EPH1023 Qualitative health research
Lecture: How can qualitative research be used to understand and address contemporary health
problems
- qualitative research
o Asking ‘what’, ‘how’ or ‘why’ of a
phenomenon, rather than questions
about ‘how many’ or ‘how much’
o Focus on complex relations between
1) personal and social meanings, 2)
individual and cultural practices and
3) the material environment or
context
o Understanding life in ways that
consider the perspectives and
experiences of people who live it
- quantitative research
o Numerical data Disciplinary roots of QHR
o Aim: e.g. to describe a population or measure
some tendency they observed qualitatively - Sociology (study of human
society)
o Concepts of health and
- Micro level: topics related to individuals roles, illness
identities and views o Inequalities in health
o Understanding, experiences, interpersonal o Experiences of health
communication, behaviour, practices and health care
- Meso level: topics related to social groups - Social anthropology (study of
o Such as organizations, networks, communities, people in the context of culture
hospitals and society)
- Macro level: topics related to the ways in which society - History
is structured
o Global networks, inequalities, environments, national policies
- qualitative health research
o Focus on human behaviour in context (social, cultural or historical, political or
economic)
o Tend to use language data
o Multiple perspectives
o Close attention to contexts
1
,EPH1023 Qualitative health research
Contributions of qualitative health research
1) Finding the unexpected
2) Understanding complex/ puzzling situations
3) Evaluating interventions
4) Asking critical questions
Orientations of qualitative research
- Naturalism
o Studying phenomena in their natural or everyday environment
o Focus of naturalistic research (social worlds)
- Reflexivity
o Researchers should also subject their own research practice analysis by:
Reflecting critically on the research itself
Considering the role of the researcher in generating and analysing their data
- Focus on meaning and understanding
o Researchers aim to understand perspectives and points of view of the participants in
the study
o Choices people and rationale need to be understood
o Seeks to identify what people do know, how they maintain their health and what the
underlying rationality of their behaviour is
- Flexible research strategies
o Flexible research strategy = can be adapted as early data are produced and analysed
o The degree of flexibility required depends on
The demands of the study
The perspective of the researcher
2
,EPH1023 Qualitative health research
Role for qualitative health research
- Decision-makers and practitioners are interested in a variety of questions (beyond
decontextualized effectiveness)
- Interested in: implementation of a solution, intervention, interested in health problems
therefore qualitative research is necessary
Formats of contribution
- Qualitative primary studies = searching for relevant publications that may inform decision-
making and practice in a particular situation
- Qualitative research conducted alongside quantitative = targeted research programs that
from the onset integrate both quantitative and qualitative lines of inquiry
- Qualitative synthesis = systematically bringing together results of primary qualita.ve studies
in order to reach an understanding of a phenomena of interest that would be better, deeper
and more comprehensive than in individual studies (for example, women’s expectations
regarding good antenatal care)
Lecture 1.2: Design
Selecting appropriate study designs
- Research design refers to the logic of the study: what, how and why of data production
- Design should be appropriate to the research question
- Research designs in health research:
o Experiments
o Surveys
o Observational Studies
o Case Studies
o Participatory designs and action research
- Two distinct ways the term ‘qualitative research’ is used in practice:
o To describe the orientation and design of a study (qualitative methodology)
o To describe the data collection methods used (qualitative methods)
Flexibility
- In qualitative research design has traditionally been ‘loose’ or flexible
o Aims/ data collection methods/ cases in the study/ time management may be
reshaped
3
, EPH1023 Qualitative health research
o Especially if little known on the topic (exploratory research/ identifying issues)
- But still qualitative research protocol/ proposal: what you want to know, how you will find
out and why
o not an outline
Problem statement
- narrow your focus: broad area specific issues
- Questions you should ask?
o Is this a problem that research can address?
o Is qualitative approach appropriate?
- Practical problem:
o Caused by some condition in the world that makes us unhappy
o You can often change something
- Research problem:
o Lack of knowledge or flawed understanding
o Solving: by better understanding
Research question:
- Should be clear, precise and refined
- Is researchable (specific enough to the study to produce data to answer)
From idea to research question
1. Literature about the topic
2. Mid-range theories with key concepts
3. Literature belonging to larger paradigms/theories within qualitative research
4. Clarifying key concepts and indicators for them
a. Operationalising concepts: what are your indicators for you key concepts (events or
phenomena that reflect components of the underlying concept of interest)
- Everything needs to fit together
o Problem, theoretical assumptions, research-questions should follow logically from
one another
o In qualitative research theory’s role is to sensitize the researcher
not to define strict boundaries or definitions
Not to define hypotheses or concepts
- Iterative nature of qualitative research
4
Lecture: How can qualitative research be used to understand and address contemporary health
problems
- qualitative research
o Asking ‘what’, ‘how’ or ‘why’ of a
phenomenon, rather than questions
about ‘how many’ or ‘how much’
o Focus on complex relations between
1) personal and social meanings, 2)
individual and cultural practices and
3) the material environment or
context
o Understanding life in ways that
consider the perspectives and
experiences of people who live it
- quantitative research
o Numerical data Disciplinary roots of QHR
o Aim: e.g. to describe a population or measure
some tendency they observed qualitatively - Sociology (study of human
society)
o Concepts of health and
- Micro level: topics related to individuals roles, illness
identities and views o Inequalities in health
o Understanding, experiences, interpersonal o Experiences of health
communication, behaviour, practices and health care
- Meso level: topics related to social groups - Social anthropology (study of
o Such as organizations, networks, communities, people in the context of culture
hospitals and society)
- Macro level: topics related to the ways in which society - History
is structured
o Global networks, inequalities, environments, national policies
- qualitative health research
o Focus on human behaviour in context (social, cultural or historical, political or
economic)
o Tend to use language data
o Multiple perspectives
o Close attention to contexts
1
,EPH1023 Qualitative health research
Contributions of qualitative health research
1) Finding the unexpected
2) Understanding complex/ puzzling situations
3) Evaluating interventions
4) Asking critical questions
Orientations of qualitative research
- Naturalism
o Studying phenomena in their natural or everyday environment
o Focus of naturalistic research (social worlds)
- Reflexivity
o Researchers should also subject their own research practice analysis by:
Reflecting critically on the research itself
Considering the role of the researcher in generating and analysing their data
- Focus on meaning and understanding
o Researchers aim to understand perspectives and points of view of the participants in
the study
o Choices people and rationale need to be understood
o Seeks to identify what people do know, how they maintain their health and what the
underlying rationality of their behaviour is
- Flexible research strategies
o Flexible research strategy = can be adapted as early data are produced and analysed
o The degree of flexibility required depends on
The demands of the study
The perspective of the researcher
2
,EPH1023 Qualitative health research
Role for qualitative health research
- Decision-makers and practitioners are interested in a variety of questions (beyond
decontextualized effectiveness)
- Interested in: implementation of a solution, intervention, interested in health problems
therefore qualitative research is necessary
Formats of contribution
- Qualitative primary studies = searching for relevant publications that may inform decision-
making and practice in a particular situation
- Qualitative research conducted alongside quantitative = targeted research programs that
from the onset integrate both quantitative and qualitative lines of inquiry
- Qualitative synthesis = systematically bringing together results of primary qualita.ve studies
in order to reach an understanding of a phenomena of interest that would be better, deeper
and more comprehensive than in individual studies (for example, women’s expectations
regarding good antenatal care)
Lecture 1.2: Design
Selecting appropriate study designs
- Research design refers to the logic of the study: what, how and why of data production
- Design should be appropriate to the research question
- Research designs in health research:
o Experiments
o Surveys
o Observational Studies
o Case Studies
o Participatory designs and action research
- Two distinct ways the term ‘qualitative research’ is used in practice:
o To describe the orientation and design of a study (qualitative methodology)
o To describe the data collection methods used (qualitative methods)
Flexibility
- In qualitative research design has traditionally been ‘loose’ or flexible
o Aims/ data collection methods/ cases in the study/ time management may be
reshaped
3
, EPH1023 Qualitative health research
o Especially if little known on the topic (exploratory research/ identifying issues)
- But still qualitative research protocol/ proposal: what you want to know, how you will find
out and why
o not an outline
Problem statement
- narrow your focus: broad area specific issues
- Questions you should ask?
o Is this a problem that research can address?
o Is qualitative approach appropriate?
- Practical problem:
o Caused by some condition in the world that makes us unhappy
o You can often change something
- Research problem:
o Lack of knowledge or flawed understanding
o Solving: by better understanding
Research question:
- Should be clear, precise and refined
- Is researchable (specific enough to the study to produce data to answer)
From idea to research question
1. Literature about the topic
2. Mid-range theories with key concepts
3. Literature belonging to larger paradigms/theories within qualitative research
4. Clarifying key concepts and indicators for them
a. Operationalising concepts: what are your indicators for you key concepts (events or
phenomena that reflect components of the underlying concept of interest)
- Everything needs to fit together
o Problem, theoretical assumptions, research-questions should follow logically from
one another
o In qualitative research theory’s role is to sensitize the researcher
not to define strict boundaries or definitions
Not to define hypotheses or concepts
- Iterative nature of qualitative research
4
