The Potential Utilization of Qualitative Evidence in Policy: The Application of Uncertainty Assessment to Qualitative Research

Abstract

The evidence addressed in Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM) in Japan tends to be biased towards quantitative data. However, the principles of EBPM suggest that evidence derived from qualitative studies should be utilized alongside quantitative research in EBPM. The use of qualitative research in the field of policy research allows for a thorough exploration of the potential for qualitative evidence utilization, which has largely been overlooked in EBPM. This article clarifies the following points: Firstly, qualitative evidence can be utilized as a basis for presenting one of the candidate agendas. Secondly, in the preliminary assessment of policymaking aimed at addressing social issues with a small number of cases, it is necessary to utilize qualitative evidence. Thirdly, it is important to assess uncertainty in qualitative evidence. Finally, this article demonstrates that in qualitative research following statistical methods, the criteria for evaluating uncertainty include ‘Credibility’ and ‘Transferability’, and that ‘Theoretical Saturation’ and ‘Applicability’ can be used as evaluation criteria for qualitative research based on the Grounded Theory Approach.