Topic
Qualitative research
About: Qualitative research is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 39957 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2390470 citations. The topic is also known as: Qualitative method.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative analysis of the everyday experiences of twenty-eight family caregivers caring for elderly confused spouses or relatives at home has been presented in the context of qualitative research.
Abstract: The issues I want to explore in this essay have arisen in the context of my qualitative research into the everyday experiences of twenty-eight family caregivers caring for elderly confused spouses or relatives at home. 1 My interpretation of the interview data, derived from lengthy and unstructured interviews, has drawn extensively on feminist comment and research on caring in order to challenge conventional political and social knowledge about caring. Yet, in constructing an analysis which adequately represents the complexity of the experiences in which the interview texts are grounded, I have also become conscious of limitations in feminist interpretations. Although at one point they are liberatory because they open to inspection what has been previously hidden, they are also restrictive in the sense that they can appropriate the data to the researcher's interests, so that other significant experiential elements which challenge or partially disrupt that interpretation may also be silenced. The significance of feminist analyses of social policy and caregiving (for example Croft, 1986; Dalley, 1988; Finch and Groves, 1980, 1983; Gibson and Allen, 1989; Pascali, 1986; Williams, 1989) lies in their challenge to the conventional construction offamily and gender in social policy and in particular their elaboration of the need for integration of the dual surface of the hitherto privatized domain of the home and the public arena across which these analyses must move. Importantly, the feminist perspective has emphasized the exploitative relationship between the carer and the state and opened for scrutiny contradictions within the notion of 'care' by identifying the oppositional character of 'taking charge' and 'feeling concern' (Graham, 1983), and of affection and physical management and work in contrast to its delineation as intuitive and essentialist.
295 citations
TL;DR: This second edition of Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook lives up to its title; it is indeed practical.
Abstract: Published just 7 years after the first edition was released, this second edition of Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook lives up to its title; it is indeed practical. Most general texts about qualitative research are long on theory and short on specific instructions (e.g., Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Miles & Huberman, 1984). The opposite is true here. A qualitative research newcomer could conceivably read this text and then undertake a small-scale project on his or her own. The newcomer would be wise to supplement this highly pragmatic text with another text of greater theoretical value (such as the previously mentioned Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; or Miles & Huberman, 1984), because Gorman and Clayton’s volume discusses specific qualitative methods within a largely decontextualized framework, divorcing the methods from the various philosophical and sociological perspectives that underlie them. The book is divided into 14 chapters. Each chapter discusses a step in the qualitative research process or details a particular qualitative research method. Each chapter begins with Focus Questions, which briefly summarize the main themes, and concludes with suggestions for further reading. Each chapter also includes one or more Research Scenarios (some fictional, some apparently drawn from the authors’ own experiences, although citations to particular projects are not given) to illustrate the main points discussed in the chapter. For example, Chapter 6, Beginning Fieldwork, includes a research scenario entitled Gaining Entry by Fitting the Surroundings. It discusses various entry barriers met by a researcher who studied the status of librarians within the organizational culture of a theological college, and his search for a suitable key informant. Much of the book is comprised of very practical advice, such as:
295 citations
TL;DR: Some of the most frequently used techniques aimed at ensuring quality and value in qualitative research, such as sampling, triangulation, multiple coding, respondent validation and the use of audit trails are examined, as well as addressing reflexivity.
Abstract: In the current climate of evidence-based practice, physiotherapy is urged to prove its worth via rigorous scientific research. However, there are concerns that limited methodologies are used to explore complex therapeutic issues, and that the profession relies too heavily on quantitative research studies to provide its evidence base. Qualitative research methods are able to explore the complexity of human behaviour and generate deeper understanding of illness behaviours and therapeutic interactions. Nevertheless, there is still a sense of distrust of qualitative research, related to the challenge of evaluating both the quality and usefulness of findings derived through qualitative methods. This discussion paper explores these issues. It examines some of the most frequently used techniques aimed at ensuring quality and value in qualitative research, such as sampling, triangulation, multiple coding, respondent validation and the use of audit trails, as well as addressing reflexivity. Because of the pluralistic and interactive nature of qualitative inquiry, the criteria used to judge quality need to be appropriate to each piece of research and should provide evidence to help readers to evaluate the calibre of the study and its relevance to their own area of work.
295 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors refer to recent debates about the potential methodological costs and benefits of computer use in qualitative research and about the relationship between methodological approaches (e.g., this article ).
Abstract: This article refers to recent debates about the potential methodological costs and benefits of computer use in qualitative research and about the relationship between methodological approaches (eg....
295 citations
TL;DR: The purpose of this article is to present three of the pitfalls that can occur in qualitative research during data collection and transcription: equipment failure, environmental hazards, and transcription errors.
Abstract: The subjective nature of qualitative research necessitates scrupulous scientific methods to ensure valid results. Although qualitative methods such as grounded theory, phenomenology, and ethnography yield rich data, consumers of research need to be able to trust the findings reported in such studies. Researchers are responsible for establishing the trustworthiness of qualitative research through a variety of ways. Specific challenges faced in the field can seriously threaten the dependability of the data. However, by minimizing potential errors that can occur when doing fieldwork, researchers can increase the trustworthiness of the study. The purpose of this article is to present three of the pitfalls that can occur in qualitative research during data collection and transcription: equipment failure, environmental hazards, and transcription errors. Specific strategies to minimize the risk for avoidable errors will be discussed.
294 citations