Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods
- Research = ways of producing knowledge as breakthroughs or creating more unanswered
questions, also the methods of carrying out the production of knowledge
Hierarchy of Evidence
- Particularly in epidemiology studies
- Cannot be used in all research
Problems:
- Assumes there is one ‘truth’ that is absolute or
fixed
o There are many different ideas and
opinions
- Smoking and lung cancer links were found through Cohort studies
- RCTs can be unethical to expose individuals to risk factors
- RCTs can be expensive and slow
- A well conducted observational study may provide more compelling evidence than a poorly
conducted RCT
Knowledge Hierarchy
- When researching data is collected, from which information is
obtained. Knowledge and wisdom come after.
- 1. Data – qualitative, quantitative or both
- 2. Information – can be overloading, need to select relevant data
- 3. Knowledge – is influenced by more than date e.g. social, goal
drivers, contextual, cultural
- 4. Wisdom – assumes an objective truth – a reality that can be
independently found - there’s always bias
Qualitative research
- = relating to or measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity
o In words, describes the qualities of phenomena, rather than quantifying
- Is essential is exploring new topics and obtaining data on complex issues
- Quantitative is appropriate if the issue is known about, simple, unambiguous and amenable
to measurement
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
- Often begins with a single case
- Often studies phenomena in the context in which they arise
- Hypotheses generated often from the analysis
- Analysis can take many forms:
o grounded theory,
o discourse analysis,
o thematic analysis
- Numbers are often used in simple tables designed to identify examples or occurrences
rather than statistical test
- Research = ways of producing knowledge as breakthroughs or creating more unanswered
questions, also the methods of carrying out the production of knowledge
Hierarchy of Evidence
- Particularly in epidemiology studies
- Cannot be used in all research
Problems:
- Assumes there is one ‘truth’ that is absolute or
fixed
o There are many different ideas and
opinions
- Smoking and lung cancer links were found through Cohort studies
- RCTs can be unethical to expose individuals to risk factors
- RCTs can be expensive and slow
- A well conducted observational study may provide more compelling evidence than a poorly
conducted RCT
Knowledge Hierarchy
- When researching data is collected, from which information is
obtained. Knowledge and wisdom come after.
- 1. Data – qualitative, quantitative or both
- 2. Information – can be overloading, need to select relevant data
- 3. Knowledge – is influenced by more than date e.g. social, goal
drivers, contextual, cultural
- 4. Wisdom – assumes an objective truth – a reality that can be
independently found - there’s always bias
Qualitative research
- = relating to or measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity
o In words, describes the qualities of phenomena, rather than quantifying
- Is essential is exploring new topics and obtaining data on complex issues
- Quantitative is appropriate if the issue is known about, simple, unambiguous and amenable
to measurement
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
- Often begins with a single case
- Often studies phenomena in the context in which they arise
- Hypotheses generated often from the analysis
- Analysis can take many forms:
o grounded theory,
o discourse analysis,
o thematic analysis
- Numbers are often used in simple tables designed to identify examples or occurrences
rather than statistical test
