Which of the following statements about qualitative research is ...

[EAugust]

Which of the following statements about qualitative research is accurate? (Select all that apply.)
 
  a. Qualitative research deals exclusively with humans.
  b. Qualitative research's principal purpose is to inform the reader.
  c. Qualitative research yields data that are not numbers-based, such as audiotapes, videotapes, and field notes.
  d. Qualitative research is not systematic.
  e. Qualitative research does not contain or imply a research question.
  f. Qualitative research is ill-defined and vague.
  g. Qualitative research has no practical use.

Question 2

A researcher reviews the twenty years that a breast cancer clinic has been in operation in a small Midwestern city.
 
  The researcher interviews many of the women who have been treated in the clinic during this period and reviews the records of the clinic, along with its survival rates and the emergence of several of its innovative support programs for women and their families. The researcher ultimately writes a story of the clinic over those twenty years. What type of research is this?
  a. Phenomenologic research
  b. Grounded theory research
  c. Ethnographic research
  d. Historicism

[smrtceo]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: B, C
Qualitative researchers use observations, interviews, and focus groups to gather data. The interactions are guided but not controlled in the way that quantitative data collection is controlled. For example, the researcher may ask subjects to share their experiences of powerlessness in the health care system. Qualitative researchers would begin interpreting the subjective data during data collection, recognizing that their interpretation is influenced by their own perceptions and beliefs. Qualitative data take the form of words and are analyzed according to the qualitative approach that is being used. The intent of the analysis is to organize the data into a meaningful, individualized interpretation, framework, or theory that describes the phenomenon studied. The findings from a qualitative study are unique to that study, and it is not the researcher's intent to generalize the findings to a larger population. Qualitative researchers are encouraged to question generalizations and to interpret meaning based on individual study participants' perceptions and realities.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D
Phenomenologic research examines the lived experiences of participants and the meanings those experiences hold for them, drawing its results only from the participants' views. Grounded theory research defines under-researched concepts and explains them within a social framework, building on both observation and the perceptions of the persons who are familiar with the concepts, and sometimes generating theory; it emphasizes interaction, observation, and development of relationships among concepts. Ethnography defines shared characteristics of members of a culture or participants who share in a common characteristic, and explains commonalities, often within a cultural framework, using observation, interview, and other data collection strategies; through the use of ethnographic research, different cultures are described, compared, and contrasted to add to our understanding of the impact of culture on the human experience. Historicism tells the story of past events, reconstructing these from other historical references, interviews, artifacts, art, and other sources that reflect the time of interest.