Making meaning of meaning-making research: Using qualitative research for studies of social and personal relationships

Qualitative research continues to have a larger presence in the interdisciplinary field of relationship studies. This essay presents the basic tenets of interpretive theory, the basis for many qualitative relationship studies, as well as four revelations that can occur from examining data through a qualitative lens. It also introduces the essays included in, "Qualitative studies of relationships: Prevailing norms and exciting innovations,'' a special issue of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.