Qualitative Research Methodology

Provide an Overview of Qualitative Research Methodology

Qualitative research methodology has become an essential aspect of developing knowledge in health sciences and nursing practice. Its primary purpose is explaining, exploring, and describing the phenomenon being studied. Qualitative research methodology is inductive instead of deductive, and it starts with broad exploratory concepts and questions. It is mainly used in health sciences and nursing in situations where not much is known about a phenomenon or in scenarios of existing gaps in knowledge. The primary distinguishing characteristics of qualitative research methodology is that the researcher is regarded as an essential instrument in data collection and the ensuing data is either narrative descriptions or words instead of numbers (Choy, 2014). In qualitative research methodology, the participants are primarily selected for their knowledge and familiarity with the phenomenon of concern instead of sampling or random selection.

Discuss Two Different Types of Qualitative Research Design

This paper explores grounded theory and phenomenology qualitative research designs. Grounded theory refers to a methodical procedure of analyzing data that provides researchers with an opportunity to establish a theory or an explanation behind an event or phenomenon. The theory originates from Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in the late 1960’s. Grounded theory is characterized by continuous comparison of data and theoretical sampling. Researchers prefer grounded theory when dealing with a phenomenon dealing with social processes fundamental to human behavior and experiences. The primary data collection methods include the use of existing documents and interviews. Data analysis and collection take place concurrently, and each piece of data is continuously contrasted and compared with existing established concepts (Lewis, 2015). Phenomenology research design originated from philosophy and was developed by Martin Heideggar and Edmund Husserl in the early 20th century. The main aim of phenomenology is to describe a phenomenon of concern as it is experienced and lived by the participants (Lewis, 2015). The key data collection method employed by this research design is in-depth interviews.