Broadening horizons: Intergrating quantitative and qualitative research

Data collected in qualitative research are usually in narrative rather than numerical form, such as the
transcript of an unstructured, in-depth interview. Analysis of qualitative data organizes, summarizes and
interprets these nonnumerical observations. The goal of qualitative research is the development of
concepts that help clarify phenomena in natural, rather than experimental, settings, giving due emphasis
to the meanings, experiences and views of all the participants being studied. For example, to understand
why some members of ethnic minorities have refused tuberculosis treatment, qualitative, culturally
sensitive interviews may be much more informative than standardized quantitative interviews.
By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, a degree of comprehensiveness may be achieved that
neither approach, if used alone, can achieve. For example, to target populations of children who are not
being immunized for common childhood infectious diseases, it is critical to quantify the existence of a
low rate of immunization. However, to intervene to rectify the identified problem, it is important to
explore why parents are not having their children vaccinated. Qualitative interviews are most appropriate
for this purpose.
The nature of inquiry is similar in both quantitative and qualitative research, it is couched in the human
desire to understand and explain behaviour and events, their components, antecedents, corollaries and
consequences. If differences among researchers exist, it is not because they aspire to different ends, but
because they have operationalized their methods for reaching those ends differently.

The Purpose of Qualitative Research

Research fills a vital and important role in society: it is the means by which discoveries are made, ideas
are confirmed or refuted, events controlled or predicted and theory developed or refined. All of these
functions contribute to the development of knowledge. However, no single research approach fulfills all
of these functions, and the contribution of qualitative research is both vital and unique to the goals of
research in general. Qualitative research enables us to make sense of reality, to describe and explain the
social world and to develop explanatory models and theories. It is the primary means by which the
theoretical foundations of social sciences may be constructed or re-examined.

The Importance of Qualitative Research and the Problem of Mass Data Gathering
Qualitative research is in-depth research using a range of techniques, which aims to understand why
people think, feel, react and behave in the way that they do. Samples tend to be small in the case of
qualitative interviewing and even focus groups, because the aim is to generate concepts, strategies, or, for
example, an appreciation of processes that govern groups or institutions. Qualitative research can pretty
much be adapted to any research context that isn’t about knowing ‘how many’. The benefit of qualitative
approaches are that you do not start with a ‘hypothesis’ that needs to be proved, which can be very rigid.
Rather, it is an open-ended approach that can be adapted and changed while the research is ongoing,
which enhances the quality of the data and insights generated.

Rigorous qualitative research in sports, science, exercise, and musculoskeletal medicine journals is
important and relevant
Qualitative research enables inquiry into processes and beliefs through exploration of narratives, personal
experiences and language.1 Its findings can inform and improve healthcare decisions by providing
information about peoples’ perceptions, beliefs, experiences and behaviour, and augment quantitative
analyses of effectiveness data. The results of qualitative research can inform stakeholders about
facilitators and obstacles to exercise, motivation and adherence, the influence of experiences, beliefs,
disability and capability on physical activity, exercise engagement and performance, and to test strategies
that maximise physical performance.

High-quality qualitative research can also enrich interpretation of quantitative analyses and be pooled in
metasyntheses for evaluation of strength of evidence; contribute to the development and implementation
of clinical decision support aids, outcome measures and clinical practice guidelines2 such as the UK
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines (www.nice.org.uk) and Ottawa Panel
guidelines for knee osteoarthritis; and inform health and social care.

The qualitative orientation in medical education research

Qualitative research is very important in educational research as it addresses the “how” and “why”
research questions and enables deeper understanding of experiences, phenomena and context. Qualitative
research allows you to ask questions that cannot be easily put into numbers to understand human
experience. Getting at the everyday realities of some social phenomenon and studying important
questions as they are really practiced helps extend knowledge and understanding. To do so, you need to
understand the philosophical stance of qualitative research and work from this to develop the research
question, study design, data collection methods and data analysis. In this article, I provide an overview of
the assumptions underlying qualitative research and the role of the researcher in the qualitative process. I
then go on to discuss the type of research objectives which are common in qualitative research, then
introduce the main qualitative designs, data collection tools, and finally the basics of qualitative analysis.
I introduce the criteria by which you can judge the quality of qualitative research. Many classic references
are cited in this article, and I urge you to seek out some of these further reading to inform your qualitative
research program.