Chapter018

Copyright © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Chapter 18
Generating Evidence Through
Qualitative Research

Qualitative Studies
• Helpful in answering particular kinds of research
questions concerned with human responses and
meanings within situations
• Help develop knowledge when a concept or phenomenon
is not well understood or is inadequately covered in the
literature
• Provide insights that explain the processes individuals go
through when dealing with an issue
• Increase sensitivity to human experiences in order to
enhance understanding or stimulate social action

Basic Understandings About Qualitative
Research
• Not all descriptive research is qualitative
− Qualitative research focuses on understanding and
meaning
− Interpretive in nature
− Openness and flexibility are key
− Procedures foster depth, accuracy, and completeness
− Multiple reporting styles are used
− Conclusions are not based on prior assumptions

Basic Understandings About Qualitative
Research (cont’d)
• Not all qualitative research is descriptive
− Many qualitative studies involve a higher level of
analytic complexity
• Interpretation
• Thick description
• There is no single set of procedures for designing and
performing qualitative research
• Mentorship yields the highest-quality results

Question
• Tell whether the following statement is true or false.
• The highest purpose for qualitative research is to provide
a sound foundation for subsequent quantitative studies.

Answer
• False
• Rationale: Qualitative research is not necessarily a
preliminary step to some other type of research. It is a
complete and valued end-product in and of itself.

Principles of Qualitative Research Design
• Identifying a study question
− Often this flows out of curiosity, hunches, and
existing knowledge
• Reviewing the literature
− Used as a framework to explain why the study is
important, to indicate what it may contribute to
knowledge about the topic, and to set the stage for
presentation of results
− Simply citing an absence of literature on a topic is
not sufficient

(cont’d)
• Defining the theoretical perspective
− May be explicitly stated or may be demonstrated
(implicit)
− Defining the theoretical perspective of a qualitative
study involves choices about how theory will be used

Selecting an Appropriate Research
Design
• Choices include:
− Ethnography when the purpose is to explain human
experience in cultural context, as an interpretation or
in theoretical terms
− Grounded theory when the purpose is to generate a
theory that explains the ways in which persons move
through an experience
− Phenomenology or hermeneutics when the
purpose is to produce an interpretation of what an
experience is like

Question
• A nurse researcher wishes to explore and explain the
phases that a patient experiences in the months after
being diagnosed with early-stage dementia. Which of the
following qualitative designs is likely best able to inform
the study question?
a. Hermeneutics
b. Phenomenology
c. Grounded theory
d. Ethnography

Answer
• c. Grounded theory
• Rationale: Grounded theory allows the researcher to
generate a theory that explains the ways in which
persons move through an experience in stages or phases.

(cont’d)
• Formulating a study purpose
− Purpose statements draw attention to the central
research focus, study participants, and the nature
and selected elements of the research design
• Establishing the study’s significance
− This should be established throughout the
conceptualization process, rather than as a discrete
“step”

Research Procedures
• Note that there is no single set of procedural steps in
qualitative research
• Sampling plan
− Purposeful selection is the norm
− Determining optimum sample size is based on:
• Usefulness of the data in various informational
categories
• Types of additional data sources needed
• Number of interviews and/or observations needed

Question
• Decisions around the size of the sample needed for a
qualitative study can be determined by performing a
power analysis.

Answer
• False
• Rationale: Power analysis is a statistical technique that
can inform decisions surrounding sample size in
quantitative methodologies. It is not, however, a relevant
or fitting consideration for qualitative studies.

Research Procedures (cont’d)
• Ethical considerations
• Data collection
− Multiple data collection strategies are often used in a
single study
− Commonly include interviews, focus groups,
observation

Research Procedures (cont’d)
• Data analysis and interpretation
− Ongoing activities that occur simultaneously with
data collection
− Common strategies
• Reading through all the data to get a general
sense; reflecting on possible meanings
• Coding/labeling, categorizing, and writing
reflective notes about the data
• Generating detailed written descriptions
• Searching for recurring themes and patterns
• Note how quality and scientific rigor will be monitored

(cont’d)
• Address study limitations
− Generalizability
− Transferability
− Validity
− Potential pitfalls in chosen methods and issues
related to the nature of the study topic should be
addressed

Question
• Qualitative research is not generalizable to individuals or
settings beyond those included in the study.

Answer
• False
• Rationale: Determining the generalizability or
transferability of a qualitative study requires critical
engagement with the methodology and findings.
However, it is simplistic to conclude that qualitative
findings may never be applicable to other patients or
places.

Chapter018

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