Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.1007/s40617-025-01150-0

Publication Title

Behavior Analysis in Practice

Volume

Advance online publication

Pages

10 pp.

Abstract

Quantitative methods remain the hallmark of research in applied behavior analysis. Yet, such methods frequently fail to capture the nuances of context where behavior analysis is practiced. Therefore, qualitative methods can provide complementary means to gain deeper insight into changes in socially significant behavior. We believe that researchers within the field of behavior analysis have much to gain from embracing qualitative methodologies. We propose that more researchers can and should consider conducting rigorous qualitative research to elevate the voices of the participants and relate the depth and complexities of their nuanced experiences. This article discusses Tracy’s “big tent” quality criteria to offer guidance to qualitative researchers on ensuring their studies possess high quality. Two recent qualitative research studies, conducted by the authors, are offered as illustrations to demonstrate how “big tent” criteria can be applied to design and conduct meaningful and rigorous research of high quality. We hope that these examples can encourage other researchers in the field of behavior analysis to feel more confident and see value in conducting qualitative research to gain a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior.

Rights

© The Authors 2026

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original authors and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. 

Data Availability

Article states: "There are no participants as part of this manuscript, and it is not original research."

Original Publication Citation

Lorio-Barsten, D. K., & Layden, S. J. (2026). Ensuring rich rigor of qualitative methodologies in behavior analytic research. Behavior Analysis in Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-025-01150-0

ORCID

0000-0001-9111-4991 (Layden)

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