 It’s an approach to research that examines a concept or phenomenon from the perspective of the individual who is experiencing it  The research purpose can range from preliminary description of a concept or phenomenon to development of a theory or model of a process or pattern

 When little knowledge exists about the area of research  When the nuanced perspective or personal experience of a particular group or population is needed  When the research aims require an individualized and less structured interview approach

 Focuses on ‘meaning’ from the research participant’s point of view  Uses an inductive approach that is not informed by existing theory but rather builds theory from observations or interview data ◦ This is in contrast to quantitative approaches that test specific hypotheses derived from existing theory or empirical data  Acquires data in a naturalistic environment that facilitates open discussion  Places few controls on other variables that may influence the data – they are viewed as an essential part of the context in which the phenomenon is being examined

 Grounded Theory  Ethnography  Phenomenology

 Stems from the field of sociology  Aims to generate explanatory models of human social behavior  Avoids use of pre-existing theory that limits the researcher’s ability to be open-minded about what may emerge from the data

 Uses interviews, observations, and field notes to collect data  Involves simultaneous collection and analysis of data where hypotheses are generated and tested with new data as it is acquired

 Stems from the field of anthropology  Examines a concept or phenomenon through participants’ narratives about their lives and the perspective of the culture of which they are a part

 Uses participant observation, interview and field notes as the basis of data collection  Encourages the researcher to spend time or live with the group being studied to more fully understand the phenomenon from a cultural perspective

 Stems from the field of philosophy  Describes the concept or phenomenon being studied as it is experienced by the person (‘the lived experienced’)

 Uses multiple, in-depth conversations with participants and detailed examples from their experience as the source of data  Encourages the researcher to avoid any preconceptions, presuppositions or theoretical assumptions in collecting or interpreting the data

 Interviews – use open-ended questions with individuals or groups to obtain data and then probe responses for more depth about a research question  Observations – involve recordings and systematic descriptions of behaviors, situations or events using notes made during and after their occurrence ◦ The observer may be a participant in the event/situation or an ‘outsider’ who is given permission to be present

 Focus groups – use group interaction to obtain data on participant’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviors or experiences  Case studies – use individuals, events, programs or organizations as ‘cases’ that are examined via interviews, documents, observations, and audiovisual or archival records  Narrative – uses in-depth interviews, journals, letters and stories told by research participants that ‘gives voice’ to particular needs or views

 Quantitative research uses probability sampling to ensure that a sample is representative of the composition and profile of the entire population being studied  Qualitative research more typically use purposive sampling, whereby participants and other data sources are selected to best meet the needs of the study  Purposive sampling identifies initial participants based on their particular demographics or experience with the phenomenon being studied  Further ‘theoretical sampling’ may occur as the study progresses to include participants with specific experiences or views that are identified as important from the emerging data

 Quantitative research uses sample size as one way to assure that statistical tests have enough power to effectively test hypotheses  Qualitative research is more concerned with sampling units which represent the number of times each participant is interviewed or the number of observations that take place  These units are viewed as providing depth and detail in the data – the more data obtained from each participant, the fewer participants are generally needed  ‘Saturation’ or redundancy in the data that is being collected is often used to determine whether more participants or more interviews/observations are needed

 Transcribed records of interviews, field notes or other documents are carefully reviewed to identify categories, themes, or models reflected in the data  Each approach to qualitative research has specific techniques for reviewing the data, identifying codes or categories, and developing larger themes or models to explain the concept or phenomenon being studied  All approaches involve comparison of transcripts with original audio-records or input from the person conducting the interviews/observations to assure accuracy of the transcripts

 Qualitative researchers view characteristics such as credibility, dependability, trustworthiness, and transferability of the data and results as evidence of validity and reliability  Researchers are expected to create an ‘audit trail’ that carefully describes the methods and procedures used  Interviewers and observers are trained in techniques to avoid bringing bias to the data collection process, although some bias is assumed in all research

 Independent coding of data segments by different members of the research team is used to compare the consistency of categories or themes being identified across researchers – differences are then discussed and resolved  Situations or cases that don’t support emerging conclusions are sought out to assure that interpretations of the data consider varied perspectives  Summaries of the emerging results are given to participants for evaluation of their accuracy and their salience to the participants

 School of Dentistry ◦ Elizabeth Mertz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences  School of Medicine ◦ Shelley Adler, PhD – Professor, Family & Community Medicine ◦ Judith Barker, PhD – Professor, Anthropology, History and Social Medicine ◦ Daniel Dohan, PhD – Professor, Institute for Health Policy Studies

 School of Nursing ◦ Carol Dawson-Rose, RN, PhD - Associate Professor, Community Health Systems ◦ Susan Kools, RN, PhD – Professor, Family Health Care Nursing ◦ Howard Pinderhughes, PhD – Associate Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences  School of Pharmacy ◦ Dorie Apollonio, PhD – Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacy

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