Qualitative research
Qualitative research methods tend to be used to explore how people make sense of the world and how they experience events, within their social and cultural context. They aim to understand ‘what it is like’ to experience particular conditions. Possible examples include how does it feel to live with chronic pain? What makes a person consult a healthcare professional? How do people define and manage certain situations? How do practitioners communicate a diagnosis or manage particular conditions? The focus is the quality and texture of experience rather than the identification of cause and effect relationships. It is not enough, however, to simply describe experience. Successful qualitative research is able to present material in a way that is contextualised in broader theoretical and empirical debates. The findings should also be relevant to policy and practice.
Qualitative research methods can be used by researchers with different epistemological positions. Indeed, there are different approaches to qualitative research for example grounded theory, interpretative phenomenology, ethnography discourse analysis. There are also different ways to collect qualitative material: knowledge reviews, interviews and observation, participant diaries and focus group discussions; and different approaches to analysing qualitative material: thematic analysis, framework analysis and conversation analysis. Qualitative research might seem a little less formulaic, when compared to quantitative techniques; however, students often mistake this as an easier alternative when there remains a strong need to maintain rigour and credibility. This research is just as challenging to conduct.
Examples of research questions:
Does cultural context make a difference to women’s experiences of maternity care?
How do partners of haemodialysis patients cope with the demands of treatment?
How do general practitioners convey the complexities of Muscular Sclerosis to patients and families?
How do low-income women make decisions about healthy eating for their family?
To what extent do parents exercise informed choice when making a decision about pre-natal diagnosis?
How do people understand obesity? And how does understanding influence their eating and exercise choices?
What do practice nurses understand by evidence based practice, when prescribing for asthma?
Useful references:
Bourgeault I, Dingwall R, de Vires R. (2010) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research, London: Sage.
Braun V, Clarke V (2013) Successful qualitative research: a practical guide for beginners, London: Sage.
Braun V, Clarke V (2021) Thematic analysis: a practical guide to understanding and doing, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Creswell JW, Poth CN (2017) Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches (fourth edition). Los Angeles: Sage.
Green J, Thorogood N (2018) Qualitative methods in health research (fourth edition), London: Sage
Iphofe R, Tolich M (2018) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics, London: Sage
Pope C, Mays N. (2006) Qualitative research in health care, London: BMJ Books.
Silverman S (2017) Doing Qualitative Research (fifth edition), London: Sage