How can you tell if a study is qualitative or quantitative? As you progress through this book, you should be able to identify most studies as qualitative versus quantitative based simply on the title, or based on terms in the abstract at the beginning of the report. At this point, though, it may be easi- est to distinguish the two types of studies based on how many numbersappear in the report, espe- cially in tables. Qualitative studies may have no tables with quantitative information, or only one numeric table describing participants’ characteristics (e.g., the percentage who were male or female). Quantitative studies typically have several tables with numbers and statistical information.
Qualitative studies often have “word tables” or diagrams and figures illustrating processes inferred from the narrative information gathered.
about and respect both approaches to disciplined inquiry, and to recognize their respective strengths and limitations. In this textbook, we describe methods associ- ated with both qualitative and quantitative research.
Using a descriptive or explanatory framework, the specific purposes of nursing research include identification, description, exploration, prediction or control and explanation. For each purpose, various types of question are addressed by nurse researchers—some more amenable to qualitative than to quantitative inquiry, and vice versa.
Identification and Description
Qualitative researchers sometimes study phenomena about which little is known. In some cases, so little is known that the phenomenon has yet to be clearly identified or named or has been inadequately defined or conceptualized.
The in-depth, probing nature of qualitative research is well suited to the task of answering such questions as, “What is this phenomenon?” and “What is its name?” (Table 1.3). In quantitative research, by contrast, researchers begin with a phenomenon that has been previously studied or defined—sometimes in a qualitative study. Thus, in quantitative research, identification typically precedes the inquiry.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS: TYPES OF QUESTIONS:
PURPOSE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Identification
Description
Exploration
Prediction and Control
Explanation
RESEARCH PURPOSES AND TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS TABLE 1.3
How prevalent is the phenomenon?
How often does the phenomenon occur?
What are the characteristics of the phenomenon?
What factors are related to the phenomenon?
What are the antecedents of the phenomenon?
If phenomenon X occurs, will phenomenon Y follow?
How can we make the phenomenon occur or alter its prevalence?
Can the phenomenon be prevented or controlled?
What is the underlying cause of the phenomenon or the causal pathway through which the phenomenon unfolds?
Does the theory explain the phenomenon?
What is this phenomenon?
What is its name?
What are the dimensions of the phenomenon?
What is important about the phenomenon?
What is the full nature of the phenomenon?
What is really going on here?
What is the process by which the phenomenon evolves or is experienced?
How does the phenomenon work?
Why does the phenomenon exist?
What does the phenomenon mean?
How did the phenomenon occur?
Qualitative example of identification:
Giske and Gjengedal (2007) conducted an in-depth study of how patients coped while going through a gastric diagnosis, pending the results of diagnostic workups. They identified a process that they called preparative waitingthat described how patients braced themselves.
Description of phenomena is an important purpose of research. In descriptive studies, researchers observe, count, delineate, elucidate, and classify. Nurse researchers have described a wide variety of phenomena. Examples include patients’ stress, pain responses, and health beliefs. Quantitative description focuses on the prevalence, incidence, size, and measurable attributes of phenomena. Qual- itative researchers, on the other hand, describe the dimensions, variations, and importance of phenomena. Table 1.3 compares descriptive questions posed by quantitative and qualitative researchers.
Quantitative example of description:
Carls (2007) described the prevalence of stress urninary incontinence in young female athletes partici- pating in high impact sports, and the rate at which they had told someone of their problem.
Exploration
Like descriptive research, exploratory research begins with a phenomenon of inter- est; but rather than simply observing and describing it, exploratory researchers inves- tigate the full nature of the phenomenon, the manner in which it is manifested, and the other factors to which it is related—including potential factors that might be causing it. For example, a descriptive quantitative study of patients’ preoperative stress might seek to document the degree of stress patients experience before surgery and the percentage of patients who experience it. An exploratory study might ask:
What factors diminish or increase a patient’s stress? Is a patient’s stress related to behaviors of the nursing staff? Is stress related to the patient’s cultural backgrounds?
Qualitative methods are useful for exploring the full nature of little-understood phe- nomena. Exploratory qualitative research is designed to shed light on the various ways in which a phenomenon is manifested and on underlying processes.
Qualitative example of exploration:
Im and colleagues (2008) explored the experience of cancer pain in African American patients with cancer through a 6-month online forum.
Prediction and Control
Many phenomena defy explanation and resist efforts to understand their causes.
Yet it is frequently possible to make predictions and to control phenomena based on research findings, even in the absence of complete understanding. For example, research has shown that the incidence of Down syndrome in infants increases with the age of the mother. We can thus predict that a woman aged 40 years is at higher risk of bearing a child with Down syndrome than is a woman aged 25 years. We can partially control the outcome by educating women about the risks and offering
amniocentesis to women older than 35 years of age. Note, however, that the ability to predict and control in this example does not depend on an explanation of what causes older women to be at a higher risk of having an abnormal child. In many nursing and health-related studies—typically, quantitative ones—prediction and control are key objectives. Although explanatory studies are powerful in an EBP environment, studies whose purpose is prediction and control are also critical in helping clinicians make decisions.
Quantitative example of prediction:
Harton and colleagues (2007) conducted a study to identify factors that predicted return to preopera- tive incentive spirometry volume following cardiac surgery.
Explanation
The goals of explanatory research are to understand the underpinnings of specific natural phenomena—often, to explain what caused them. Explanatory research is often linked to theories, which represent a method of organizing and integrating ideas about phenomena and their interrelationships. Whereas descriptive research provides new information, and exploratory research provides promising insights, explanatory research attempts to offer understanding of the underlying causes or full nature of a phenomenon. In quantitative research, theories or prior findings are used deductively to generate hypothesized explanations that are then tested empir- ically. In qualitative studies, researchers may search for explanations about how or why a phenomenon exists or what a phenomenon means as a basis for developing a theory that is grounded in rich, in-depth, experiential evidence.
Quantitative example of explanation:
Blue (2007) tested a theoretic model to explain physical activity and dietary patterns among adults at risk for diabetes. The model purported to explain positive health behaviors on the basis of theoretically relevant concepts, such as subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.
Qualitative example of explanation:
Coughlan and Ward (2007) conducted a study that sought to explain the meaning of “quality of care”
for recently relocated residents from two older hospital-style facilities to a new long-term care facility in Canada.