2008-Issue1.indd SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY MEDICAL JOURNAL MARCH 2008, VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1, P. 11-19 SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY© SUBMITTED - 20TH JANUARY 2008 ACCEPTED - 4TH FEBRUARY 2008 Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Email: zakiyaq@squ.edu.om Qualitative Research and its Uses in Health Care Zakiya Q Al-Busaidi R E V I E W ABSTRACT Although relatively uncommon in health care research, qualitative research is now receiving recognition and is increas- ingly used in health care research with social and cultural dimensions. Unlike quantitative research, which is deductive and tends to analyze phenomena in terms of trends and frequencies, qualitative research seeks to determine the meaning of a phenomenon through description. It aims to develop concepts that aid in the understanding of natural phenomena with emphasis on the meaning, experiences and views of the participants. Differences among qualitative researchers exist on matters of ontology, epistemology, data collection methods and methods of evaluation. The aim of this article is not to act as a practical guide on how to conduct qualitative research, but is an attempt to give an introduction to qualitative research methods and their use in health-related research. Keywords: Health Care; Qualitative Research; Phenomenology; Ethnography; Interviews, semi-structured; Focus Groups. الصحية الرعاية في واستعماالته البحث النوعي البوسعيدي زكية ــتغلني املش ــاط أوس بني اهتماما ورواجا بدأت تلقى أنها اال ، الصحية الرعاية بحوث في النوعي البحث طرق ــتعمال اس من قلة الرغم على امللخص: حتليل على تعتمد والتي ، املتعارف عليها الكمية البحوث عن البحوث من النوع هذا ويختلف والثقافية. ــاد األجتماعية األبع ذات الصحية ــاث باألبح في ــاعد تس تكوين مفاهيم وهدف األخيرة البحث. قيد الظواهر ووصف ــير تفس على النوعية البحث طرق تعتمد بينما االحصائية، بالطرق الظواهر بعلم يتعلق فيما النوعية البحوث ــن اختالفات ايضا ضم هناك . ــاركني املش نظر ووجهات وخبرات معنى على التأكيد مع الطبيعية ــر الظواه ــم فه ، القيام بالبحث النوعي كيفية حول عملي دليل تقدمي املراجعة هذه من الهدف ليس النتائج. البيانات وحتليل جمع وطريقة املعرفة ــة ونظري ــود الوج . الصحية البحوث مجال في واستخداماتها النوعية البحث طرق الى ولكنها محاولة لوضع مدخال . االهتمام ، مجموعات منظم نصف املقابالت ، ، االثنية ، اجلغرافيا علم الظواهر ، النوعي البحث الصحية ، الرعاية : الكلمات مفتاح QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS AN umbrella term covering an array of inter-pretative techniques which seek to de- scribe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.1,2 As a method of inquiry, it was first used by sociolo- gists and anthropologists in the early twentieth cen- tury, although it existed much earlier than that in its non-structural form. Researchers studied cultures and groups in their own and foreign settings and told sto- ries of their experience long before then. In the 1920s and 1930s, social anthropologists and sociologists implemented a more focused approach compared to the old unsystematic and journalistic style used in those days. Since the 1960s, qualitative research has experienced a steady growth starting with the devel- opment of grounded theory and new publications in ethnography.3, 4 The number of books, articles and papers related to qualitative research has increased tremendously during the past 20 years and more re- searchers, including health-related professionals, have moved to a more qualitative paradigm adapting and modifying these approaches to the study needs of their own areas. 4 Since qualitative research does not aim to enu- merate, it is sometimes viewed as the exact opposite to quantitative methods and the two methods are frequently presented as antagonists. Quantitative re- search is based on structure and uses experiments and surveys as methods. In addition, it is deductive in nature and uses statistical sampling methods. In contrast, qualitative research is described as an action research using observation and interview methods. It is inductive in nature and depends on the purposeful Z A K I YA Q A L - B U S A I D I 12 selection of participants. Whereas quantitative re- searchers use reliability as a way of verification, quali- tative researchers use validity. Recently, there has been a growing recognition that the quantitative-qualita- tive debate and distinction is unnecessary and that it would be more fruitful for the relation between the two methods to be complementary and overlapping rather than exclusive.6 In fact, neither qualitative nor quantitative research is superior to the other; there are weaknesses and strengths in each method. Qualitative and quantitative research methods can indeed be seen as complementary and both are necessary to provide an understanding of a phenomenon. Several researchers have argued that the research questions and the phenomenon under investigation should determine the methodology to used.7, 8, 9 The crucial question, therefore, is not “what is the best re- search method?” but “what is the best research meth- od for answering this question most effectively and efficiently?” 10 So, while qualitative and quantitative research may well investigate similar topics, each will address a different type of question. Holman sums up this position: “true understanding in medicine cannot be achieved without adding qualitative methods to the research arsenal”.11 Traditional quantitative methods, such as ran- domised controlled trials, are the appropriate means of testing, for example, the effect of an intervention or a treatment, while a qualitative exploration of beliefs and understandings is needed to find out why the re- sults of research are often not implemented in clinical practice. The aim of qualitative research is to develop concepts that can help us understand social phenom- ena in natural settings, giving emphasis on the mean- ings, experiences and views of the participants.10 Qualitative research methods are the most suit- able for this approach because of their emphasis on people’s lived experience. They are considered to be well suited for locating the meanings that people place on the events, processes, and structures of their lives and their perceptions, presuppositions and assump- tions. 5 In his advice to graduate students, Patton lists a number of conditions that are suitable for a quali- tative study. These include: questions about people’s experiences; inquiry into the meanings people make of their experiences; studying a person in the context of her or his social/interpersonal environment and research where it is difficult to develop a standard- ised instrument due to the lack of knowledge on the phenomenon.12 A R G U M E N T S F O R A N D A G A I N S T Q U A L I T A T I V E M E T H O D S There are major differences of opinions among quali- tative researchers on matters of ontology and episte- mology as well as the methods to be used and crite- ria of evaluation. There are also disagreements about the nature, purpose, status and practice of its meth- ods. A large number of authors take a predominantly method-based approach; authors such as Miles and Huberman5 and Patton 12 put emphasis on data collec- tion techniques. Another approach is to classify quali- tative research according to research traditions, i.e. whether phenomenological, grounded theory or eth- nography, amongst others. Authors such as Creswel9 and Denzin and Lincolin3 prefer this approach, which has the advantage of being based on systematisation of knowledge providing a sense of order and orientation. On the other hand, it has the disadvantage of oversim- plification, ignoring the issues of the research question and conceptual frameworks used and the way these is- sues can shape the research process and the findings.13 In addition, some researchers have decided to classify qualitative research according to the research ques- tion or the method of analysis. Although the majority of qualitative researchers stress that qualitative research is inductive in nature, in contrast to quantitative research which is deduc- tive, there are qualitative researchers who argue that both can be used for different purposes and at differ- ent times, and that qualitative research can be done in a deductive way where prior assumptions are tested on new cases.14 Retroduction, which is defined as the movement backward and forward between theory and data or the combination of deduction and induction, is said to be a characteristic of qualitative research.11 The degree of deduction or induction and which one follows the other depends on the research question.12. Guba and Lincoln15 used the term “emergent de- sign” to describe a qualitative study design that emerges as the study progresses in response to the researcher’s early observations. There are also qualitative studies in health care that base their research questions on the results of prior literature of quantitative studies on the subject.16, 17 While the research questions in these studies were relatively precise, the method used was flexible. Miles and Huberman5 state that no study con- 13 Q UA L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H A N D I T S U S E S I N H E A LT H C A R E forms exactly to a standard methodology and that the researcher bends the methodology to the peculiari- ties of the study. According to Creswell,9 traditions of inquiry used “need not be pure, and one might mix procedures from several”. Mixing approaches and pro- cedures is encouraged by some authors and regarded as a creative approach to qualitative research.12 Studies using qualitative research in health care have been criticised for the misguided separation of method from theory and of technique from the con- ceptual underpinnings.18 However, qualitative health researchers respond by stating that the choice of meth- od and how it is used can perfectly well be matched to what is being studied rather than to the methodologi- cal leanings of the researcher.10 It has been suggested that incorporating qualitative research method experts into health research teams enriches research and en- sures that the right methodology is used for answering the right questions. Finally, using qualitative methods in health-related research has resulted in more insight into health professionals’ perceptions of lay participa- tion in care and identification of barriers to changing healthcare practice. Q UA L I TATI V E R E SE A R C H A PPR OA C H E S Grounded theory, phenomenology and ethnography are three approaches used in qualitative research. Grounded theory approach is a commonly used quali- tative method in the social sciences to inductively generate or discover a theory out of the data.9 Phe- nomenology and ethnography are more commonly used qualitative approaches in health care and will be highlighted below. PH E N OME N O L O G Y One of the major strengths of qualitative research is its emphasis upon understanding the phenomenon of interest holistically and in its context. The term phenomenology is popular and widely embraced, but its meaning has become confusing and faint. Differ- ent researchers refer to phenomenology differently. It can refer to an inquiry paradigm, an interpretive theory, a philosophy, an analytical perspective, a ma- jor qualitative research tradition or a research method framework.12 In spite of the differences, all of these approaches share the focus of phenomenology, which is exploring how human beings make sense of experience and the meaning they give to these experiences. Phenomenol- ogy is being used in the social and human sciences in- cluding sociology, education, psychology, nursing and health sciences.9 Phenomenologists are interested in how people put together the phenomena they experience in such a way as to make sense of the world and develop a worldview. They assume commonality in human ex- perience and focus on meaning-making as the essence of human experience. The essence is the core mean- ing mutually understood through a phenomenon commonly experienced.12 The phenomenon under study may be emotions, relationships, a programme, an organisation or a culture.12 Bracketing is one of the central ideas in phenomenology. It means that the re- searcher has to set aside all of his prejudgments and his previous experience about the phenomena and ap- proach the field with an open mind, imagination and intuition. Although important, bracketing is often said to be a difficult task.9 Patton12 describes the difference between conduct- ing a phenomenological study and using a phenom- enological perspective to a study. He argues that, “one can employ a general phenomenological perspective to elucidate the importance of using methods that capture people’s experience of the world without con- ducting a phenomenological study that focuses on the essence of shared experience”. E TH N O GR A PH Y In ethnography, the researcher studies the structure and function of a group of people. An example of a structure or configuration is the kinship, while the function refers to patterns of relationships affecting and regulating behaviour.9 The aim of ethnographic studies is to give a holistic picture of the social group studied, attempting to describe aspects of the cultural and social system of that particular group. These as- pects could be the group history, religion, economy, politics or environment. Data collection methods vary in ethnographic studies with observation and interviews being the most popular methods. Although some authors ex- pressed concern that anthropological methods may be misused or applied superficially by the medical profession,19 others, however, expressed the need for acknowledging and incorporating ethnographic methods in health care research.20 Savage19 explains that today the term ethnography can be applied to any small-scale social research carried out in everyday settings and uses several methods evolving in design Z A K I YA Q A L - B U S A I D I 14 and focusing on an individual’s meanings and expla- nations. In health care, ethnography has been used in topics related to health beliefs and practices, allowing these issues to be viewed in the context in which they occur and therefore helping broaden the understand- ing of behaviours related to health and illness.20 In addition, there has been an increase in the amount of cross-cultural research and a change in the form of this research. Recently, more short-term eth- nographic and cross-cultural studies have been under- taken, for example, studies sponsored by international development agencies or student exchange projects.12 Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H I N S T R U M E N T S Qualitative research instruments used for data collec- tion include interviews, observations, and analysis of documents. Interviews are the most common tech- niques used to gather research information. There are three types of interviews: structured, semi-structured and unstructured, described in some books as struc- tured, informed and guided, respectively.13 The semi-structured interview is more commonly used in health care-related qualitative research. Such an interview is characteristically based on a flexible topic guide that provides a loose structure of open- ended questions to explore experiences and attitudes. It has the advantage of great flexibility, enabling the researcher to enter new areas and produce richer data. In addition, it helps the researcher to develop a rap- port with the informants. Semi-structured interviews elicit people’s own views and descriptions and have the benefit of uncovering issues or concerns that have not been anticipated by the researcher.6 They are com- monly used when the aim is to gain information on the perspectives, understandings and meanings con- structed by people regarding the events and experi- ences of their lives. However, this type of interviewing is claimed to reduce the researcher’s control over the interview situation and take a longer time to conduct and analyse, in addition to the difficulties of the analy- sis process.21 In health care, interviews are the appropriate tool to be used if the research is concerned with interper- sonal aspects of care or if the available evidence is limited.6 Another qualitative research instrument that can be used in health care research is the focus group. Focus group interviews have the advantage of being more time efficient as more people can be interviewed for the same amount of time. They also provide a richer source of data. On the other hand, focus group interviews tend to document the ‘public’ rather than the ‘private’ views of the individuals. In addition some people do not interview well in-group situations.13 T H E U S E O F T H E I N T E R V I E W G U I D E Some qualitative researchers are reluctant to plan a design of their study in advance of the data collec- tion. They argue that the phenomenon studied must first be discovered and they describe their design as emergent. However, increasingly more qualitative re- searchers appear ready to define a research question and develop an interview guide prior to starting the data collection.11 Patton defines an interview guide as a series of topics or broad interview questions which the researcher is free to explore and probe with the interviewee.12 The advantage of an interview guide is that it helps the interviewer pursue the same basic lines of inquiry with each person interviewed and manage the interviews in a more systematic and comprehen- sive way. The findings of earlier work are increasingly being used as a facilitator for further research. How- ever, concepts drawn from earlier work are supposed to be held lightly and to be subject to reformulation or rejection by the researcher especially as the study goes on and the research progresses.11 The extent to which such a flexibility of design is important will vary depending on the topic and the aim of the study. S A M P L I N G Sampling strategies in qualitative research are largely determined by the purpose of the study. Statistical representativeness is not considered as a prime re- quirement in qualitative research and is not normally sought. Furthermore, qualitative data collection is more time consuming and expensive, which makes the use of a probability sample impractical.6 The aim of sampling in qualitative research is to identify specif- ic groups of people who hold characteristics or live in circumstances relevant to the phenomena being stud- ied. In this way, identified informants are expected to enable enriched exploration of attitudes and aspects of behaviour relevant to the research.10 Two types of samples used in qualitative research, maximum varia- tion and homogenous samples, are explained below. According to Patton, 12 maximum variation sam- 15 Q UA L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H A N D I T S U S E S I N H E A LT H C A R E pling is where the researcher attempts to study a phe- nomenon by seeking out settings or persons that rep- resent the greatest differences in that phenomenon. A maximum variation sample documents diverse variations and identifies important common patterns by representing diverse cases to develop fully multi- ple perspectives about the cases.9 This means that the participants are sampled based on particular prede- termined criteria in order to cover a range of constitu- encies, such as different age, cultural background or class.6 Similarly, the researcher can select the setting of the data collection on the basis that it is sufficiently similar to other settings in which generalisation is sought. This way the researcher is demonstrating the possibility that the setting studied is representative of the population studied.2 In homogeneous sampling, the researcher chooses a small homogenous sample with the purpose of de- scribing some particular subgroups in depth.12 The sample size in qualitative research is not deter- mined by fixed rules, but by factors such as the depth and duration of the interview and what is feasible for a single interviewer.22 Although it is theoretically possi- ble to carry out qualitative research on large samples, qualitative researchers find themselves obliged by time and resource limits to trade breadth for depth.11 The sample size for interview studies is usually much smaller than those of a quantitative research, usually not exceeding 50 participants, although this can vary with the research question asked.6 Patton12 states, “there are no rules for sample size in qualitative in- quiry”. In other words, sample size depends on the aim of the study and what is possible, given the time and resources available. A N A L Y S I N G Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H Although there are plenty of guidelines for analys- ing qualitative research, applying these guidelines requires judgment and creativity because each quali- tative study is unique.12 A researcher might also be confused by the different terms used by qualitative researchers when describing analysis. Analysis might be described as interpretation, making sense of data, or transforming data. Analysis is sometimes presented to indicate different procedures based on language, theory or what is described as interpretive/descriptive analysis.11 However, overlap can take place between these different methods and a researcher might decide to use a method of analysis that is based on language, such as symbolic interactionist, while using grounded theory to develop a theory at the same time. Most of the analytical approaches to qualitative research in health care are ‘generic’ and are not labelled within one of the specific traditions of qualitative research. A common approach in most of these studies is gen- eral and inductive in nature, but does not comply with the very systematic and rigorous inductive approach of grounded theory. In addition, it has been described that many researchers use a simple two-level analysis scheme followed by a more specific level. This means that the researcher can initiate the analysis based on the conceptual framework used in order to produce more inductive data, and the coding moves from the descriptive to the more interpretative and inferential codes.5 C O M P U T E R U S E I N Q U A L I T A T I V E D A T A A N A L Y S I S Qualitative research studies typically produce very large amount of data that needs to be managed effi- ciently. Computer packages can improve the efficiency of data management.11 Computer programs provide a way of storing and retrieving material. They are there- fore useful in locating cases, statements, phrases or even words, thereby replacing the tedious and time- consuming process of “cutting and pasting” and “col- our coding”. The use of computer packages, however, is claimed to distance the analyst from the data, 11 and may take the place of a close and careful analysis. Us- ing a computer programme can lead to quantitative analysis instead of qualitative, for example, counting occurrences, giving more weight to more frequent events, and ignoring isolated incidences.23 In addition, computer programmes are said to fix and label cat- egories during the analysis process and the researcher may be reluctant to change these categories.9 Further- more, the researcher is required to learn the compu- ter programme, which may add to the time and effort he or she will need to spend on the research project. The researcher also has to be aware of the limitations of computer programmes. While computer packages can help with the intensive process of analysis and the management of large data sets, they are not a substitute for “immersion” in the data, and thorough knowledge that can enable the researcher to make comparisons, identify patterns and develop interpretations.6 There Z A K I YA Q A L - B U S A I D I 16 are different packages available: Ethnograph, Atlas and NUD.IST are the mostly used. QSR NVivo is a new product developed by the makers of NUD.IST and is user-friendlier, more suitable for individual research projects and more visually attractive than previous packages. T H E R O L E O F T H E R E S E A R C H E R I N Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H Patton12 states that, “the human element in qualitative research is both its strength and weakness”. It is con- sidered a point of strength because it allows human in- sight and experience to develop new understandings of the world, and a point of weakness because it depends heavily on the researcher’s skills, creativity, training and intellect. Qualitative methods depend on both critical and creative thinking and the balance between the two in conducting the study and interpreting its results. The role of the researcher is approached differ- ently according to the type of research tradition used. A phenomenologist researcher is required to bracket his/her own assumptions when collecting data. On the other hand, in an ethnographic study, the effect of the researcher on the interview and the interaction is seen as inevitable and important in shaping the results of the study. Although practising clinicians routinely interview patients during their clinical work, interviewing is a well-established technique in sociology and related disciplines. One of the differences between clinical and research-aimed interviews lies in their different purposes. The usual aim of the clinical interview is to fit the patient’s problem into the appropriate medical category for diagnosis and management. On the other hand, the aim of a qualitative research interview is to discover the interviewee’s own meaning and avoid prior assumptions and preset categories.22 Having said that, there are general skills in clinical interviewing that can be useful, such as listening and observation. A good level of self-awareness is necessary in the re- searcher in order to reduce possible biases. Researchers in qualitative research need to consid- er how they are perceived by interviewees and the ef- fect of features related to the researcher, such as class, race, and sex on the interview. This question is more important if the interviewee knows that the inter- viewer is a doctor. It has been described that a patient, or someone who is likely to be become one, may give what he or she thinks is a desirable response, thinking that the doctor will be pleased. R I G O U R I N Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H Health field research is generally quantitative and based on biomedical traditions and experimental methods. In this field, qualitative research is criti- cized for being subject to researcher bias and for lack- ing reproducibility and generalisability.10 Researchers presenting their qualitative work in health-related re- search are partly responsible for this view. Many quali- tative researchers neglect the importance of giving an adequate description of their theoretical concepts and methods used in their research. A systematic research method is also essential when conducting qualitative research. Rigour in qualitative research includes pro- cedures taken at different stages of the research proc- ess including during data collection and analysis. Sev- eral procedures have been described to increase rig- our in qualitative research. For example, triangulation is commonly used as a way of validating of data. TR I A N G UL ATI O N In triangulation, the researcher uses multiple meth- ods, sources, researchers or theories to provide evi- dence that strengthens his or her study. Triangulation provides different ways of looking at the same phe- nomenon and adds credibility and confidence in the conclusions drawn from the study. There are two main types of triangulation, triangulation of sources and analyst triangulation. Patton12 defines triangulation of sources as “checking out the consistency of different data sources within the same method”. When using this type of triangulation, the researcher compares the perspectives of people from different points of view. For example, studies in programme evaluation might compare the views of staff, clients or funding bodies.12 Studies in health care have used this method of verifi- cation to study the accounts of doctors, patients, and managers in order to identify similarities and differ- ences in views. An example is the study of patients’ versus doctors’ agendas in general practice.23 Both similarities and differences from different sources, when given reasonable explanation, could contribute significantly to the credibility of the findings. Trian- gulation with multiple analysts can also be used as a method of verification. It is defined as “having two or more persons independently analyse the same qualita- tive data and compare their findings”.12 17 Q UA L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H A N D I T S U S E S I N H E A LT H C A R E Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H I N H E A L T H C A R E M A N A G E M E N T Recently, there has been a greater acceptance of the qualitative approach, even as a stand-alone method, in health care research. Institutions that control funding for medical research have developed ethical guide- lines for assessing qualitative studies which indicates formal acceptance of this form of research within an area previously dominated by quantitative methods.13 More qualitative research articles are published in health-related journals, in addition to a new qualita- tive research journal (Qualitative Health Research). Quality of health care is one of the areas where qualitative methods can be used. The concept of qual- ity in health care is multidimensional and multifaceted and some of the questions asked related to the quality of care or services may not be acquiescent to quantita- tive methods.6 Qualitative research offers a variety of methods to be used for identifying what is really im- portant to both patients and carers. It can also be used to identify and detect obstacles to change and the rea- sons why improvement does not occur.6 It is therefore an essential component of health services research because it enables us to reach areas not amenable to quantitative research, for example, lay and profes- sional health beliefs. In addition, qualitative descrip- tion can be a prerequisite of quantitative research, particularly in areas that have received little previous investigation. Qualitative research is widely used to study is- sues related to doctor-patient interaction especially in general practice. Studies concerning patients’ ver- sus doctors’ agendas in general practice and general practitioners perceptions of effective health care are examples.23, 24 Recently there have been more stud- ies concentrating on patients’ own perceptions and views regarding their health and health care services, for example a study on women’s views on the impact of operative delivery in the second stage of labour.25 Another example is the study on middle-aged person’s experience of living with severe heart failure.26 Another area where qualitative research is being used in health care is to identify obstacles and barri- ers to practice change by exploring the reasons behind certain behaviours. A good example of this is the study of patients’ decisions about whether or not to take anti-hypertensive drugs.27 There are similar studies on issues such as the use of antibiotics in general practice and patient compliance. In addition to issues related to the patients’ percep- tion, some qualitative studies concentrated on factors fostering the doctor’s motivation and the effect of doc- tors’ social life and culture, in addition to issues related to the doctor’s own health. Examples are the study by Dumelow et al.28 on the relation between a career and family life for English hospital consultants. Another example is a study aimed at exploring general practi- tioners’ perceptions of the effects of their profession and training on their attitudes to illness in themselves and colleagues.29 Qualitative work can help in identifying cultural and social factors that affect health care positively or negatively. Such information can be helpful in improv- ing service delivery.6 Studies on patients from ethnic minorities have identified administrative and language barriers that affected health care and shed light on some of the beliefs and behaviours of these patients that might have affected help seeking and compliance. Good examples are the studies by Bush et al.30 explor- ing the influences on smoking in Bangladeshi and Pa- kistani adults in the UK, and the multi-centre cross- cultural postnatal depression study.31 There has been an increasing interest and use of qualitative research methods in primary health care and general practice articles. Britten32 states that “the nature of general practice is such that a variety of research methods are needed to explore all its intri- cacies” He adds that qualitative methods can enrich research in general practice by opening up areas not amenable to quantitative methods, topics such as pa- tient satisfaction, doctor-patient interaction, in addi- tion to identifying and explaining attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. In addition, qualitative research has been used in the assessment of new technology methods used in health care. For example, the studies on the implementation of the National Health System infor- mation technology programme in the UK.11, 33 C O N C L U S I O N Qualitative research methods are receiving an in- creasing recognition in health care related research. The use of qualitative research in health care enables researchers to answer questions that may not be eas- ily answered by quantitative methods. Moreover, it seeks to understand the phenomenon under study in the context of the culture or the setting in which it has been studied, therefore, aiding in the development of new research instruments, such as questionnaires Z A K I YA Q A L - B U S A I D I 18 that are more culturally acceptable. However, because health care related research has, for decades, been based on quantitative methods, the introduction of a new method requires researchers in health care who attempt to use it, to have a thorough understanding of its theoretical basis, methodology and evaluation techniques. A C K N OW L E D G ME N TS I would like to thank Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, for granting me a scholarship to do my PhD at the Uni- versity of Nottingham, UK. I am also grateful to my PhD supervisor, Dr Margaret Oates, for her guidance and support. R E F E R E N C E S 1. Al-Busaidi Z. Rethinking Somatisation: The Attitudes and Beliefs about Mental Health in Omani Women and Their General Practitioners. PhD Thesis, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Notting- ham, UK, 2005. 2. Van Manen M. Researching lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitivity Pedagogy. London: Al- thouse Press, 1990. 3. Denzin N, Lincoln Y. The Sage Handbook of Qualita- tive Research. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2005. 4. Holloway I. Basic Concepts for Qualitative Research. Oxford: Blackwell Science, 1997. 5. Miles M, Huberman M. Qualitative Data Analysis: An expanded Sourcebook. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publica- tions 1994. 6. Pope C, Van Royen P, Baker R. Qualitative methods in research on health care quality. Qual Saf Health Care 2002; 11:148-152. 7. Silverman D. Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook. London: Sage Publications, 2005. 8. Mays N, Pope C. Reaching parts other methods cannot reach: An introduction to qualitative methods in health and health services research. BMJ 1995; 311:42-45. 9. Creswell JW. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. London: Sage Publi- cations, 2007. 10. Mays N, Pope C. Qualitative research: Rigour and quali- tative research. BMJ 1995; 311:109-122. 11. Murphy E, Dingwall R, Greatbatch D, Parker S, Watson P. Qualitative Research Methods in Health Technology assessment: A Review of the Literature. Health Technol Assess 1998; 2:3-9. 12. Patton MQ. Qualitative Evaluation Methods.CA: Sage Publications, 2002. 13. Grbich C. Qualitative Research in Health. London: Sage Publications, 1999. 14. Glaser B, Strauss A. The discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies of Qualitative Research. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing, 1967. 15. Guba E, Lincoln Y. Competing Paradigms in qualita- tive research. In: Denzin N, Lincoln Y, ed. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousands Oakes, CA: Sage Pub- lications. 1994. p. 105-117. 16. Gantley M, Davies D, Murcott A. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Links with Infant Care Practices. BMJ 1993; 306:16-20. 16. Bloor M. Bishop Berkeley and the Adenotonsillectomy Engima: An Exploration of the Social Construction of Medical Disposals. Sociology 1976; 10:43-61. 18. Lambert H, McKevitt C. Anthropology in Health Re- search: From Qualitative Methods to Multidisplinarity. BMJ 2002; 325:210-213. 19. Meyer J. Qualitative research in health care: Using Qualitative Methods in Health Related Active Research. BMJ 2000; 320:178–181. 20. Savage M. Revisiting Classic Qualitative Studies. Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 6(1), Art. 31. From: www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/1- 05/05-1-31-e.htm. Accessed January 2005. 21. Smith JA, Harre R, Van Langenhove L. Rethinking Methods in Psychology. London: Sage Publications, 2001. 22. Britten N. Qualitative Research: Qualitative Interviews in Medical Research. BMJ 1995; 311:251-25. 23. Barry CA, Bradley CP, Britten N, Stevenson F, Barber N. Patients Unvoiced Agendas in General Practice Consul- tations: Qualitative study. BMJ 2000; 320:1246-1250. 24. Tomlin Z, Humphrey C, Rogers S. General Practition- ers’ Perceptions of Effective Health Care. BMJ 1999; 318:1532-1535. 25. Murphy D, Pope C, Frost J, Eliebling R. Women’s Views on the Impact of Operative Delivery in the Second Stage of Labour: Qualitative Interview Study. Br Med J 2003; 327:1132-1135. 26. Nordgren L, Asp M, Fagerberg I. Living with Moderate- Severe Chronic Heart Failure as a Middle-Aged Person. Qualitative Health Research 2007; 17:4-13. 27. Benson J, Britten N. Patients’ Decisions about Wheth- er or not to Take Antihypertensive Drugs: Qualitative study. Br Med J 2002; 325: 873-876. 28. Dumelow C, Littlejohns, P, Griffiths S. (2000) Relation between a Career and Family life for English Hospital Consultants: Qualitative Semistructured Interview 19 Q UA L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H A N D I T S U S E S I N H E A LT H C A R E Study. Br Med J 2000; 320:1437-1440. 29. Thompson WT, Cupples ME, Skan DI, Bradley T. Chal- lenge of Culture, Conscience, and Contract to General Practitioners’ Care of their own Health: Qualitative Study. Br Med J 2001; 323:728-731. 30. Bush J, White M, Kai J, Rankin J, Bhopal R . Understand- ing Influences on Smoking in Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults: Community Based, Qualitative Study. Br Med J 2003; 326:962-968. 31. Oates M R, Cox JL, Neema P, Asten P, Glangeaud-Freu- denthal N, Figueiredo B, et al. Postnatal Depression across Countries and Cultures: A Qualitative Study. Br J Psychiatry 2004;184: 10-16. 32. Britten N. Qualitative Research and General Practice. Br J Gen Pract 1993; 43:270-271. 33. Hendy J, Fulop N, Reeves B, Hutchings A, Collin S. Implementing the NHS Information Technology Pro- gramme: Qualitative Study of Progress in Acute Trusts. Br Med J 2007; 334:1360.