Saturation: An Overworked and Misunderstood Concept?

Abstract

All qualitative researchers are familiar with the idea of saturation: that researchers should continue to collect and/or analyze data until nothing new is being added to their arguments or conclusions. Saturation is, however, used and understood in a variety of ways, often appearing as an unevidenced and dogmatic statement seeking to justify that a piece of research is complete. This article explores the application of the idea of saturation in qualitative research, noting its association with grounded theory and the particular interest taken in it by health researchers. It concludes that it is both a misunderstood and an overworked concept.