This document provides an overview of qualitative research methods, highlighting their increasing popularity in health and medicine. It contrasts qualitative and quantitative research paradigms, explaining the objectives, methodologies, and analytical approaches unique to qualitative studies, emphasizing the subjective experience of participants. Furthermore, it discusses the roles of researchers, sample selection, and the importance of participant perspectives, noting both the strengths and limitations of qualitative research.

1. INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE
I • RESEARCH DESIGN
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By:
S. Bahar Ali

2. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: GROWING IN
POPULARITY IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE
o Qualitative methods are becoming increasingly
prevalent in medical and related research. They
provide additional ways for health researchers to
explore and explain the contexts in which they
and their patients function, enabling a more
comprehensive understanding of many aspects of
the healthcare system. (Kuper et al, 2006: 406)
o Experiences in qualitative research?

3. WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
o The goal of Qualitative research is the
development of concepts which helps to
understand social phenomena in natural (rather
then experimental) setting, giving due to
emphasis to the meanings, experiences, and
views of all the participants. (Pope & Mays,1995).

4. WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
Bryman's (1998) characteristics of qualitative
research:
o Seeing through eyes
o Describing the details of everyday settings
o Understanding actions and meaning in their
social context

5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
o Qualitative research, also called field research,
typically involves fieldwork in which the researcher
observes and records behavior and events in their
natural setting.
o The researcher physically goes to the people, setting,
or site in order to observe the subject as it normally
and naturally occurs or behaves.

6. THE TYPES OF OBJECTIVES
Positivist/Quantitative
o To count
o To quantify
o To measure
o To determine the effect
AvsB
Naturalistic/Qualitative
o To identify
o To explore
o To qualify
o To elucidate
o To describe
o To document

7. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
o Largely draw on positivist
paradigm
o Extensive (large sample)
o Statistical sample of the
population
o Techniques (
questionnaire,
measurement)
o Focus: how many,
determine single/causal
relationship
o Analysis- mainly deductive
o Largely draw on
naturalistic paradigm
o Intensive (small sampling)
o Symbolic-representative of
group
o Technique-interview,
group discussions,
observations
o Focus-Why, how,
understand multiple inter
relationship
o Analysis-mainly inductive

8. POSITIVIST G,HARD'' SCIENCES'') VERSUS
QUALITATIVE G,SOFT SCIENCES'() RESEARCH
POSITMSM
o "... emphasizes the measurement and analysis of
causal relationships between variables, not
processes - proponents of such studies claim
that their work is done in value-free framework"
...contends that there is a reality out there to be
objectively studied, captured, understood."
Positivist (e.g. quantitative) methods ar
employed to isolate causes and effects:
o -to measure and quantify phenomena
o -to allow for the generalization of findings

9. ,,HARD(( VS ,,SOFT(( SCIENCES RESEARCH
Qualitative Social Sciences
Response to the failings of traditional deductive
methodologies. Reject positivist criteria of
evaluating data: replicability, ,,validity'
objective, value-free. Emphasize innovative,
inductive methods and research strategies Seek
alternative methods for evaluating the ,,success''
of qualitative research: multi-voiced texts,
dialogical research, reflexivity. Use of
experimental qualitative genres: narrative,
storytelling, filmmaking.

10. DEDUCTIVE VERSUS INDUCTIVE
PROCESSES
Deductive process in quantitative studies begins with
theory
Examines hypothetical relationships within it
Hypothesis - tested
Inductive process in qualitative studies begins with
observations
Open questions which are applied to guide initial
research
Research is refined over the course of fieldwork and the
collection and preliminary thematic analysis of data
Inductive research drives the identification of situation
specific analytical approaches, or, the formulation of
theory generated from study observations and
findings (grounded theory)

11. DEDUCTIVE REASONING
o Associated with positivist/experimental approach
o Researcher begins with acceptance of a general
principle or belief and then apply that principle
to explain a specific case or phenomenon. (DePoy
& Gitlin, 1994)

12. CORE ACTIVITIES IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
o Literature Review- a cursory review may be done initially to
focus the study, otherwise it is conducted after the data has
been collected and analyzed.
o Rationale for delaying the L.R. is to avoid leading the
participants in the direction of what has already been
discovered.
o Purpose of L.R. is to show how current findings fit into what
is already known

13. o Bracketing - setting aside one's biases and personal
views on a topic
o Investigator keeps a diary of personal thoughts and
feelings about the topic
o Purpose is to make known to the researcher her/his
beliefs about the topic so that the researcher may
approach the topic honestly

14. The field is the natural world where participants live
o The field requires reciprocity in terms of decision making
o The participant & researcher determine what data will be
shared
o Participants must understand & be willing to share their
thoughts & feelings about the phenomenon
o Contrast this with quantitative studies where data are
collected in controlled settings & the researcher is removed
from the subject

15. o Participant or informant refers to the individual
who informs the research study (vs subjects or
respondents)
o They are active participants & equal partners
o Must have 1st hand experience with research
phenomenon (vs random selection)
o They want to help others understand their lives &
the social contexts in which they live & create
.
meaning

16. o Participants must have first hand experience with the
research experience and be able to talk about it
o Researcher establishes clear criteria & rationale for sample
selection
o Goal is not generalization of findings but rich descriptions
of phenomenon by those who have experienced it

17. o A situation in data collection in which
participants' descriptions become repetitive &
confirm previously collected data
o An indication that data collection is complete
o Similar to adequate sample size in quantitative
research

18. o Researcher immerses self in data to bring order & meaning
to vast narrative
o Begins with 1st data collection episode
o Reading, rereading, intuiting, analyzing, synthesizing &
reporting on data
o Cyclical & recursive process that requires an extensive
amount of time

19. oRIGOR in qualitative
research is less about the
adherence to rules and more
about fidelity to the spirit
and standards of qualitative
work (Sandelowski, 1993)

20. o Data from interviews are continuously reviewed to
identify additional questions
o Data from earlier interviews are routinely returned
to participants for clarification/elaboration
o Investigator must look for meaning in the data as it
is reviewed

21. o At conclusion of study a protracted period of data
immersion in which conclusions are reviewed in
the context of the whole study
o Data similar in meaning are clustered together
into preliminary categories

22. oCredibility
oTransferability
oDependability
oConfirmability

23. o Refers to the accuracy of the description
o Is the description plausible & recognized by those who
experienced it.
o Enhanced by prolonged time in the field
o Repeatedly observing & interacting with participants
o Triangulation of data sources, methods, data type,
investigators, & theories
o Member checks-participants involved with data analysis

24. o Refers to the stability & trackability of the changes in
data over time & conditions
o Reflects the reality that people's situations change &
reality differs for people
o Want to determine the extent to which another
researcher with similar training & rapport with
participants would make the same observations
o This is determined by an audit trail

25. o Concerned with generalizability or fittingness of
findings to other settings, populations, & contexts
o Report must provide sufficient detail so that readers can
assess this
o Lack of transferability is often viewed as a weakness of
qualitative methods

26. o Basic issue here is one of neutrality
o Do conclusions depend upon the subjects & conditions of
inquiry rather than on the researcher
o Would 2 independent researchers agree about the
meanings emerging from the data
o An audit trail is used
o researcher must explicate how personal biases may have
come into play and consider alternative explanations

27. o Focus on the whole of the human experience & the
meanings ascribed to them by participants they provide
nurses with deep insights that would not be possible
using quantitative methods exclusively
o The major strength of qualitative work is the validity of
the data it produces
o Participants true reality is likely to be reflected

28. ADVANTAGES &LIMITATIONS (CONT'D)1
o Major limitation is its perceived lack of objectivity &
generalizability
o Researchers become the research tools and may lack
objectivity

29. o Focus is to describe the meaning of the lived
experience from the perspective of the participant
o Broad question: "What is the meaning of one's lived
experience?"
o Central overarching question & subquestions

30. ROLE OF RESEARCHER
o Is the instrument for data collection
o Establishes good rapport with participants
o Explicates beliefs through bracketing
o The meaning of the lived experience is interpreted
from the participants' stories

31. SAMPLE
o Small purposive sample
o Participants are able & willing to talk about their
experience and describe their feelings
o Large enough to get a rich description of the
research phenomenon

32. o In-depth interviews
o Written descriptions of experiences in diaries &
journals
o Observations
o Multiple interviews with same participants to
reflect the meaning of the lived experience from
the participants' perspective

33. o Immersion with the data
o Read, re-read transcripts, may return to participants for
clarification or description
o Comparative analysis to identify themes in data
o Look for similarities & differences in data to identify
themes
o Reduce data into smaller & smaller number of categories
to arrive at a consistent description of the meaning of the
lived experience
o Share description with participants for verification

34. o Conducted after data collection & analysis are
complete
o Places findings within the context of what is
known about the phenomenon

35. o reports the essence of the experience
o reader should get an understanding of what it is
like to experience the phenomenon

36. T a b l e l . C o m p a r i s o n o f q u a n t i t a t i v e a n d q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h a p p r o a c h e s
Quantitative Qualttativ•e
G e n e r a I frame-work Seek to c o n f i r m hypothes es a b o u t
p h e n o m e n a
Seek to e x p lo r e p h e n o m e n a
I n s t r u m e n t s u s e m o r e rigid style
of ell citing a n d categorizing
responses to questions
Instruments use m o m flexfble.,
Iterative style of eliciting and
categorizing responses to questions
U s e highly structured m e t h o d s
such a s questionnaires.surveys.
Use sem i-structured m e t h o d s such
as in-d e p t h interviews. focus
and structured obs ervation groups,and participant observation
Analytica I obj e-ctives To q u a n t i f y variation T o d e s c r ib e variation
T o predl.ct causal relationships Todescribe and e,cplain relationships
T o describe characteristics of a
p o p u l a t i o n
To describe i n d i v i d u a l experiences
Todesc-rlbe g r o u p n o r m s
Que-stion fonnat Closed-ended O p e n - e n d e d
D a t a f or m at N u m e r ic a l (obtained by assigning
num erical values to responses)
Textual (obtained f r o m audiotapes.
videotapes. and f ield notes)
Flexibility in s'tudy design Study d e s ig n ls stable f r o m
b e g i n n i n g t o e n d
S o m e aspects of the study are
flexible Cfor exam ple,the addition,
exclusion. or w o r d i n g o f particular
i n t e r v i e w q u e s t lo n s )
Participant responses do not
inf luence o r d e t e r m i n e h o w a n d
Participant responses affect h o w
a n d ,vhich q u e s t io n s researchers
w h i c h q u e s t io n s researchers ask askne,ct
n e x t
S t u d y d e s ig n is s ubjec t to S t u d y design Is it e r a t ive , t h a t is,
statistical assum ptions and
c o n d it io n s
d a t a collection a n d research
q u e s t io n s a r e adjusted ace.Ording
to w h a t is learned