Chapter 29 - Using textual data in qualitative pharmacy and health services research

Abstract

Within pharmacy and health services research, interviews and focus groups have been the mainstay of collecting qualitative data. However, in other disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology, existing, routinely collected data are often used to provide a substance for qualitative inquiry. This chapter introduces the concept of utilizing existing textual data for research in pharmacy and health services settings. Relationships between people, products and organizations can be examined in documents, records, and text. Practical advantages, such as faster data collection and access to first-hand accounts, and drawbacks of using existing data in qualitative research, are discussed. Three case studies, where textual data were qualitatively analyzed, are used to illustrate the possibilities of the method for pharmacy and health services research. The case studies access different types of existing data including boardroom meeting minutes, incident reports, and WhatsApp messages. This chapter critically examines the use of methods rarely used in pharmacy and health services research, which draw on existing, routinely collected data. Adopting a wider range of data collection methods may provide new understanding and insights into social and clinical pharmacy practice.