Research approaches to qualitative studies:the case of crisis management in higher education women academics

This paper analyses approaches to qualitative research, with the focus on women academics’ narrative in the Higher Education in the UK. The authors have considered a number of different research strategies (case studies, ethnographies etc) and research designs (interviews, focus groups, surveys etc), in order to result in the appropriate approach to this particular research. This paper also considers the emerging role of AI tools for qualitative research analysis which can be efficient in thematic analysis and pattern recognition but they can pose challenges in capturing the nuanced, socially constructed experience of women academics. The paper also covers information on research participants and the data analysis process, focusing on thematic analysis for this study.