to be uncertainty as to how saturation should be conceptualized, and
inconsistencies in its use. In this paper, we look to clarify the nature, purposes and uses of
saturation, and in doing so add to theoretical debate on the role of saturation across different
methodologies.Weidentify four distinct approaches to saturation, which differ in terms of the
extent to which an inductive or a deductive logic is adopted, and the relative emphasis on data
collection, data analysis, and theorizing. We explore the purposes saturation might serve in
relation to these different approaches, and the implications for how and when saturation will
be sought. In examining these issues, we highlight the uncertain logic underlying saturation-
as essentially a predictive statement about the unobserved based on the observed, a judgement
that, we argue, results in equivocation, and may in part explain the confusion surrounding its
use.Weconclude that saturation should be operationalized in a way that is consistent with the
research question(s), and the theoretical position and analytic framework adopted, but also
that there should be some limit to its scope, so as not to risk saturation losing its coherence and
potency if its conceptualization and uses are stretched too widely.sch_die52pub5265pub
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