Psychology21 papers
LLMs in qualitative psychology
Emerging applications of large language models in qualitative psychological research methodology as well as the critics.
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Evgeny Smirnov
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PsychologyWorth Reading
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Getting Started with Artificial Intelligence Assisted Qualitative Analysis: An Introductory Guide to Qualitative Research Approaches with Exploratory Examples from Reflexive Content Analysis
Nicmanis, Mitchell & Spurrier, Harry (2025)
- Published
- Apr 1, 2025
- Journal
- International Journal of Qualitative Methods · Vol. 24
- DOI
- 10.1177/16094069251354863
At a GlanceAI
A framework helps qualitative researchers align LLM-assisted analysis with their research values and methods.
SummaryAI
This guide addresses a key gap in AI-assisted qualitative research: an LLM is not a neutral tool, and its use must fit a study’s underlying research values. The authors contrast “Small-q” and “Big-Q” approaches to qualitative research, review seminal LLM-based analysis work, and propose an approach-based model for assessing alignment between values, methods, and AI use. Exploratory reflexive content-analysis examples show how the same AI assistance may be applied differently under each approach. The paper also highlights ethical issues and offers questions and further resources for researchers considering AI-supported qualitative analysis.
Method SnapshotAI
A conceptual review and exploratory illustration of how LLM-assisted analysis aligns with contrasting qualitative research approaches.
BackgroundAI
Basic qualitative research methods and a general understanding of large language models are needed.