Qualitative Research Methods

Week Overview

Week 4 shifts focus to qualitative research methods — the approaches used to explore meaning, experience, and social context in healthcare. You will study phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and case study methodology, understanding when and why each approach is most appropriate. This week emphasizes the criteria for trustworthiness in qualitative research, including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, and how these parallel validity and reliability in quantitative work.

Learning Objectives

• Compare major qualitative traditions (phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory)
• Design qualitative data collection strategies including interviews and observation
• Apply coding and thematic analysis techniques to qualitative data
• Evaluate qualitative research using trustworthiness criteria
• Articulate the value of qualitative evidence in clinical decision-making