Chapter 08: Qualitative Approaches to
Research
LoBiondo-Wood: Nursing Research in Canada, 4th Edition
1. Which of the following qualitative research approaches is most commonly used for theory
building?
a. Case study
b. Phenomenology
c. Grounded theory
d. Ethnographic method
ANS: C
Feedback
A. Case study focuses on specific clinical scenarios or situations.
B. Phenomenology focuses on the lived experience of a particular phenomenon.
C. Grounded theory is associated with theory building.
D. The ethnographic method focuses on culture.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
2. Which of the following features distinguishes intensive dialogue from a simple interview?
a. The researcher makes detailed notes about the participant’s responses during the
interview.
, b. The researcher is fully engaged, becoming a thoughtful presence during the
interview.
c. The researcher develops the interview questions before the actual interview
occurs.
d. The researcher completes the questionnaire for the participant to avoid any
misunderstanding or confusion.
ANS: B
Feedback
A. Notes can be taken in both a dialogue and an interview.
B. A dialogue is more extensive than a simple interview because the researcher is
present and actively engaged in a dialogue.
C. Questions can be developed before both a dialogue and an interview.
D. Researchers do not complete questionnaires for participants, as the goal is to learn
of the experience through the words of the participant.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
3. How does nursing research using the phenomenological approach differ from more
traditional forms of research?
a. The results present the “lived experience.”
b. The study participants are people with illness, injury, or disease.
c. The focus of the study is the actual or objective phenomenon itself.
d. The focus of the study is on understanding the reality of the phenomenon to the
person experiencing it.
ANS: D
, Feedback
A. The “lived experience” emphasizes the experiencing of the phenomenon in day-
to-day existence.
B. Phenomenology does not focus only on experiences of illness or injury.
C. The phenomenological study focuses on the subjective experiences of
participants, not the objective experience.
D. North American forms of phenomenology may focus on the realities of the
participants instead of the phenomenon itself.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
4. Review the abstract information provided below to determine which qualitative approach
is being used in each study.
Abstract #1
This study outlines a brief history of men as nurses in the United Kingdom. It uses a
variety of historical sources—primary archival, oral history, and secondary sources— to
retell the history of nursing with emphasis on the frequently neglected place of men
within it. History appears to indicate that men have had a place in nursing for as long as
records are available, but their contribution has been perceived as negligible, largely
because of the dominant influence that the nineteenth–century female nursing movement
has had on the occupation's historical ideology. The study indicates that men have an
equally valid historical role within nursing and that this should be acknowledged when
considering male nurses’ position within the nursing profession.
Abstract #2
The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of nurses’ use of humour in their
nursing practice. Twenty-one registered nurses enrolled in a graduate nursing program
described in detail their experiences using humour in providing nursing care. The twenty-
one written descriptions were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. Five themes emerged in
Research
LoBiondo-Wood: Nursing Research in Canada, 4th Edition
1. Which of the following qualitative research approaches is most commonly used for theory
building?
a. Case study
b. Phenomenology
c. Grounded theory
d. Ethnographic method
ANS: C
Feedback
A. Case study focuses on specific clinical scenarios or situations.
B. Phenomenology focuses on the lived experience of a particular phenomenon.
C. Grounded theory is associated with theory building.
D. The ethnographic method focuses on culture.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
2. Which of the following features distinguishes intensive dialogue from a simple interview?
a. The researcher makes detailed notes about the participant’s responses during the
interview.
, b. The researcher is fully engaged, becoming a thoughtful presence during the
interview.
c. The researcher develops the interview questions before the actual interview
occurs.
d. The researcher completes the questionnaire for the participant to avoid any
misunderstanding or confusion.
ANS: B
Feedback
A. Notes can be taken in both a dialogue and an interview.
B. A dialogue is more extensive than a simple interview because the researcher is
present and actively engaged in a dialogue.
C. Questions can be developed before both a dialogue and an interview.
D. Researchers do not complete questionnaires for participants, as the goal is to learn
of the experience through the words of the participant.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
3. How does nursing research using the phenomenological approach differ from more
traditional forms of research?
a. The results present the “lived experience.”
b. The study participants are people with illness, injury, or disease.
c. The focus of the study is the actual or objective phenomenon itself.
d. The focus of the study is on understanding the reality of the phenomenon to the
person experiencing it.
ANS: D
, Feedback
A. The “lived experience” emphasizes the experiencing of the phenomenon in day-
to-day existence.
B. Phenomenology does not focus only on experiences of illness or injury.
C. The phenomenological study focuses on the subjective experiences of
participants, not the objective experience.
D. North American forms of phenomenology may focus on the realities of the
participants instead of the phenomenon itself.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension
MSC: NCLEX Client Care Needs Category: Safe and Effective Care Environment;
Health Promotion and Maintenance
4. Review the abstract information provided below to determine which qualitative approach
is being used in each study.
Abstract #1
This study outlines a brief history of men as nurses in the United Kingdom. It uses a
variety of historical sources—primary archival, oral history, and secondary sources— to
retell the history of nursing with emphasis on the frequently neglected place of men
within it. History appears to indicate that men have had a place in nursing for as long as
records are available, but their contribution has been perceived as negligible, largely
because of the dominant influence that the nineteenth–century female nursing movement
has had on the occupation's historical ideology. The study indicates that men have an
equally valid historical role within nursing and that this should be acknowledged when
considering male nurses’ position within the nursing profession.
Abstract #2
The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of nurses’ use of humour in their
nursing practice. Twenty-one registered nurses enrolled in a graduate nursing program
described in detail their experiences using humour in providing nursing care. The twenty-
one written descriptions were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. Five themes emerged in
