Revealing the wood and the trees: reporting qualitative research

This paper provides a general guide to presenting qualitative research for publication in a way that has meaning for authors and readers, is acceptable to editors and reviewers, and meets criteria for high standards of qualitative research reporting across the board.

Abstract

Qualitative research methodologies, which are oriented to better understanding of the context, meaning and experiences of people's lives, have much to contribute to health promotion. For researchers trained in quantitative methods, writing up qualitative research for a peer-reviewed journal can be a challenge, especially keeping within the prescribed word limits. How well you explain and disseminate your research will influence how others evaluate its quality; this has implications not only for what you write and the terminology you use but for how you structure your article. This paper provides a general guide to presenting qualitative research for publication in a way that has meaning for authors and readers, is acceptable to editors and reviewers, and meets criteria for high standards of qualitative research reporting across the board. We discuss the writing of all sections of an article, placing particular emphasis on how you might best present your findings, illustrating our points with examples drawn from previous issues of this Journal. Overall, we emphasise that reporting qualitative research involves sharing both the process and the findings, that is, revealing both the wood and the trees.