Why is Qualitative Research Important in Health Sciences?explain using appropriate examples.
Subject and/or Problem
While relatively rare in health care research, qualitative research is now recognized and increasingly used in health care research with its social and cultural dimensions. Institutions that control funding for medical research develop ethical guidelines for evaluating qualitative research, demonstrating formal acceptance of such research in an area previously dominated by quantitative methods. More qualitative research articles are being published in health-related journals. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research attempts to determine the meaning of a phenomenon through explanation. It aims to develop concepts that help to understand natural phenomena by emphasizing the meanings, experiences and views of the participants. In this context, qualitative research and its use in health-related research have the potential to contribute significantly to the development of health and care services. Considering these issues, this article mainly focuses on the historical background, development, general philosophical foundations and assumptions of qualitative research, the main theoretical approaches in this field (grounded theory, phenomenology and ethnographic approaches used in qualitative research), sample selection and data collection techniques (in-depth interview, observation, documantation etc.) and analysis tools (phenomenology, discourse analysis, content analysis etc.).
Conclusion
Qualitative research methods are gaining increasing acceptance in health-related research. Qualitative research in healthcare allows researchers to answer questions that quantitative methods cannot easily answer. It also seeks to understand the phenomenon under study in the context of the culture or setting in which it is studied and can therefore also assist in the development of quantitative research tools that are more culturally acceptable. However, for decades, because health-related research has relied on quantitative methods, the introduction of this increasingly sought-after method requires that researchers attempting to use it in healthcare have an understanding of the theoretical basis, methodology, and assessment techniques.
Additional note:
Two points that I want to make while writing the text in this article are important for me: First, the citations in the text (not for each citation, of course, but in a balanced way) are avoided to be made only to work in general, and to give specific page numbers. Also, a few direct quotes, again, not too many.