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A closer look at qualitative studies
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Qualitative research is regarded as subjective, meaning that it can be experienced and interpreted differently by each individual or often referred to as phenomena (Ryan, Coughlan & Cronin, 2007).
Qualitative studies can be very beneficial in the clinical setting, but must be carefully appraised due to the different physiological underpinnings. I think of qualitative research as being a seed that is planted. That seed then takes on a particular shape as it grows. The seed represents an idea or inquisitive question that could influence the outcome either positively or negative.
Studies that you may see are evaluating patient experiences after a visit to the clinic setting or hospital or a survey of staff for their opinion on current practices.
The results can be different for each patient or employee based on their experience. A study relating to my PICOT question, "Is chlorhexidine an appropriate cleaning agent for CAUTI (Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection) prevention in patients with an indwelling catheter", discusses staff that were interviewed on barriers that prevented implementation of a CAUTI bundle.
This is a qualitative study because it is subjective, each person will have an answered based on their experiences with the CAUTI bundle (Krein, Kowalski, Harrod, Forman & Saint, 2013).
Another study that shows a qualitative study is study carried out in a neurological hospital setting. The qualitative study looked at patient perspectives on the peri-operative process of catheterization (Bhardwaj, Pickard, Carrick-Sen & Brittain, 2012). The purpose of the study was to apply patient beliefs to current and/or future practices. Each individual will have a different opinion based on their experience.
A study that I believe would be beneficial to my PICOT question is conduction interviews of staff on their opinion of how the effect of low CAUTI prevention supplies affects them doing their job. This is a qualitative study design that could impact how hospitals stock supplies and how they choose the supplier.
Theories in nursing can be born from qualitative research studies. The qualitative study results can help shape a hypothesis, which can become a theory. Not only is qualitative study subjective to those in the study, but the results can be interpreted as subjective.
By this I am implying that the researcher may take or have a different hypothesis than the next researcher in the same study. The theory then becomes a quantitative study that can provide numerical data and thus you have evidenced-based practice developing.
References
Bhardwaj, R., Pickard, R., Carrick-Sen, D., & Brittain, K. (2012). Patients' perspectives on timing of urinary catheter removal after surgery. British Journal Of Nursing, 21(18, Supp), S4.
Krein, S. L., Kowalski, C. P., Harrod, M., Forman, J., & Saint, S. (2013). Barriers to reducing urinary catheter use: a qualitative assessment of a statewide initiative. JAMA Internal Medicine, 173(10), 881-886. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.105
Ryan, F., Coughlan, M., & Cronin, P. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: qualitative research. British Journal Of Nursing, 16(12), 738-744.
Thing to Remember:
• Answer this discussion with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources.
• 1 References, find resources that are 5 years or less
• No errors with APA format 6 Edition