Use Keyword Search Terms
Qualitative articles have some common words that are frequently used. Combine these keyword search terms with your search terms for your topic of interest. For example, some common qualitative terms include:
(qualitative OR attitudes OR experience OR beliefs OR interview OR grounded theory OR ethnographic OR phenomenology OR purposive sample OR hermeneutic OR heuristic OR semiotics OR narrative OR cluster sample OR action research OR observational method OR content analysis OR thematic analysis OR constant comparative method OR theoretical sample OR discourse analysis OR focus group OR ethnological research OR ethnomethodology)
There are many more possible terms, and those terms will depend on your qualitative research question.
Use Controlled Vocabularies
Many databases use specific terms that are used to "tag" articles to describe or categorize or classify what the article is about. These terms are also called Subject Headings, Thesaurus, etc. Find these terms and combine them with your search terms for your topic of interest. For example:
In PubMed, combine your search terms for the topic of interest with "Qualitative Research"[Mesh]
In CINAHL, combine your search terms for the topic of interest with (MH "Qualitative Studies+")
Use Database Filters/Limits
Some databases will provide a filter or limit to focus your search results by study type. PubMed does not include a qualitative filter. In CINAHL, you can refine to Qualitative study types by going to the Advance Search Options page, and under Clinical Queries, select Qualitative - High Specificity.
These See "Finding Qualitative Research Articles" from the University of Washington Health Sciences Library.