Qualitative Methods in Health Research
DMR
Distinction between Quantitative and
Qualitative research
Dr. Thida, Deputy Director, DMR (POLB)
Source: Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Research— https://www.ikoninternational.org/news3
Purpose
Qualitative
• Understanding context
• Understanding people
• Understanding interaction and reasons
Quantitative
• To test hypothesis
• To identify cause and effect
• To make prediction
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Qualitative Quantitative Character
As a primary instrument in data collection
Focus on the set questionnaire
Role of researcher
Research problem
Research question
Hypothesis
Explore a concept or phenomenon
To understand factors or variables influence an outcome
Why, what, howHow many, how significant, how often
Usually not established prior
Usually established prior
Approach Narrative, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnographies, and case study
Experimental or non-experimental
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Qualitative Quantitative Character
Documents, observations, interviews, workshops
Forms, questionnaire, IQ test, measurements
Data collection methods
Question format
Data
What to observe
Semi-structured, unstructured
Structured
Words, pictures or videos
Numbers
Behavior, complexityScale, trends
Result Themes or patterns that emerge from the data
Summary statistics
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Qualitative Quantitative Character
In words, attention is paid to particulars rather than generalizations
Try to generalizationInterpretation
Rigor TrustworthinessValidity and reliability measures
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References
• John W. Creswell Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches ASGE Publications, Inc (2013)
• Mack N, Family Health International, United States, Agency for International Development. Qualitative research methods: a data collector’s field guide, 2005.
• Wai Wai Han, Lecture notes on qualitative research
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