Novel Methods for Leveraging Large Cohort Studies for Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research

Qualitative research methods, while rising in popularity, are still a relatively underutilized tool in public health research. Usually reserved for small samples, qualitative research techniques have the potential to enhance insights gained from large questionnaires and cohort studies, both deepening the interpretation of quantitative data and generating novel hypotheses that might otherwise be missed by standard approaches; this is especially true where exposures and outcomes are new, understudied, or rapidly changing, as in a pandemic. However, methods for the conduct of qualitative research within large samples are underdeveloped. Here, we describe a novel method of applying qualitative research methods to free-text comments collected in a large epidemiologic questionnaire. Specifically, this method includes: 1) a hierarchical system of coding through content analysis; 2) a qualitative data management application; and 3) an adaptation of Cohen’s κ and percent agreement statistics for use by a team of coders, applying multiple codes per record from a large codebook. The methods outlined in this paper may help direct future applications of qualitative and mixed methods within large cohort studies.