Table 1.

Summary of the main qualitative research approaches

Qualitative approaches	Aim(s)	Often applied in…
Ethnography	To describe and interpret a group with a shared culture	Anthropology and Sociology
Phenomenology	To describe how individuals experience a specific phenomenon	Philosophy and Psychology
Case study	To investigate a specific or multiple bounded system(s)	Social sciences
Grounded theory	To generate theory or an analytical schema grounded in data gathered in the field	Sociology
Participatory action research	To inquire equally all partners of a specific setting or environment for achieving social change	Health research