AI+ for Qualitative Research Methods
Design, Conduct and Analyse Qualitative Research with AI
The qualitative researcher's guide to using AI without losing your methodology
You're doing qualitative research and AI keeps arriving at the edges of your workflow — transcription, writing, the suggestion to "just ask Claude to code this." You're uncertain which parts are fine, which compromise your methodology, and what to say to your supervisor. AI+ for Qualitative Research Methods maps the full research arc from design to write-up, showing precisely where AI earns its place and where interpretation stays yours. The SHAPE Framework, FRAME Protocol, 28 prompt templates, and a 90-day action plan give you a practice you can defend. Built by an AI engineering firm for qualitative researchers who take their methodology seriously — and want to work faster without working less rigorously.
- The SHAPE Framework — a five-stage qualitative project scaffold showing AI's role at each stage, from research question refinement through write-up
- The FRAME Protocol in practice — ethics, consent language, and the anonymisation standard for AI processing of participant data
- 28 copy-ready PRISM-structured prompts across guide design, coding, memo writing, member checking, and five output types
- AI-assisted open coding workflow — with a worked before-and-after example and the three questions to ask before accepting any AI-generated code
- A 90-day action plan across three tracks — pre-fieldwork, mid-analysis, and writing up
Academic researchers, postgraduate students (Masters and PhD level), and applied researchers (policy, evaluation, NGO, public health, social work) who conduct qualitative research and want to understand how AI can support their practice without compromising methodological rigour
Also for:Research managers, supervisors, and ethics committee members who oversee qualitative research projects and need to set appropriate expectations and governance for AI use; market and UX researchers whose qualitative work overlaps with academic methods
- Design a qualitative research study with AI as a thought partner at the design stage, applying appropriate methodology selection criteria
- Conduct AI-assisted data collection (interview and focus group guide design, transcription, fieldnote structuring) while preserving methodological integrity
- Apply the SHAPE Framework to structure an end-to-end qualitative project with AI support at each stage
- Produce AI-assisted thematic analysis that preserves participant voice and maintains an auditable research trail
- Apply the FRAME Protocol before every AI interaction involving participant data
- Diagnostic
- How ready are you to use AI in your qualitative research?
- Chapter 1
- AI in Qualitative Research Right Now
- Chapter 2
- Research Design and Methodology Selection
- Chapter 3
- Ethics, Consent, and the FRAME Protocol
- Chapter 4
- Designing Guides, Protocols, and Sampling Plans
- Chapter 5
- Conducting Interviews and Focus Groups with AI Support
- Chapter 6
- Observation, Documents, and Secondary Sources
- Chapter 7
- Transcription, Organisation, and Data Preparation
- Chapter 8
- Coding and Thematic Analysis with AI
- Chapter 9
- Rigour, Reflexivity, and Research Quality
- Chapter 10
- Writing, Disseminating, and Your Research Plan
- Back matter
- Skill Summary · Recommended Next Reads · Glossary · Tool Reference
The practice that lets you use AI faster without being methodologically sloppy — for qualitative researchers who take both seriously.
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