Answer to Question 1
ANS: A, E
Qualitative nurse researchers have conducted studies with the purpose of exploring and describing a topic of interest but, at times, have not identified a specific qualitative methodology. Qualitative descriptive research is a legitimate method of research that may be the appropriate label for studies that have no clearly specified method or when the method was specified but ended with a comprehensive summary of an event in the everyday terms of these events. Labeling a study as a specific type (grounded theory, phenomenology, or ethnographic) implies fixed categories of research with distinct boundaries, but the boundaries between methods are more appropriately viewed as permeable. Although the studies result in descriptions and could be labeled as descriptive qualitative studies, most of the researchers are in the exploratory stage of studying the subject of interest.
Answer to Question 2
ANS: B, D
The purpose of phenomenological research is to describe experiences (or phenomena) as they are livedin phenomenological terms, to capture the lived experience of study participants. During the process of data collection, the meaning the participants attach to their experience is revealed. All phenomenologists agree that there is not a single reality: each individual has his or her own reality. While phenomenology can be used indirectly in the development of a theory, grounded theory is the method intended to generate theory. Observing and documenting interactions within a culture describes ethnographic research.