scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal Article

Qualitative evaluation and research methods

TL;DR: The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry Theoretical Orientations Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications as mentioned in this paper, and Qualitative Interviewing: Qualitative Analysis and Interpretation Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis and interpretation.
About: This article is published in International Journal of Information Management.The article was published on 1990-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 22714 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Qualitative research.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of important concepts related to qualitative content analysis is provided and measures to achieve trustworthiness (credibility, dependability and transferability) throughout the steps of the research procedure are proposed.

16,695 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Inductive content analysis is used in cases where there are no previous studies dealing with the phenomenon or when it is fragmented, and a deductive approach is useful if the general aim was to test a previous theory in a different situation or to compare categories at different time periods.
Abstract: Aim This paper is a description of inductive and deductive content analysis. Background Content analysis is a method that may be used with either qualitative or quantitative data and in an inductive or deductive way. Qualitative content analysis is commonly used in nursing studies but little has been published on the analysis process and many research books generally only provide a short description of this method. Discussion When using content analysis, the aim was to build a model to describe the phenomenon in a conceptual form. Both inductive and deductive analysis processes are represented as three main phases: preparation, organizing and reporting. The preparation phase is similar in both approaches. The concepts are derived from the data in inductive content analysis. Deductive content analysis is used when the structure of analysis is operationalized on the basis of previous knowledge. Conclusion Inductive content analysis is used in cases where there are no previous studies dealing with the phenomenon or when it is fragmented. A deductive approach is useful if the general aim was to test a previous theory in a different situation or to compare categories at different time periods.

14,963 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors position mixed methods research (mixed research is a synonym) as the natural complement to traditional qualitative and quantitative research, and present pragmatism as offering an attractive philosophical partner for mixed method research.
Abstract: The purposes of this article are to position mixed methods research (mixed research is a synonym) as the natural complement to traditional qualitative and quantitative research, to present pragmatism as offering an attractive philosophical partner for mixed methods research, and to provide a framework for designing and conducting mixed methods research. In doing this, we briefly review the paradigm “wars” and incompatibility thesis, we show some commonalities between quantitative and qualitative research, we explain the tenets of pragmatism, we explain the fundamental principle of mixed research and how to apply it, we provide specific sets of designs for the two major types of mixed methods research (mixed-model designs and mixed-method designs), and, finally, we explain mixed methods research as following (recursively) an eight-step process. A key feature of mixed methods research is its methodological pluralism or eclecticism, which frequently results in superior research (compared to monomethod resear...

11,330 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The general view of descriptive research as a lower level form of inquiry has influenced researchers conducting qualitative research to claim methods they are really not using and not to claim the method they are using: namely, qualitative description.
Abstract: The general view of descriptive research as a lower level form of inquiry has influenced some researchers conducting qualitative research to claim methods they are really not using and not to claim the method they are using: namely, qualitative description. Qualitative descriptive studies have as their goal a comprehensive summary of events in the everyday terms of those events. Researchers conducting qualitative descriptive studies stay close to their data and to the surface of words and events. Qualitative descriptive designs typically are an eclectic but reasonable combination of sampling, and data collection, analysis, and re-presentation techniques. Qualitative descriptive study is the method of choice when straight descriptions of phenomena are desired.

9,029 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that it is the responsibility of research methods teachers to ensure that this or a comparable model for ensuring trustworthiness is followed by students undertaking a qualitative inquiry.
Abstract: Although many critics are reluctant to accept the trustworthiness of qualitative research, frameworks for ensuring rigour in this form of work have been in existence for many years. Guba’s constructs, in particular, have won considerable favour and form the focus of this paper. Here researchers seek to satisfy four criteria. In addressing credibility, investigators attempt to demonstrate that a true picture of the phenomenon under scrutiny is being presented. To allow transferability, they provide sufficient detail of the context of the fieldwork for a reader to be able to decide whether the prevailing environment is similar to another situation with which he or she is familiar and whether the findings can justifiably be applied to the other setting. The meeting of the dependability criterion is difficult in qualitative work, although researchers should at least strive to enable a future investigator to repeat the study. Finally, to achieve confirmability, researchers must take steps to demonstrate that findings emerge from the data and not their own predispositions. The paper concludes by suggesting that it is the responsibility of research methods teachers to ensure that this or a comparable model for ensuring trustworthiness is followed by students undertaking a qualitative inquiry.

8,980 citations