Applied research on health evaluation

1. Paper by:
Levis KAHANDUKYA NYAVANDA
Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya (EA), October 2016

2. Qualitative research involves the collection,
analysis and interpretation of data that are not
easily reduced to numbers
Qualitative process of inquiry has the goal of
understanding a social human problem from
multiple perspectives.
Qualitative research is conducted in a natural
setting and involves a process of building a
complex and holistic picture of the
phenomenon of interest

3.  These data relate to the social world and the
concepts and behaviours of people within it
 Qualitative research can be found in all social
sciences in the applied fields that derive from
them, for example, research in health
services, nursing and pharmacy

4.  These research methods are not a recent
invention but their application in health
technology assessment (HTA) or health
services research may be fresh
 it is important that researchers under-stand
the principles of qualitative methods and the
way they may be used to set benchmark and
standards.

5. Perspective- Idealists
Qualitative work is often identified with idealism
while quantitative work is identified with realism.
 Most qualitative researchers accept that there is
an objective, material world, as do realists, but
question our ability to know this directly.
 In the social sciences, what people perceive or
believe is the basis of their actions rather than
what an impartial observer might think was
actually true

6.  Multiple realities exist in any given situation –
the researcher’s those of the individuals
being investigated and the reader or audience
interpreting the results;
 These multiple perspectives or voices of
informants are included in the study
 The researcher interacts with those he studies
and actively works to minimize the distance
between the researcher and those being
researched

7.  Research is context bound
 Research is based on inductive forms of logic;
categories of interest emerge from informants
(subjects) rather than being identified a priori by
the researcher
 The goal is to uncover and discover patterns or
theories that help explain a phenomenon of
interest; and determinations of accuracy involve
verifying the information with informants or
‘triangulating’ among different sources of
information (e.g, collecting information from
different sources)

8. 1. Case studies –
In a case study the researcher explores a single
entity of phenomenon (the case) bounded by time
and activity (e.g. a program, event, institution, or
social group)
 collects detailed information through a variety of
data collection procedures over a sustained
period of time.
 The case study is a descriptive record of an
individuals experiences and or behaviours kept
by an outside observer

9.  in ethnographic research the researcher studies
an intact cultural group in a natural setting over a
specific period of time.
 A cultural group can be any group of individuals
who share a common social experience, location
or other social characteristic of interest –
 This could range from an ethnographic study of
rape victims in crisis shelters, to children in
foster care, to a study of a cultural group in
Europe

10.  Human experiences are examined through
the detailed description of the people being
studied –
 the goal is to understand the ‘lived
experience’ of the individuals being studied.
 This approach involves researching a small
group of people intensively over a long
period of time.

11.  Complete
participation
 Non participant
observation
 The observer is a
full member of the
group
 The observer takes
no part at all in
activities and has
no contact with
those being
observed

12. Advantages Limitations
 An observer need not
specify the research
problem as someone
designing a survey, but
can be flexible
examining events as they
happen, understanding
how social relationships
reflect values and beliefs
and the meaning people
give to events
 Only some activities
can be observed –
easiest in countries
where much of daily
life goes on in public
 As societies become
larger in scale, they get
beyond the capacity of
a single observer and
the problem of
sampling arises

13. Advantages
Limitations
 Participant observers get
a fuller understanding of
a society than those who
appear, take a survey and
leave
 Rules of interaction, the
effects of relationships
on behaviour, quality of
life all need observation
 The presence of an
observer will have
some effect on group
activities, especially
when using a tape
recorder, camera or
camcorder (this can be
minimized by
becoming as
psychologically
invisible as possible)

14. Advantages Limitations
 It can be more reliable
to observe and record
behaviour than to ask
people to generalize
about it
 Observation can
generalize on little
data (the observer may
have seen a rare case)
 Generalization about
attitudes can also be
subject to faulty
impressions (attitudes
are available to an
observer if they are
reflected in behaviour)

15.  Involve a small, purposive sample and are
less structured and usually longer than survey
interviews
 Informants are selected because they have
knowledge and so interviews vary with what
the information has to contribute

16.  Requires considerable preparation
 Work out what you want to ask, in
approximately what order
 Put the informants at ease and encourage full
discussion of each topic with as few probes
as possible
 Encourage precision and specific examples
where answers are vague or rhetorical

17. o Check each statement against what has gone
before and your information from other
informants and tactfully question
contradictions
o Let informants carry the discussion. Say as
little as possible yourself
o An interview should not last too long unless if
the informant is enjoying the experience

18.  How does the informant know this – from
personal experience, a report or merely
opinion?
 To what extent is the report affected by the
informant’s position in the community,
personality?
 What evidence have I that this person is
usually accurate? Is the report internally
consistent?

19.  Consist of one-on-one interviews with
participants that a researcher is seeking to
better understand
 In – Depth interviews last anywhere from a
half hour to two hours
 A moderator takes the participant through a
discussion guide and as topics come up the
moderator may probe for further insights

20.  Involves bringing a group of people into one
setting and a moderator facilitates group
discussions about a topic
 The group dynamic leads to brainstorming,
generating ideas, and a deepening of the
discussion because of the variety of
participants and their experiences
 Typically focus group participants are chosen
because of their profile (experience)

21.  Peil, M. Social Science Research Methods, a
Handbook for Africa, Second Revised Edition,
East African Educational publishers, Nairobi,
1995.