Developing Qualitative Descriptions

Qualitative description is one of the most practical approaches in health research, and one of the least written about. In this online seminar from the UCL Qualitative Health Research Network, Professor Roger Chafe makes the case for using it more, and for doing it well.

Qualitative description works particularly well in applied fields such as health, nursing and education. It is often recommended as a starting point for researchers new to qualitative methods, and for many projects it may be the only qualitative methodology a researcher needs. Yet most qualitative research textbooks give it little attention, which means missed opportunities and too little guidance on how to do it properly.

Professor Chafe will set out what makes qualitative description a distinct methodological approach, why it deserves wider use in health research, and how researchers can produce rigorous qualitative descriptions.

About the speaker

Professor Roger Chafe is Full Professor of Health Services Research and Evaluation in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His research covers the conceptual and methodological foundations of health research alongside applied health services and policy research, with a particular interest in qualitative methodologies. His new book, Developing Qualitative Descriptions (Routledge, 2026), examines qualitative description as a distinct approach and what it contributes across applied disciplines.

If you are new to qualitative work, our guides to qualitative data analysis for PhD research and 5 things that confuse PhD students about qualitative research are good background, along with determining sample size in qualitative research and our Methods Matter podcast on qualitative interviews.

Thursday 26 November 2026, 2pm to 3pm UK time, online. Registration is through Eventbrite.

Register