Question

Give an example of qualitative research design in nursing. How does qualitative research improve quality of care and health outcomes?

Answer 1

Qualitative research refers to a method of inquiry in which the researcher, acting as data collection instrument, seeks to answer questions about how or why a particular phenomenon occurs.

RELEVANT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS:-

Qualitative research designs are "rooted in the naturalistic paradigm".

In contrast to post-positivism, a naturalistic philosophy asserts that reality is subjective, rather than objective, because there is not one single reality, but multiple realities and the knowledge gained is only relevant within that particular situation or context.

?In qualitative research, the research process is inductive, rather than deductive, and begins with broad exploratory aims that provide a focus for study without pre-empting which aspects of the experience may be deemed important or relevant. Researchers use qualitative research designs when there is a gap in knowledge or when little is known about a particular phenomenon, experience, or concept.
?Qualitative researchers study people in natural settings and attempt to make sense of, or interpret, the meanings people attribute to their experiences.

?The most distinctive characteristics of qualitative research are that the researcher is also considered an instrument for data collection and resultant data are primarily words or narrative descriptions rather than numbers.

?In qualitative research, participants are purposively selected for their experience with the phenomena of interest as opposed to a random selection or sampling from a larger population.