Reading

Schmidt & Brown (2021). Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses:

• Chapter 10: Qualitative Designs: Using Words to Provide Evidence

• Chapter 14: What Do the Qualitative Data Mean?

Objectives

• Define qualitative research.

• Describe sampling techniques in qualitative research

• Discuss the three major sources of qualitative data

• Explain analysis and interpretation methods with qualitative data

• Describe techniques used to meet the four elements of evaluation

• Distinguish among the four major types of qualitative research

• Recognize the philosophical underpinnings of four major types of qualitative research

• Discuss how qualitative studies can be used to create evidence-based practice (EBP)

• Explore a mixed-methods approach to research

• Compare and contrast ways that qualitative data are analyzed

• Discuss the benefits of using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software to assist with managing qualitative data

• Describe how researchers draw conclusions from the data and verify them

• Recognize the common ways data are presented in reports

• State why qualitative research is evaluated differently from how quantitative research is evaluated

• Define the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability that are needed to establish the trustworthiness of a study

• Describe strategies used by researchers to meet the criteria for a trustworthy study

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

• Review Module 2 > Types of Research for main differences between qualitative vs. quantitative research

• Qualitative research

  • Focuses on words instead of numbers, on understanding and giving meaning to a phenomenon or an event

  • Used to answer questions related to the hows and whys of behavior that are not easily explained through quantitative methods, to investigate topics about which little is know, or to generate theory

  • In the EBP process, qualitative research is still considered to be far less compelling than quantitative research because of the subjective nature of data analysis and interpretation

The Four Major Types of Qualitative Research

• 1. Phenomenology

  • = A type of qualitative research that describes the lived experience to achieve understanding of an experience from the perspective of the participants

  • Lived experience

    • = The perspective of an individual who has experienced the phenomenon

  • Case studies

    • = A description of a single or novel event; a unique methodology used tin qualitative research that may also be considered a design or strategy for data collection

• 2. Grounded theory

  • = A type of qualitative research that examines the process of a phenomenon and culminates in the generation of a theory

  • Focus group

    • = A strategy to obtain data from a small group of people using interview questions

  • Constant comparison

    • = A method for inductively categorizing and comparing qualitative data for analysis

• 3. Ethnography

  • = A type of qualitative research that describes a culture

  • Focused ethnography

    • = Approach that is less broad than traditional ethnography and that examines a specific problem within subcultures and among smaller groups of people

  • Meta-ethnography

    • = An interpretive review of qualitative studies from a literature search that is purposive rather than systematic like a metasynthesis

  • Ethnoscience

    • = A method used in anthropology to discover knowledge

  • Ethnonursing

    • = Systematic study and classification of nursing care beliefs, values, and practices in a particular culture

• 4. Historical

  • = A type of qualitative research used to examine events or people to explain and understand the past to guide the present and future

  • Strategic sampling

    • = Sampling in historical research to locate a small group of people who were either witnesses of or participants in the phenomenon being studied

The Basics of Qualitative Research

Understanding the basics of sampling, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and evaluating findings is necessary so that nurses can ensure that qualitative evidence is trustworthy

• 1. Sampling

  • Participants

    • = Individuals in a qualitative study; informants

    • Informants

      • = Individuals in a qualitative study; participants

  • Purposive sampling

    • = Sampling method to recruit specific persons who could provide inside information

    • Key informants

      • = Individuals who have intimate knowledge of a subject and are willing to share it with the researcher

  • Snowball sampling

    • = Recruitment of participants based on word of mouth or referrals from other participants

  • Sample size

    • Generally, a smaller number is involved (often 6 to 12 participants in many studies) in a qualitative research

    • Data saturation

      • In qualitative research, the time when no new information is being obtained and repetition of information is consistently heard

  • Review Module 3 > Sampling to compare the sampling differences between qualitative and quantitative studies

• 2. Collecting Data

  • Three main sources of data in qualitative research

    • (1) in-depth interviews

      • Often the key source of data in qualitative research

      • Generally, interview questions are open-ended, allowing the participant to respond freely and provide the most information possible

      • Generally audio- or videotaped as unobtrusively as possible

      • A typical interview may last between 30 and 90 minutes

      • After an interview is complete, it is transcribed verbatim and printed for review

    • (2) direct observation

      • Participant observation

        • = Role of the researcher in qualitative methods when the researcher is not only an observer but also a participant during data collection

    • (3) artifacts

      • Written documents, photographs, physical objects, etc.

    • Fieldwork

      • = The time researchers spend interacting with participants through interviews, observations, and detailed records

• 3. Analyzing and Interpreting Data

  • Memoing

    • = A technique used in qualitative research to record ideas that come to researchers as they live with the data

    • Bracketing

      • = A strategy used by qualitative researchers to set aside personal interpretations to avoid bias

  • Coding

    • = Assignment of labels to each line of transcript in qualitative analysis

    • open coding

      • = The grouping of qualitative data into categories that seem logical

    • axial coding

      • = The analysis of categories and labels after completion of open coding

  • Data reduction

    • = The simplification of large amounts of data obtained from qualitative interviews or other sources

    • Focus on the common themes and patterns that will emerge

    • Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS)

      • = Computer software that assists in the management, coding, grouping, and analysis of qualitative data

      • Common qualitative software programs

        • ATLAS

        • CATMA

        • NVivo

        • Transana

  • Interpretation

    • The final stage of managing the data

    • Brings the message of the participants to the public for reading and application

    • Open to subjectivity because it is likely that no two researchers would interpret the meaning of the data in exactly the same way

    • In some types of qualitative research, theory development is an expected outcome

    • Representativeness

      • = The degree to which elements of the sample are like elements in the population

1. Qualitative Research Part 1 (15:09)

2. Qualitative Research Part 2 (13:56)

3. Qualitative Research Part 3 (13:45)