Qualitative Research Designs For the past 2 weeks, you have focused on the features and considerations of quantitative research designs. However, quantitative designs are not appropriate for all research questions. Perhaps you are concerned with how patients react when confronted with negative test results, or you wish to study how views on a certain health topic change over time. In each of these cases, the emphasis is more on understanding the thinking and experiences of an individual or group than on numerical measurements. For these types of questions, a qualitative or mixed methods research design is the most appropriate. For this Discussion, you focus on the different types of qualitative research designs, when they are used, and why they are important. To prepare: Reflect on the comments made by Dr. Mauk in this week’s media presentation on the value of qualitative research in nursing. Locate the journal Qualitative Health Research in the Sage Premier database in the Walden Library. From this journal, select an article of interest to you that was published within the last 3 years. Review the information on different qualitative research designs in Chapter 20 of your course text. Determine what qualitative research design was used in your selected article and evaluate whether it was the best choice. Consider ethical issues involved in the study and how the researchers addressed them. Think about how using a quantitative design would have affected the type of data gathered. Post (1) an APA citation for the article that you selected and provide a brief summary of the content and the qualitative research design used. (2) Evaluate the appropriateness of the design, and explain how ethical issues in the study were addressed. (3)Analyze how the study would have been different if a quantitative design had been used. Required Resources Note: To access this week's required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus. Readings Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2012).  Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Chapter 20, “Qualitative Research Design and Approaches” This chapter introduces qualitative research designs. It provides an overview of the different types of qualitative research and then describes each one in greater detail, outlining how and when they should be used. Houghton, C. E., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2010). Ethical challenges in qualitative research: Examples from practice. Nurse Researcher , 18 (1), 15–25. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. This article explores ethical challenges associated with qualitative research. Specifically, the authors examine the challenges of informed consent procedures, the researcher-participant relationship, risk-benefit ratio, confidentiality, and the d ...

1. Qualitative Research Designs
For the past 2 weeks, you have focused on the features and
considerations of quantitative research designs. However,
quantitative designs are not appropriate for all research
questions. Perhaps you are concerned with how patients react
when confronted with negative test results, or you wish to study
how views on a certain health topic change over time. In each of
these cases, the emphasis is more on understanding the thinking
and experiences of an individual or group than on numerical
measurements. For these types of questions, a qualitative or
mixed methods research design is the most appropriate.
For this Discussion, you focus on the different types of
qualitative research designs, when they are used, and why they
are important.
To prepare:
Reflect on the comments made by Dr. Mauk in this week’s
media presentation on the value of qualitative research in
nursing.
Locate the journal Qualitative Health Research in the Sage
Premier database in the Walden Library.
From this journal, select an article of interest to you that was
published within the last 3 years.
Review the information on different qualitative research designs
in Chapter 20 of your course text.
Determine what qualitative research design was used in your
selected article and evaluate whether it was the best choice.
Consider ethical issues involved in the study and how the
researchers addressed them.
Think about how using a quantitative design would have
affected the type of data gathered.

2. Post
(1)
an APA citation for the article that you selected and provide a
brief summary of the content and the qualitative research design
used. (2) Evaluate the appropriateness of the design, and
explain how ethical issues in the study were addressed.
(3)Analyze how the study would have been different if a
quantitative design had been used.
Required Resources
Note:
To access this week's required library resources, please click
on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the
Course Materials
section of your Syllabus.
Readings
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2012).
Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for
nursing practice
(Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Chapter 20, “Qualitative Research Design and Approaches”
This chapter introduces qualitative research designs. It
provides an overview of the different types of qualitative
research and then describes each one in greater detail, outlining
how and when they should be used.
Houghton, C. E., Casey, D., Shaw, D., & Murphy, K. (2010).
Ethical challenges in qualitative research: Examples from

3. practice.
Nurse Researcher
,
18
(1), 15–25.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores ethical challenges associated with
qualitative research. Specifically, the authors examine the
challenges of informed consent procedures, the researcher-
participant relationship, risk-benefit ratio, confidentiality, and
the dual role of the nurse-researcher.
Pringle, J., Hendry, C., & McLafferty, E. (2011).
Phenomenological approaches: Challenges and choices.
Nurse Researcher
,
18
(2), 7–18.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article examines the dilemmas faced by a researcher
looking for appropriate methods and approaches for
investigating the experiences of stroke survivors. In addition,
this article reviews the challenges of using phenomenology as a
research method.
Ryan-Nicholls, K. D., & Will, C. I. (2009). Rigour in
qualitative research: Mechanisms for control.
Nurse Researcher
,
16
(3), 70–85.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article provide recommendations for
improving the control mechanisms of methodological rigor in
qualitative research methods. The text establishes the basis of

4. criticism on the rigor of qualitative work, ways of
demonstrating methodological rigor, and the definition of rigor.
Smith, J., Bekker, H., & Cheater, F. (2011). Theoretical versus
pragmatic design in qualitative research.
Nurse Researcher
,
18
(2), 39–51.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article assesses the benefits of using a generic qualitative
approach to design studies for understanding user and caregiver
perspectives. The authors assess these benefits in the context of
a qualitative study that focused on parents’ experience of living
with children with hydrocephalus.
Walker, W. (2011). Hermeneutic inquiry: Insights into the
process of interviewing.
Nurse Researcher, 18
(2), 19–27.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article examines the process of interviewing from a
research perspective. The authors supply personal and
theoretical insights into using the research interview, along with
a guide to the practicalities of interviewing.
Williamson, K. M. (2009). Evidence-based practice: Critical
appraisal of qualitative evidence.
Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
,
15
(3), 202–207.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article highlights the importance of qualitative evidence to
mental health clinicians. The author stresses that critically
appraising evidence is crucial to the EBP process and provides

5. guidelines for appraisal.
Wuest, J. (2011). Are we there yet? Positioning qualitative
research differently.
Qualitative Health Research
,
21
(7), 875–883.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article focuses on the shifting role of qualitative research
in the past two decades. The author discusses the merits and
detriments of concrete distinctions, the hurdles of flexibility
and convergence, and the need to develop a complete research
toolbox for improving health.
Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012l).
Qualitative and mixed methods research designs.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note:
The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.
This video features Dr. Kristen Mauk’s overview of how she
applied qualitative research designs and methods to her doctoral
dissertation work. Dr. Mauk explains the advantages of
qualitative research as well as strategies for increasing
credibility when conducting qualitative or mixed methods
research.