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On qualitizing revisited
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

On qualitizing revisited

Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie
Frontiers in psychology, Vol.17, p.1818520
16/07/2026
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/10210/520986
PMID: 42534750

Abstract

Methods
The original definition of qualitizing—the conversion of quantitative data into qualitative form—has made an important contribution to mixed methods research but presented a reductionist view that overlooked its interpretive and integrative dimensions. Building on Onwuegbuzie and Leech’s (2019) meta-framework, the present article reconceptualizes qualitizing as a recursive, meaning-centered, and meta-integrative process grounded in Critical Dialectical Pluralism (CDP) 2.0. Through this metaphilosophical lens, qualitizing is reframed not as a mechanical act of data conversion but as a meta-transformative process of interpretive synthesis that unites quantitative precision with qualitative depth across research traditions. To operationalize this expanded understanding, the article introduces a 43-profile Narrative Profiling Taxonomy—a theoretically grounded yet empirically generative framework for transforming quantitative, qualitative, or mixed data into interpretive narratives that embody full integration (in a representational sense). These profiles illustrate how numerical structures can be humanized through narrative representation, allowing meta-inferences that transcend analytic boundaries. Although extensive, the taxonomy is not presented as exhaustive but as an evolving representation of the current state of qualitizing’s methodological and epistemological potential. It introduces arts-based extensions highlighting the analytic, affective, and creative dimensions of integration. In re-envisioning qualitizing as a multidimensional system of meaning-making, On Qualitizing Revisited advances the integrative ideal of Onwuegbuzie and Hitchcock’s (2019) 1 + 1 = 1 integration approach, wherein data transformation becomes an act of synthesis rather than conversion. This redefinition positions qualitizing as both a methodological and philosophical foundation for integration, transforming data into meaning-centered understanding through integrative, interpretive processes that recontextualize analytic outputs within humanly interpretable forms.
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https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1818520View
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