Qualitative Research in Suicidology: Thoughts on Hjelmeland and Knizek’s “Why we Need Qualitative Research in Suicidology”

A recent article by Hjelmeland & Knizek presented the case for qualitative research in suicidology. The present essay identifies & illustrates 6 dimensions in their discussion: explaining versus understanding; qualitative versus quantitative studies; case studies versus large samples; descriptive versus inferential statistics; idiographic versus nomothetic approaches; & phenomenological versus interpretative approaches. (16 refs.) JA