Why Do Nurses Conduct Qualitative Research?

The sheer number of professional and academic nursing journals shows that members of the profession carry out a significant amount of research on a wide range of health issues. Many of these studies involve quantitative experiments and statistical analysis, and fit commonly accepted definitions of scientific research. Other works have more in common with anthropological ethnographies or case studies, and while some dispute their scientific value, nurses give several reasons for pursuing qualitative research, including its ability to guide quantitative inquiry, the limits of quantitative methods, the value of experiential knowledge, and its compatibility with the values of a caring profession.

Complementary Relationship to Quantitative Research

• Quantitative methods allow researchers to test hypotheses through carefully designed experiments with large numbers of patients. The results of such studies can link specific practices to health outcomes and help decision-makers develop policies that improve patient care. However, researchers can only measure so many variables at once, so they work within a simplified, artificially constructed reflection of the real world. In nursing, qualitative research complements quantitative inquiry by exploring patient care issues in real-world settings. In this way, the insights gained through qualitative studies can provide a jumping-off point for quantitative research.

Limits of Quantitative Research

• Researchers cannot express human experience solely through statistics. As Helen Streubert explains, "Aspects of human values, culture and relationships were unable to be described fully using quantitative research methods." Qualitative approaches like ethnography or case study allow nurses to construct a more holistic picture and account for some of the realities of patient experience and nursing practice that influence care outcomes but get no recognition in statistical models. For example, quantitative researchers might use statistical data to recommend changes to treatment models, but a qualitative study might reveal that part of the patient population would object to the new protocols for cultural or other reasons.

Respect for Experiential Knowledge and Scepticism About Scientific 'Objectivity'

• The use of qualitative methods also reflects many nurses' skepticism about science's claims to objectivity. Qualitative approaches often draw heavily on feminist theory and respect for different ways of knowing. As Holloway and Wheeler put it, "Researchers are urged to grasp the socially constructed nature of the world and realise that values and interests become part of the research process." In carrying out qualitative studies, nurses try to meet patients and other participants on participants' own terms, respecting their subjective experiences and allowing them to frame their own relationships to illness and treatment. These methodologies can challenge researchers with strong beliefs in the superiority of scientific expertise.

Compatibility with Professional Values

• Even nurses who do not embrace the underlying philosophies of qualitative research may still share important values with research practitioners. Even the most hard-nosed empiricist can appreciate the need to respect patients' beliefs in making treatment decisions, for example. Also, the skills and character traits nurses need to succeed as members of a caring profession can serve them well as researchers. As Dawn Brookes points out, "nursing comprises elements such as commitment and patience, understanding and trust, flexibility and openness," and all of these contribute to effective qualitative inquiry.