Introduction to Qualitative Research for Novice Investigators

Abstract

Qualitative research has been used for centuries in the discipline of social sciences to examine the experiences, per-spectives, and perceptions of individuals and communities. Recently, qualitative research has also emerged as a repu-table paradigm of research inquiry within the field of health sciences. Qualitative research may be considered a re-search approach complementary to quantitative research, which is most commonly utilized in medical disciplines through the use of randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses of treatment effectiveness. It aims to elaborate, ex-plain, and describe social phenomena such as the relationship between patients and healthcare providers, how medical interventions may affect long-term care and quality of life, and how to contextualize the findings of randomized con-trolled trials to the complex lives of patients by considering the multitude of factors that influence treatment effective-ness. Qualitative research seeks to answer the “why” and “how” of phenomena as opposed to the “what” and “how much.” The majority of novice investigators will use the quantitative research paradigm for an independent study course or their thesis dissertation. When these investigators encounter the qualitative research paradigm, they are struck with the lack of simple and useful resources available that identify, clarify, and explicate the qualitative re-search process. This article aims to serve as an introductory guide for novice investigators who wish to integrate the tradition of qualitative research into their practices. The authors introduce the purpose, components, and process of qualitative research including common methodologies, data collection methods, sampling strategies, and data analysis approaches.