Qualitative Methods in Health Research

Abstract

Qualitative methods have much to offer those studying health care and health services. However, because these methods have traditionally been employed in the social sciences, they may be unfamiliar to health care professionals and researchers with a biomedical or natural science background. Indeed, qualitative methods may seem alien alongside the experimental and observational quantitative methods used in clinical, biological and epidemiological research. Misunderstandings about the nature of qualitative methods and their uses have caused qualitative research to be labelled 'unscientific', difficult to replicate or as little more than anecdote, personal impression or conjecture. The first edition of this book, and the series of papers in the British Medical Journal on which the book was initially based, deliberately set out to counter this view. The growing interest in qualitative methods in health research, and their increasing acceptance in clinical and biomedical arenas, in the 10 years since the book was first published, suggest that such misunderstandings may be diminishing. The purpose of this book has therefore altered subtly. Its main aim continues to be to introduce the main qualitative methods available for the study of health and health care, and to show how qualitative research can be employed appropriately and fruitfully to answer some of the increasingly complex questions confronting researchers. In addition, the book considers the ethics of qualitative research and how to assess its quality and looks at the application of qualitative methods within different styles of research and in the emerging area of research synthesis.

Knowledge and perceptions of colorectal cancer screening among urban African Americans

“…[43][44][45][46]48,49 Each analysis team member read through all transcripts and summarized the key findings. Memos of these key findings were saved and interviews were reread.…”

“…[43][44][45][46] Setting All focus group participants were recruited from a large, urban community health center in a Mid-Western City.…”

“…[43][44][45][46] Participants Study staff approached individuals in the health center's main lobby to ask about participation. All individuals (primary care patients and visitors) 50 years who self-identified as African American and were without obvious mental or cognitive impairment were considered eligible.…”

Psychosocial adaptation of patients and families following bone marrow transplantation: a prospective, longitudinal study

“…15 However, quantitative and qualitative methods are better viewed as complementary, 14 especially when health and illness issues are being examined in small numbers of patients, 16 and offer a useful addition to the usual quantitative methods. 14,17 In order to address some of the recommendations concerning future research on psychosocial outcomes in BMT, 9,11 and to examine individual functioning in detail, a repeated measures, prospective, longitudinal study of BMT patients and their families, using both quantitative and qualitative methods was designed. The aims of this study were: (1) to investigate the effects of BMT on patients and their families using a prospective, longitudinal design; and (2) to use qualitative interviews to examine the recovery process of patients and the role played by relatives.…”

“…11 Qualitative research methods have rarely been used when studying BMT patients, particularly in a prospective longitudinal manner. Qualitative research is often viewed as the antithesis of quantitative research, 14 being somehow 'unscientific' and unreliable. 15 However, quantitative and qualitative methods are better viewed as complementary, 14 especially when health and illness issues are being examined in small numbers of patients, 16 and offer a useful addition to the usual quantitative methods.…”