Qualitative Research in Health Design

Just as all facility designs are not the same, research designs also differ depending on the purpose of the study, availability of previous evidence on a topic, and the desired outcome of the data. Unfortunately, qualitative research is frequently misunderstood, because those not familiar with the research method believe it to be of a lesser quality than quantitative study design, considering that sample size, data analysis methods, and even goals for generalizability are different than quantitative research. Qualitative research is a very robust and important research method to be used when little information exists about a subject, there are few instruments to measure the phenomena of interest, or when the research really aims to understand the participants' perspective. © 2015 Vendome Group, LLC All rights reserved.