Understanding and evaluating qualitative research* (original) (raw)

Qualitative research: its value and applicability

The Psychiatrist, 2013

SummaryQualitative research has a rich tradition in the study of human social behaviour and cultures. Its general aim is to develop concepts which help us to understand social phenomena in, wherever possible, natural rather than experimental settings, to gain an understanding of the experiences, perceptions and/or behaviours of individuals, and the meanings attached to them. The effective application of qualitative methods to other disciplines, including clinical, health service and education research, has a rapidly expanding and robust evidence base. Qualitative approaches have particular potential in psychiatry research, singularly and in combination with quantitative methods. This article outlines the nature and potential application of qualitative research as well as attempting to counter a number of misconceptions.

Doing Qualitative Research

Enjoying Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research, 2020

This textbook provides a guide to the development of a rigorous and creative research-supported practice for students, practitioners, and researchers in counselling and psychotherapy. With an emphasis on critical thinking and “research mindedness”, it introduces practical research skills and links them to self-awareness and critical reflection. Learning how to creatively and effectively use oneself in the treatment process is an essential component in therapy training and this level of self-awareness has long been a neglected area in research – until now. With examples ranging from private therapeutic practice to psychiatric related research, each chapter combines ‘how-to-do-it’ advice with illustrative real-life examples. The authors outline the use of a broad range of research methods, embracing Arts- as well as RCT-based research, and covering qualitative, quantitative, pluralistic and mixed methods approaches. Whether you are engaging with research for the first time or already developing your own research projects, if you are a student at diploma level or taking a Postgraduate research course for counsellors, psychotherapists and counselling psychotherapists, this is essential reading for anyone looking for a book that combines self-awareness with analytical and practical skills.

A Critical Review of Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact

Book Review, 2022

In this article, we examine Sarah J. Tracy's (2013) book Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact, and First Edition. Typically, we carefully read the texts we are reviewing to make sure we don't misunderstand them and underline any portions we feel are particularly important. Next, we begin by describing the subject matter and target audience of the book (since having this information first may allow readers who are not interested to skip the rest of the review, and readers who are interested to raise their attention). Next, we describe the topic's development in terms of its depth of treatment and various content-related aspects. Then we highlight the aspects of the book that, in our opinion, have strengths and shortcomings. We attempt to provide a broad assessment of the book's value and potential use. In the end, we aim to make the form as long as necessary and polish it. We discovered that the Sarah J. Tracy book was beneficial for both beginners and seasoned scholars. Since the author has extensive experience with qualitative research, their publication may present a chance to advance our comprehension of qualitative research design. Furthermore, the book contains a complete, step-by-step explanation of the methodology for evaluating qualitative quality as well as how to gather, examine, and write qualitative data. It is a complete resource for the theoretical foundations and practical application of technique and it is meant to provide graduate students and advanced academics with enough methodological material to be relevant.

Qualitative Research Study

Crafting a research design is a daunting task no matter what research method the researcher chooses to work with. Qualitative research study stands as one of the most rigorous and demanding—yet rewarding—research paradigms when the researchers have a narrative, a story to portray in the literature-specific both for their readers and the scientific community. With the intent to describe not only their own personal journey, but also that of those who help unravel previously unexplained phenomena, qualitative researchers undertake a central theme and refer to the lived experiences of their study participants, starting from the data collection stage to analysis and interpretation of their findings. They ask the very fundamental question words (i.e., how, why, and what) with which the study builds up to a rather more profound level. With certain philosophical underpinnings, dimensions, and approaches, qualitative researchers find themselves engaged in a plethora of words, texts, and images (Creswell, 2007). Researchers’ ontological and epistemological positioning additionally informs their choices of methods and methodology, the latter which is a theoretical perspective acting as a bridge between the two (Creswell, 2007). Regarding this and other characteristics, it is also important to note that an impeccable qualitative study design cannot be achieved without researchers’ investing a long time and finances, the resources without which a seamless research study would not be produced. With the purpose of discussing such and several more distinctive characteristics, metaphors, various research paradigms, and considerations throughout, the purpose of this paper is to shed light to what a qualitative research study essentially is, how researchers deal with it throughout the research process, when it is appropriate to conduct one and when not, its advantages, disadvantages, and others. Each component that goes into the design of qualitative research study will be handled under close lens.

Identifying Validity in Qualitative Research: A Literature Review

2018

This paper explores multiple articles relating to qualitative research. Qualitative research has seen several transformation that aim to support contributions for this research development. As research, using a qualitative methodology rises to prevalence, this paper explores industry and academia use of this methodology. The paper review research based in the field of healthcare and social work. After analysis, the review of literature shows that a majority qualitative research are within the field healthcare (Johnson, 1999). The research conducted embraces a diverse collection of approaches to inquiry intended to generate knowledge actually grounded in human experience. The literature review also addressed “rigor” as a standard for valid research, and the impending presumption for flexibility as called for by pundits against qualitative research paradigm. It was argued that this call for rigidity could threaten the innovativeness and hence the meaning and quality of a qualitative r...

Seven steps for qualitative treatment in health research: the Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis

Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 2021

Qualitative Health research procedures that are not always applied, mainly in the analysis phase. Our objective is to present a systematized technique of step-by-step procedures for qualitative content analysis in the health field: Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis. Our proposal consider that the qualitative research applied to the field of health, can acquire a perspective analogous to clinical practice and aims to interpret meanings expressed in reports through individual interviews or statements. This analysis takes part of the Clinical-Qualitative Method. The literature review was realized through: a book chapter, eight original articles and three methodological articles. The Clinical-qualitative Content Analysis technique comprises seven steps: 1) Editing material for analysis; 2) Floating reading; 3) Construction of the units of analysis; 4) Construction of codes of meaning; 5) General refining of the codes and the Construction of categories; 6) Discussion; 7) Validity. Th...

Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

The British Journal of Sociology, 1976

Qualitative research methods are widely used in the social sciences and the humanities, but they can also complement quantitative approaches used in clinical research. In this article, we discuss the key features and contributions of qualitative research methods.

Book Review: Qualitative Research Methods in Mental Health and Psychotherapy: A Guide for Students and Practitioners, Ethnography in Social Science Practice, Basic Statistics for Psychologists, Biological Psychology (3rd Ed.), Educational Psychology: Concepts, Research and Challenges, Essentials ...

Psychology Learning Teaching, 2012

When deciding my tasks for the summer, reviewing this book was one of them. Lying next to it was a pile of largely qualitative theses to be examined. Not only did this book look a more interesting job to start with, but if it accomplished what it set out to do it would make my task of examining easier and of higher quality. This edited book brings together some well-established proponents of different qualitative methods to describe their approaches. It is aimed at informing those working in the mental health and psychotherapeutic field who are, or wish to be, engaged in researching their practice. It consists of three parts, Part 1 concerning getting started, Part 2 consisting of eight chapters detailing different approaches to qualitative research, and Part 3 returning to issues of assessing quality, current themes and the future. It was good to find the book started with a chapter on the often neglected step of literature searching. This chapter provides a good guide to going about this task and what synthesising the literature means. It sets a rather high gold standard by describing a meta-synthesis of qualitative work, and acknowledges this is not for the faint-hearted and usually a team effort, so may be a little daunting for aspiring researchers. However, like meta-analysis in the quantitative world it draws the attention of the reader to similar meta-methodologies in the qualitative world, pointing to some helpful resources along the way. This is followed by a good introduction to research ethics and some helpful practical guidelines. This can't be a comprehensive guide in such a short chapter, but refreshingly it does find space to challenge the ubiquitous assumption of research participants always being labeled as 'vulnerable'. The one thing I would have liked a mention of was ownership of data and publication rights; a common and nasty hole to fall into for developing researchers. Alison Faulkner provides an excellent critical account of the history and current position of service-user involvement, with some very clear guidelines and resources. What I particularly liked about this chapter was that it made clear what had been done already and what we could learn from in terms of inspiring examples. However, whilst the chapter clearly identified some of the challenges of service-user involvement, a level of critique at a larger institutional level was missing. Three chapters then follow that in themselves are helpful and informative, but I was left a little puzzled about how they hung together. Some explanation of this was given in the final chapter of the book, but it did not work for me. Sandwiched in the middle of two chapters about asking the right questions and choosing the right methodologies was an excellent chapter about studying psychotherapy process change, by Robert Elliott. This is the only chapter in the book which addresses qualitative research in a specific context, that of the therapeutic exchange, and used a variety of examples to demonstrate the range of qualitative methodologies that can be applied in this area, including therapeutic task analysis, which pricked my curiosity.

The Qualitative Report The What' s and Why' s of The How To of Qualitative Research

The book provides an excellent guide for those wishing to conduct qualitative research, whether new or experienced scholars. It links theoretical foundations with practical tools, including examples that illustrate how to bridge the gap between theorizing and conducting real-life qualitative research in the field. It shows how to design and craft the qualitative research in the field using different research tools (e.g., interviews, observations etc.) and how to analyze the data and compose a qualitative draft. In short, it answers the "what," "why," and "how" of qualitative research.