Qualitative vs Quantitative Research in Nursing

• Nursing Research Qualitative and Quantitative Research In general, quantitative research attempts to understand the causal or correlational relationship between variables by testing hypotheses. For example, it is likely to discover exactly how many periods per second a hummingbird’s wings beat and the quantity of the corresponding properties of its physiology (heart rate, temperature, etc.).
• Qualitative research, on the other hand, tries to understand a phenomenon in the context of the real world through interviews and observation. “Qualitative research” refers to any research that relies on something impossible to accurately and precisely measure. For example, although you could conduct a survey of job satisfaction and then say with certainty that such and such a percentage of respondents are very satisfied with their job, it is not likely to come up with an accurate, standard arithmetical scale for measuring job approval. The exact level of job satisfaction.

Examples of Quantitative and Qualitative research are the following:

  Quantitative research

• Quantitative research
• Considered hard science
• Objective
• Deductive reasoning used to synthesize data
• Focus—concise and narrow

 Qualitative research

• Qualitative research
• Considered soft science
• Subjective
• Inductive reasoning used to synthesize data
• Focus—complex and broad
• Develops theory
• Basis of knowing—meaning, discovery
• The basic element of analysis—words, narrative
• Many realities that are repeatedly changing with separate interpretation

Types of Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative research is a general term that includes a variety of qualitative research methods used to provide an adequate explanation for certain phenomena and to provide satisfactory answers to the questions that such phenomena may raise, and according to the nursing essay writer any special case is characterized. In such a situation, the roles of various qualitative research methods are to provide the researcher with an in-depth analysis of the situation and a meaningful interpretation of the role of those involved in it. In other words, qualitative research aims not only to describe a set of events but to understand the nature of people’s experiences with those events.

There are four types of qualitative research methods:

Grounded theory, ethnography, phenomenology, and case study research. Grounded theory is a qualitative method that uses primarily first-hand (and sometimes second-hand) information on which the researcher can base their inferences to construct a new theory. Let’s take the famous ‘Newton and the apple story as an example. It is said that Newton sat under an apple tree contemplating the mysteries of the universe and saw an apple falling from the tree and crashing to the ground. Supposedly that was enough to get the idea of ​​gravity out.

The only empirical (first-hand) evidence he had was that one moment the apple was hanging from the tree and the next moment he was watching the same apple fall to the ground. Based on that alone, Newton logically deduced (and he was right, or at least that’s what we’ve thought so far) that there must be some kind of force pulling the apple toward the ground, that force must be gravity. In flat wards, the grounded theory attempts to explain how and why something works the way it does, based on empirical evidence and the strength of inference.

Phenomenology, on the other hand, tries to shed light on the structures of consciousness so that we can better understand the nature of subjective experience. In reality, it deals not with “why something happens as it happens” but “how and why it is perceived as it is perceived by the human mind”.

The third main approach to qualitative research is ethnography, which attention to the cultural insight of an occasion. How social norms influence people’s judgments and how people’s judgments shape cultural norms. Ethnography places a special emphasis on societal values ​​and beliefs, the practices that affirm these values, and the language that essentially gives life to culture (as it functions as the main means of understanding “truth”).

The last of the four types of qualitative research methods in case study research examines a person or a situation in isolation from others. This type of research method is often used by psychologists and psychiatrists when dealing with a patient whose case exhibits unprecedented characteristics.

Qualitative research example in nursing

• Various methods are available for qualitative research. Examples of qualitative methods used in nursing research include theory building, phenomenology, ethnography, and qualitative description. Each method has its assumptions and objectives and an appropriate method is chosen according to the research question.

Qualitative research designs

While qualitative research designs do emerge, advanced planning and careful consideration require identifying a phenomenon of interest, choosing a research design, specifying broad data collection strategies and opportunities to improve study quality, and considering and/or setting aside (brackets) personal biases should contain opinions and assumptions.

Many qualitative research designs are used in nursing. Most originate from other disciplines, while some claim to have no connection to any particular disciplinary tradition. Designs that are not tied to a discipline, such as descriptive designs can take techniques from other methodologies; some authors do not consider them rigorous (high quality and reliable).

Sampling approaches

Sampling approaches depend on the qualitative research design chosen. In general, however, qualitative samples are small, non-random, randomly selected, and heavily studied. Qualitative research sampling is extra about precisely representing and exploring a sense of inexperience rather than generalizability. Therefore, researchers tend to look for participants or informants who are considered “information-rich” because they maximize understanding by representing varying demographics and/or ranges of experience.

By way of a study progresses, researchers search for participants who approve, question, modify, or improve the understanding of the incidence of interest. Several authors claim that ideas and constructs learned in qualitative research exceed a particular study and discovery applicability to others. For example, consider a qualitative study of minority nursing faculty’s lived experiences and the rudeness they endured. The concepts well-read in this study may exceed nursing or minority ability and may also be put on to other populations such as external students, nurses, or talent supporters.