Table Table 1 From the research bench 1 September 2026

What theoretical entity is actually supposed to achieve saturation?

Stopping object	What it asks	What it does not prove
Code saturation	Are the relevant topics, categories, or codes appearing?	That their meanings are fully understood
Meaning saturation	Has additional data added little conceptual depth, nuance, or explanation?	That every possible code has appeared
Theoretical saturation	Has the emerging theoretical account integrated the relevant variation for its purpose?	That the theory is true in every setting

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Saturation is a decision rule, not a number

Qualitative saturation is a stopping decision, not a universal interview count: match code or meaning to the question and sampling design.

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Isoglu, S. (2026). What theoretical entity is actually supposed to achieve saturation? [Table]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-saturation-is-a-decision-rule-not-a-number-fig01/

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@misc{isoglu-2026-saturation-is-a-decision-rule-not-a-number-fig01,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{What theoretical entity is actually supposed to achieve saturation?}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Table 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-saturation-is-a-decision-rule-not-a-number-fig01/},
  note = {From the essay {Saturation is a decision rule, not a number}}
}

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