What Should You Preregister in a Qualitative Research Study?

How Can You Preregister Qualitative Research Without Restricting Its Development?

You are planning a qualitative study exploring how university teachers experience the introduction of generative artificial intelligence into their instructional practices. You have identified your research questions and intend to conduct interviews, but you expect the inquiry to develop as participants raise issues you had not anticipated.

Should you preregister the interview questions, participant recruitment criteria, coding framework, number of interviews, and anticipated themes? What happens if the interviews reveal a direction that deserves further investigation?

These questions arise because qualitative research often involves iterative decisions that are integral to the methodology rather than departures from it. Preregistration can support transparency, but its value depends on documenting the actual logic of the inquiry rather than imposing commitments borrowed uncritically from confirmatory experiments.

Preregister the Methodological Commitments, Not Findings You Cannot Know Yet

What a Qualitative Research Preregistration Should Contain

What Does Preregistration Mean in Qualitative Research?

Preregistration is the creation of a time-stamped record of research intentions before the relevant stages of the study are conducted. In qualitative research, that record may describe methodological commitments, anticipated procedures, theoretical assumptions, and areas where decisions will remain open.

The purpose is not necessarily to distinguish statistical hypothesis tests from exploratory analyses. Qualitative inquiry may seek to understand experiences, develop conceptual interpretations, examine social practices, or construct theory.

Its transparency requirements therefore differ from those of a confirmatory quantitative experiment.

For example, a researcher using a deductive framework analysis may reasonably specify an initial coding structure. A researcher using reflexive thematic analysis may instead document how coding and theme development will be conducted without predicting the themes themselves.

The qualitative preregistration approach proposed by Haven and Van Grootel emphasizes that preregistration can be adapted to qualitative methodology rather than requiring all decisions to be fixed in advance.

1. Research Questions and the Phenomenon of Interest

Begin by identifying what the study seeks to understand and why the phenomenon warrants investigation.

Qualitative research questions often address meanings, experiences, processes, relationships, practices, or contextual conditions. They need not be formulated as directional hypotheses.

For example, a study might ask: "How do university teachers understand and negotiate their professional responsibilities when using generative AI for instructional planning?"

The preregistration should explain the initial scope of the inquiry and the concepts that informed its development.

It may also identify related questions that are provisional. In an iterative design, researchers can acknowledge that subsequent questions may emerge from engagement with participants and data.

The distinction between an initial question and a later-developed question should remain visible in the research record.

2. Methodological Orientation and Epistemological Assumptions

Qualitative approaches differ in how they understand knowledge, researcher interpretation, and the relationship between evidence and claims.

Preregistration should therefore identify the methodological orientation when it materially shapes research decisions.

Possible approaches include qualitative description, phenomenological inquiry, grounded theory, ethnography, narrative inquiry, case study, discourse analysis, and thematic analysis. These labels are not interchangeable, and each encompasses methodological variations.

Researchers should explain how the chosen approach informs sampling, data generation, analysis, and the expected role of the researcher.

For instance, a constructivist grounded theory study may anticipate iterative theoretical sampling and constant comparative analysis. A qualitative descriptive study may place greater emphasis on producing an accessible account of participants' experiences.

Where relevant, researchers should state their epistemological assumptions, such as constructivist, critical realist, or other positions, without treating a philosophical label as a substitute for explaining the actual research procedures.

3. Sampling Strategy and Participant Selection

Qualitative preregistration should describe the intended population, sampling rationale, initial eligibility criteria, recruitment methods, and anticipated variation among participants.

Sampling may be purposive, theoretical, criterion-based, maximum variation, snowball, or another approach appropriate to the study.

The justification should explain why the selected participants, cases, documents, or settings are expected to provide relevant information about the phenomenon.

Unlike probability sampling intended to support particular forms of population inference, qualitative sampling often prioritizes information-rich cases and conceptual relevance. Nevertheless, researchers should not assume that every qualitative study follows the same sampling logic.

The initial inclusion and exclusion criteria should be operationally clear where they determine eligibility. The plan may also explain when subsequent recruitment decisions can change in response to emerging analysis.

4. Sample Size and the Rationale for Stopping Recruitment

Qualitative studies do not universally require a fixed numerical sample size established before data collection.

Researchers may specify an initial target or anticipated range based on the research scope, participant diversity, analytic approach, resources, and expected richness of the data.

Malterud and colleagues proposed the concept of information power, suggesting that the number of participants needed in some qualitative interview studies depends on the specificity of the study aim, sample characteristics, theoretical grounding, dialogue quality, and analytic strategy.

Other traditions may use iterative sampling informed by developing categories or conceptual questions.

The concept of saturation is relevant in some approaches but should not be presented as a universal requirement. Its meaning and appropriateness depend on the methodology. In reflexive thematic analysis, for example, treating saturation as an objective point at which no further themes can exist may conflict with the approach's understanding of interpretive theme development.

A useful preregistration therefore explains the proposed sampling and stopping rationale, including which aspects may evolve and how subsequent decisions will be documented.

5. Data Generation Methods and Initial Procedures

Describe how qualitative material will be generated or obtained.

Methods may include semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observation, document analysis, field notes, diaries, or combinations of these.

Specify the intended setting, mode of interaction, approximate duration or frequency where meaningful, recording arrangements, and procedures for obtaining consent.

For semi-structured interviews, the preregistration may include an initial interview guide and the rationale for its main domains. It need not require every question to be asked verbatim or prohibit appropriate follow-up questions.

For ethnographic research, the plan might describe the field setting, observation strategy, anticipated duration of engagement, and arrangements for recording field observations.

For document analysis, identify the intended document sources, selection principles, and procedures for organizing the corpus.

The degree of detail should support methodological accountability without falsely representing adaptive procedures as standardized instruments.

6. Intended Qualitative Analysis Approach

One of the most important elements is the planned analytic approach. Simply writing "the data will be analyzed thematically" may be insufficient because thematic analysis includes approaches with different assumptions and procedures.

Specify the methodological tradition and the broad process through which interpretations will be developed.

These descriptions are illustrative rather than complete methodological definitions. Researchers should follow the requirements of the particular approach they have chosen.

If software such as NVivo, ATLAS.ti, or another qualitative data analysis platform will be used, it may be identified. However, software selection does not itself establish the analytic methodology or guarantee rigor.

7. Deductive Coding, Inductive Coding, and Emergent Themes

The degree of advance coding specification depends on the intended analytic logic.

Deductive analysis may begin with concepts derived from theory, prior literature, or an established framework. Researchers can preregister those initial categories while explaining whether and how the framework may be modified.

Inductive approaches generally allow categories or interpretations to develop through engagement with the material. Requiring researchers to predict every code or theme would be inconsistent with that purpose.

Many studies combine deductive and inductive elements. A preregistration can describe the intended relationship between the initial conceptual framework and the possibility of unanticipated interpretations.

The former can strengthen transparency. The latter is generally inappropriate when the research is intended to develop interpretations through analysis.

8. Reflexivity and the Researcher's Position

Qualitative interpretation is shaped by the researcher's theoretical commitments, experiences, relationships, and decisions. Reflexivity involves critically examining these influences rather than assuming that they can always be eliminated.

A preregistration may document the researcher's relationship to the setting, relevant professional roles, prior assumptions, and anticipated sources of influence on data generation or interpretation.

For example, a researcher studying teachers within their own institution may have professional relationships that influence recruitment, participant disclosure, and interpretation.

The preregistration can explain how these relationships will be managed through consent procedures, reflexive memoing, consultation, or other appropriate practices.

Reflexivity is not equivalent to a claim that the researcher has become free from bias. It is an ongoing methodological practice that makes interpretive positioning more explicit.

9. Ethical Safeguards and Data Management

Qualitative studies may collect sensitive personal accounts, identifiable narratives, contextual details, or information about individuals who are not direct participants.

Preregistration should describe relevant ethical safeguards, including consent, confidentiality, secure storage, access restrictions, and intended handling of quotations or identifying details.

Researchers should also consider whether transcripts, recordings, field notes, or coded material can be shared responsibly.

Open science does not require unrestricted publication of confidential qualitative data. In some circumstances, sharing detailed transcripts could expose participants even after direct identifiers have been removed.

The plan may instead provide for controlled access, carefully selected excerpts, methodological documentation, or other forms of transparency compatible with participant protection.

Preregistration does not replace ethics approval, institutional governance requirements, or applicable data-protection obligations.

10. Plans for Documenting Methodological Development

Because qualitative research may evolve during data generation and analysis, researchers should establish a process for recording consequential decisions.

Useful documentation may include dated analytic memos, revisions to interview guides, changes in recruitment strategy, adjustments to the analytic framework, and explanations for pursuing emerging questions.

These records help distinguish original intentions from later methodological developments without implying that the developments are necessarily defects.

When a change is consequential, the researcher may create a dated amendment or supplementary record, following the procedures supported by the registration platform.

The broader principles for fixed and changeable preregistration decisions remain relevant, but their application should reflect the logic of the qualitative methodology.

How Much Detail Is Enough?

A qualitative preregistration should be detailed enough for readers to understand the initial research intentions, the rationale for major methodological choices, and the areas in which adaptation is expected.

It need not be so restrictive that the researcher cannot respond thoughtfully to the material being studied.

One useful question is whether a reader could distinguish a justified development within the stated methodology from a substantial change in the study's purpose or analytic approach.

For instance, adding interview probes about an unexpected but relevant experience may be consistent with semi-structured interviewing. Replacing an interpretive research question with a predetermined evaluative framework halfway through the project may represent a more substantial methodological change requiring explicit explanation.

Can Qualitative Preregistration Be Used With Mixed-Methods Research?

Yes. Mixed-methods studies can preregister their quantitative and qualitative components while explaining how the components will be integrated.

For example, a sequential explanatory design may use quantitative results to inform the selection of participants for follow-up interviews. The qualitative sampling decisions cannot necessarily be finalized before the quantitative phase is complete.

The preregistration can nevertheless specify the rationale for integration, the criteria that will guide follow-up sampling, the intended qualitative approach, and the procedures for documenting decisions that depend on earlier findings.

The objective is to make planned dependencies explicit rather than pretending that all stages are independent of one another.

Preregistering an Interview Study About Teachers' Use of Generative AI

This preregistration establishes a meaningful methodological record without attempting to predict participants' experiences or final interpretations.

The study's quality would still depend on the appropriateness of its sampling, depth of engagement, analytic coherence, reflexivity, and the relationship between evidence and interpretation. Preregistration contributes to transparency but does not replace these considerations.

Common Misunderstandings About Qualitative Preregistration

How to Build a Preregistration That Fits Your Qualitative Methodology

Start by identifying the methodological decisions that already structure your inquiry. These may include your research questions, theoretical orientation, recruitment rationale, data generation methods, and intended approach to interpretation.

Then distinguish decisions that can reasonably be established in advance from those that should remain responsive to participants, contexts, and developing analysis.

A useful qualitative preregistration should allow another researcher to understand why the study began as it did and how later methodological developments relate to those original intentions.

It should also avoid excessive rigidity. The limitations of preregistration for exploratory research become particularly relevant when advance commitments would prevent the inquiry from responding to important emerging evidence.

Before submission, consider asking a colleague familiar with your qualitative tradition to assess whether the plan is methodologically coherent. A preregistration can be admirably detailed yet still misunderstand the method it claims to document.

Before Preregistering a Qualitative Research Study

Frequently Asked Questions About Qualitative Research Preregistration

Preregister the Logic of the Inquiry While Preserving Legitimate Adaptation

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