ABSTRACT
In this chapter some of the main types of qualitative method used in cognitive psychology are described, together with three important criteria for their evaluation. Two illustrations are then presented in detail: (1) from environmental cognition, a diary study of errors in routefinding; and (2) from decision process research, a think-aloud study of multiattribute choice. These examples show how the difficulties of qualitative methods can be overcome to make available rich sources of data, often tapping into real world contexts.
