What are the uses of qualitative research methods? Select all that apply.
A. Guiding nursing practice.
B. Studying the effects of nursing care on an outcome variable.
C. Developing survey instruments.
D. Developing nursing theory.
Correct Answers: A, C, D
Qualitative research refers to a method of inquiry in which the researcher, acting as a data collection instrument, seeks to answer questions about how or why a particular phenomenon occurs. Questions regarding what a phenomenon is comprised may also guide qualitative research
Option A: The most fundamental assumption underlying qualitative research is that reality is something socially constructed on an individual basis. Varied methods of qualitative research exist. Examples of qualitative methods employed in nursing research include grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography, and qualitative description.
Option B: Regardless of method, participants are purposefully enrolled based on their familiarity with the phenomenon. Data are generally collected via one or a combination of three mechanisms: interviews, observation, or document/photograph review.
Option C: Qualitative findings provide idiographic knowledge about human experiences to readers, who can apply qualitative findings to the care of individuals who are in situations similar to that of those in the sample from which findings came
Option D: Qualitative findings are not generalizable in the prevalent sense of the word—they do not provide laws or relationships that can be taken from a single sample and applied to entire populations. Rather, they are generalizable in a way that is particularly pertinent to nursing practice, in which there is an expectation that scientific findings, and nursing care itself, be tailored to unique individuals in their distinct contexts.