ABSTRACT
Applied qualitative researchers enter their studies on the basis of a well-informed sense of the field of practice in which knowledge is needed. Therefore, it is important to make explicit the body of ideas that establishes the foundation for why their study is a logical next step in the progression of knowledge and the nature of the knowledge it is seeking to strengthen. As described in this chapter, this stage-setting process is comprised of two general components in an interpretive description study: a review of the substantive literature pertaining to the phenomenon to be studied and a reflection on the theoretical or philosophical positionings that will be brought into the study process to inform the reasoning throughout.
