Qual Anxiety: Why Qualitative Researchers Need to Stop Doubting Their Worth
Ilana Booth is a second year PhD student in the School of Health and Wellbeing. She completed an undergraduate degree in Politics and Social Policy and a Masters in Global Health at the University of Glasgow. Her research uses qualitative systems science methods to explore the health experiences of multiply disadvantaged women in Scotland, specifically women with experience of childhood poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Before starting my PhD, I had done various courses on research methods as part of both my undergraduate and master’s degrees. I began considering the importance of qualitative research (or QR as it is sometimes referred to) - including people’s voices in academic work. I did quantitative research courses and appreciated the use of quants, but this did not excite me the same way the idea of qualitative research did, that is talking to people and getting to the heart of the human experience.
When I applied to do my PhD there was no doubt that I would use qualitative methods. I was excited to get to do such a large project, which included research concerning health inequalities and disadvantaged women in Scotland. I knew that my research must include the voices of the women themselves and well as the affected communities.
As I settled into my team, I realised that I had joined a largely quantitative, computational methods group. I soon found myself thinking about my own work as ‘just quals.’ I have always been more of a word's person rather than a numbers person, and this is something I reflected on a lot at the start of my PhD. Being good at writing turned into ‘just’ being a ‘words person’, which I regarded as less valuable during this time of insecurity. Despite there being global recognition of the importance of qualitative research methods and the inclusion of lived experience in public health research, I still felt as though there was less value placed on the type of research I wanted to do. I was told by other researchers, both staff and PGRs, that I should develop my quantitative skills to improve my employability and help me get a job at the end of my PhD. I worried I wouldn’t be able to publish papers from my thesis and would struggle to remain in academia due to my qualitative background. This filled me with fear and created even more ‘qual anxiety’.
One of my reviewers asked me during the annual review if I was experiencing ‘qual anxiety’. I laughed out loud when she said it- there was finally a term for what I had been feeling for nine months. She described it as the anxiety faced by qualitative researchers that their work is not as valuable or as high quality as quantitative research. I learned that feeling like my work is less scientific and requires less skill is not uncommon and is felt by other qualitative researchers in social science, public health and beyond.
Denny and Weckesser (2022) write that qualitative research has traditionally been undervalued in the medical sciences despite leading to knowledge that can improve patient experience and outcomes. Common misconceptions include that qualitative research has little value because it is not generalisable or that it cannot claim validity or reliability, leading to scepticism. This leads to it being misconceived as ‘easier to do’ than quantitative work (Agius, 2013; Denny and Weckesser, 2022; Khankeh et al., 2015.)
I cannot blame myself for feeling insecure about my choice of methods and their worth within a quantitative dominated field. However, the fact is that qualitative research can explore nuances and complex phenomena. The experience of people who are underrepresented in experimental studies are a valuable addition to medical research (Agius, 2013.) In fact, QR is so valuable that research funders and organisations such as UK Research and Innovation and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland emphasise, encourage and facilitate in-depth qualitative research. On the UKRI website, it states clearly that “qualitative methods are scientific” (UKRI, 2022.)
Anyone who has conducted qualitative research can attest that it is not ‘easy’ and that there are several methodologies, processes and approaches involved with producing rich qualitative data. This data often captures the social context and human emotion that quantitative data cannot measure. Qualitative research allows community voices to be included in academic works, which is particularly important for health inequalities research, where socio-economically deprived groups and individuals have been traditionally left out of research concerning their own lives and health.
This need for qualitative methods in scientific research is demonstrated by the demand for lived experience in research. Spending some time with this research helped to reduce my ‘qual anxiety’. The power of qualitative research in including marginalised voices in health research is clear. As aforementioned, it is needed in medical science to understand experiences of health and the complex nature of people’s lives (Denny and Weckesser, 2022).
Health policies and phenomena should not be researched or enacted without meaningful insight from those affected. Qualitative research provides this insight and is therefore a crucial part of scientific research which strengthens evidence and understanding.
We should all care about the importance of qualitative research, especially with the communities we are researching. I hope that my experience of ‘qual anxiety’ and subsequent reinforcement of my passion for these methods can help another qualitative researcher snap out of the self-doubt. We are needed; our work is valuable and extremely important- shout it from the rooftops!
References:
Agius, S.J., 2013. Qualitative research: its value and applicability. Psychiatrist 37, 204–206. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.bp.113.042770
Denny, E., Weckesser, A., 2022. Quality not quantity: The value of qualitative research. BJOG 129, 1799–1800. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17149
Khankeh, H., Ranjbar, M., Khorasani-Zavareh, D., Zargham-Boroujeni, A., Johansson, E., 2015. Challenges in conducting qualitative research in health: A conceptual paper. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res 20, 635–641. https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-9066.170010
UKRI. 2022. What is social science? Qualitative research. Online at (https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/esrc/what-is-social-science/qualitative-research/) Accessed on 05/09/2025.
