Qualitative research
From The Embassy of Good Science
ThemesQualitative research
What is this about?
Qualitative research is a type of research to answering research questions about the social, attitudinal, behavioral, and emotional dimensions of health care. Usually involves the collection of information, through direct observation, interviews, or existing documents (e.g. medical records).
Why is this important?
Qualitative studies increasingly form the foundation for quantitative research, intervention studies by generating hypotheses as well as further investigating and understanding quantitative data (1). Those researches answer the hows and whys instead of how many or how much thus exploring and providing deeper insights into real-world problems by gathering participants' experiences, perceptions, and behavior. While qualitative and quantitative approaches are different, they are not necessarily opposites, and the results can be complementary.
For whom is this important?
PhD StudentsQualitative researchersResearchershealth care professionalsGraduate and postgraduate students
What are the best practices?
When qualitative research is intended to generate hypotheses for future research or to test the feasibility and acceptability of interventions, then applying the results is relatively straightforward.
Can the results of qualitative research be applied directly to daily clinical practice? If the study population seems similar enough to one’s own, then the clinician can justifiably consider the usage of the study results to reflect on his or her practice (2).In Detail
1. Tenny S, Brannan GD, Brannan JM, Sharts-Hopko NC. Qualitative Study. 2020
2. Giacomini, M. K. & Cook, D. J. Users’ guides to the medical literature: XXIII. Qualitative research in health care. B. What are the results and how do they help me care for my patients? Evidence-Based MedicineWorking Group. JAMA 2000; 284: 478–482.Natasa contributed to this theme. Latest contribution was Feb 28, 2021
