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• What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples

What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples

Published on June 19, 2020 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.

Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative research , which involves collecting and analyzing numerical data for statistical analysis.

Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as anthropology, sociology, education, health sciences, history, etc.

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Table of contents

Approaches to qualitative research, qualitative research methods, qualitative data analysis, advantages of qualitative research, disadvantages of qualitative research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about qualitative research.

Qualitative research is used to understand how people experience the world. While there are many approaches to qualitative research, they tend to be flexible and focus on retaining rich meaning when interpreting data.

Common approaches include grounded theory, ethnography , action research , phenomenological research, and narrative research. They share some similarities, but emphasize different aims and perspectives.

Note that qualitative research is at risk for certain research biases including the Hawthorne effect , observer bias , recall bias , and social desirability bias . While not always totally avoidable, awareness of potential biases as you collect and analyze your data can prevent them from impacting your work too much.

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Each of the research approaches involve using one or more data collection methods . These are some of the most common qualitative methods:

• Observations: recording what you have seen, heard, or encountered in detailed field notes.
• Interviews:  personally asking people questions in one-on-one conversations.
• Focus groups: asking questions and generating discussion among a group of people.
• Surveys : distributing questionnaires with open-ended questions.
• Secondary research: collecting existing data in the form of texts, images, audio or video recordings, etc.
• You take field notes with observations and reflect on your own experiences of the company culture.
• You distribute open-ended surveys to employees across all the company’s offices by email to find out if the culture varies across locations.
• You conduct in-depth interviews with employees in your office to learn about their experiences and perspectives in greater detail.

Qualitative researchers often consider themselves “instruments” in research because all observations, interpretations and analyses are filtered through their own personal lens.

For this reason, when writing up your methodology for qualitative research, it’s important to reflect on your approach and to thoroughly explain the choices you made in collecting and analyzing the data.

Qualitative data can take the form of texts, photos, videos and audio. For example, you might be working with interview transcripts, survey responses, fieldnotes, or recordings from natural settings.

Most types of qualitative data analysis share the same five steps:

• Prepare and organize your data. This may mean transcribing interviews or typing up fieldnotes.
• Review and explore your data. Examine the data for patterns or repeated ideas that emerge.
• Develop a data coding system. Based on your initial ideas, establish a set of codes that you can apply to categorize your data.
• Assign codes to the data. For example, in qualitative survey analysis, this may mean going through each participant’s responses and tagging them with codes in a spreadsheet. As you go through your data, you can create new codes to add to your system if necessary.
• Identify recurring themes. Link codes together into cohesive, overarching themes.

There are several specific approaches to analyzing qualitative data. Although these methods share similar processes, they emphasize different concepts.

Qualitative research often tries to preserve the voice and perspective of participants and can be adjusted as new research questions arise. Qualitative research is good for:

• Flexibility

The data collection and analysis process can be adapted as new ideas or patterns emerge. They are not rigidly decided beforehand.

• Natural settings

Data collection occurs in real-world contexts or in naturalistic ways.

• Meaningful insights

Detailed descriptions of people’s experiences, feelings and perceptions can be used in designing, testing or improving systems or products.

• Generation of new ideas

Open-ended responses mean that researchers can uncover novel problems or opportunities that they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

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Researchers must consider practical and theoretical limitations in analyzing and interpreting their data. Qualitative research suffers from:

• Unreliability

The real-world setting often makes qualitative research unreliable because of uncontrolled factors that affect the data.

• Subjectivity

Due to the researcher’s primary role in analyzing and interpreting data, qualitative research cannot be replicated . The researcher decides what is important and what is irrelevant in data analysis, so interpretations of the same data can vary greatly.

• Limited generalizability

Small samples are often used to gather detailed data about specific contexts. Despite rigorous analysis procedures, it is difficult to draw generalizable conclusions because the data may be biased and unrepresentative of the wider population .

• Labor-intensive

Although software can be used to manage and record large amounts of text, data analysis often has to be checked or performed manually.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Chi square goodness of fit test
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

There are five common approaches to qualitative research :

• Grounded theory involves collecting data in order to develop new theories.
• Ethnography involves immersing yourself in a group or organization to understand its culture.
• Narrative research involves interpreting stories to understand how people make sense of their experiences and perceptions.
• Phenomenological research involves investigating phenomena through people’s lived experiences.
• Action research links theory and practice in several cycles to drive innovative changes.

Data collection is the systematic process by which observations or measurements are gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts by academics, governments, businesses, and other organizations.

There are various approaches to qualitative data analysis , but they all share five steps in common:

• Prepare and organize your data.
• Review and explore your data.
• Develop a data coding system.
• Assign codes to the data.
• Identify recurring themes.

The specifics of each step depend on the focus of the analysis. Some common approaches include textual analysis , thematic analysis , and discourse analysis .

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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research: Comparing the Methods and Strategies for Education Research

No matter the field of study, all research can be divided into two distinct methodologies: qualitative and quantitative research. Both methodologies offer education researchers important insights.

Education research assesses problems in policy, practices, and curriculum design, and it helps administrators identify solutions. Researchers can conduct small-scale studies to learn more about topics related to instruction or larger-scale ones to gain insight into school systems and investigate how to improve student outcomes.

Education research often relies on the quantitative methodology. Quantitative research in education provides numerical data that can prove or disprove a theory, and administrators can easily share the number-based results with other schools and districts. And while the research may speak to a relatively small sample size, educators and researchers can scale the results from quantifiable data to predict outcomes in larger student populations and groups.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research in Education: Definitions

Although there are many overlaps in the objectives of qualitative and quantitative research in education, researchers must understand the fundamental functions of each methodology in order to design and carry out an impactful research study. In addition, they must understand the differences that set qualitative and quantitative research apart in order to determine which methodology is better suited to specific education research topics.

Generate Hypotheses with Qualitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on thoughts, concepts, or experiences. The data collected often comes in narrative form and concentrates on unearthing insights that can lead to testable hypotheses. Educators use qualitative research in a study’s exploratory stages to uncover patterns or new angles.

Form Strong Conclusions with Quantitative Research

Quantitative research in education and other fields of inquiry is expressed in numbers and measurements. This type of research aims to find data to confirm or test a hypothesis.

Differences in Data Collection Methods

Keeping in mind the main distinction in qualitative vs. quantitative research—gathering descriptive information as opposed to numerical data—it stands to reason that there are different ways to acquire data for each research methodology. While certain approaches do overlap, the way researchers apply these collection techniques depends on their goal.

Interviews, for example, are common in both modes of research. An interview with students that features open-ended questions intended to reveal ideas and beliefs around attendance will provide qualitative data. This data may reveal a problem among students, such as a lack of access to transportation, that schools can help address.

An interview can also include questions posed to receive numerical answers. A case in point: how many days a week do students have trouble getting to school, and of those days, how often is a transportation-related issue the cause? In this example, qualitative and quantitative methodologies can lead to similar conclusions, but the research will differ in intent, design, and form.

Taking a look at behavioral observation, another common method used for both qualitative and quantitative research, qualitative data may consider a variety of factors, such as facial expressions, verbal responses, and body language.

On the other hand, a quantitative approach will create a coding scheme for certain predetermined behaviors and observe these in a quantifiable manner.

Qualitative Research Methods

• Case Studies : Researchers conduct in-depth investigations into an individual, group, event, or community, typically gathering data through observation and interviews.
• Focus Groups : A moderator (or researcher) guides conversation around a specific topic among a group of participants.
• Ethnography : Researchers interact with and observe a specific societal or ethnic group in their real-life environment.
• Interviews : Researchers ask participants questions to learn about their perspectives on a particular subject.

Quantitative Research Methods

• Questionnaires and Surveys : Participants receive a list of questions, either closed-ended or multiple choice, which are directed around a particular topic.
• Experiments : Researchers control and test variables to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.
• Observations : Researchers look at quantifiable patterns and behavior.
• Structured Interviews : Using a predetermined structure, researchers ask participants a fixed set of questions to acquire numerical data.

Choosing a Research Strategy

When choosing which research strategy to employ for a project or study, a number of considerations apply. One key piece of information to help determine whether to use a qualitative vs. quantitative research method is which phase of development the study is in.

For example, if a project is in its early stages and requires more research to find a testable hypothesis, qualitative research methods might prove most helpful. On the other hand, if the research team has already established a hypothesis or theory, quantitative research methods will provide data that can validate the theory or refine it for further testing.

It’s also important to understand a project’s research goals. For instance, do researchers aim to produce findings that reveal how to best encourage student engagement in math? Or is the goal to determine how many students are passing geometry? These two scenarios require distinct sets of data, which will determine the best methodology to employ.

In some situations, studies will benefit from a mixed-methods approach. Using the goals in the above example, one set of data could find the percentage of students passing geometry, which would be quantitative. The research team could also lead a focus group with the students achieving success to discuss which techniques and teaching practices they find most helpful, which would produce qualitative data.

Learn How to Put Education Research into Action

Those with an interest in learning how to harness research to develop innovative ideas to improve education systems may want to consider pursuing a doctoral degree. American University’s School of Education online offers a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Education Policy and Leadership that prepares future educators, school administrators, and other education professionals to become leaders who effect positive changes in schools. Courses such as Applied Research Methods I: Enacting Critical Research provides students with the techniques and research skills needed to begin conducting research exploring new ways to enhance education. Learn more about American’ University’s EdD in Education Policy and Leadership .

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Qualitative research in education : Background information

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Qualitative research.

Although researchers in anthropology and sociology have used the approach known as qualitative research  for a century, the term was not used in the social sciences until the late 1960s. The term qualitative research is used as an umbrella term to refer to several research strategies. Five common types of qualitative research are grounded theory , ethnographic , narrative research , case studies , and phenomenology.

It is unfair to judge qualitative research by a quantitative research paradigm, just as it is unfair to judge quantitative research from the qualitative research paradigm .

“Qualitative researchers seek to make sense of personal stories and the ways in which they intersect” (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992). As one qualitative researcher noted, “I knew that I was not at home in the world of numbers long before I realized that I was at home in the world of words.”

The data collected in qualitative research has been termed “soft”, “that is, rich in description of people, places, and conversations, and not easily handled by statistical procedures.” Researchers do not approach their research with specific questions to answer or hypotheses to test. They are concerned with understanding behavior from the subject’s own frame of reference. Qualitative researcher believe that “multiple ways of interpreting experiences are available to each of us through interacting with others, and that it is the meaning of our experiences that constitutes reality. Reality, consequently,  is ‘socially constructed'” (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Data is usually collected through sustained contact with people in the settings where they normally spend their time. Participant observations and in-depth interviewing are the two most common ways to collect data. “The researcher enters the world of the people he or she plans to study, gets to know, be known, and trusted by them, and systematically keeps a detailed written record of what is heard and observed. This material is supplemented by other data such as [artifacts], school memos and records, newspaper articles, and photographs” (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992).

Rather than test theories, qualitative researchers often inductively analyze their data and develop theories through a process that Strauss called ” developing grounded theory “. They use purposive sampling to select the people they study. Subjects are selected because of who they are and what they know, rather than by chance.

Some key terms:

Access to a group is often made possible by a gate keeper . The gate keeper is the person who helps you gain access to the people you wish to study. In a school setting it might be a principal.

Most qualitative studies involve at least one key informant . The key informant knows the inside scoop and can point you to other people who have valuable information. The “key informant” is not necessarily the same as the gate keeper. A custodian might be a good key informant to understanding faculty interactions. The process of one subject recommending that you talk with another subject is called “ snowballing .”

Qualitative researchers use rich-thick description when they write their research reports. Unlike quantitative research where the researcher wished to generalize his or her findings beyond the sample from whom the data was drawn, qualitative researcher provide rich-thick descriptions for their readers and let their readers determine if the situation described in the qualitative study applies to the reader’s situation. Qualitative researchers do not use the terms validity and reliability. Instead they are concerned about the trustworthiness of their research.

Qualitative researchers often begin their interviews with grand tour questions . Grand tour questions are open ended questions that allow the interviewee to set the direction of the interview. The interviewer then follows the leads that the interviewee provides. The interviewer can always return to his or her preplanned interview questions after the leads have been followed.

Qualitative researchers continue to collect data until they reach a point of data saturation . Data saturation occurs when the researcher is no longer hearing or seeing new information. Unlike quantitative researchers who wait until the end of the study to analyze their data, qualitative researcher analyze their data throughout their study.

Note:   It is beyond the scope of this course to provide an extensive overview of qualitative research. Our purpose is to make you aware of this research option, and hopefully help you develop an appreciation of it. Qualitative research has become a popular research procedure in education.

Del Siegle, PhD [email protected] www.delsiegle.info

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The Oxford Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods in Education

The  Oxford  Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods in Education  provides a diverse overview of the wide variety of qualitative approaches to studying education, including ethnography, interviews, narrative, and case studies. These methods facilitate detailed description, interpretation, and critique that, in education, enable an understanding of how different forms of learning take place, how relationships are implicated in learning, and how contexts enhance and/or impede learning. Articles in the Encyclopedia variously discuss the history of qualitative research methodology, the theoretical underpinnings of qualitative methods, and interdisciplinary applications of qualitative methods, as well as emerging topics that are particularly helpful for scholars, students, and practitioners alike. All of the articles appear online as part of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education .

Editor in Chief

George Noblit , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Associate Editors

Dennis Beach, University of Gothenburg

Belmira Bueno, University of São Paulo

Letitia Fickel, University of Canterbury

Wanda Pillow, University of Utah

Meenakshi Thapan, University of Delhi

Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Education. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 06 August 2024

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Qualitative Research in Education

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The fourth edition of this reader-friendly book offers an accessible introduction to conducting qualitative research in education. The text begins with an introduction to the history, context, and traditions of qualitative research, and then walks readers step-by-step through the research process. Lichtman outlines research planning and design, as well as the methodologies, techniques, and strategies to help researchers make the best use of their qualitative investigation. Throughout, chapters touch on important issues that impact this research process such as ethics and subjectivity and making use of technology.

The fourth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated featuring new examples, an increased focus on virtual and digital data collection, and the latest approaches to qualitative research.

Written in a practical, conversational style and full of real-world scenarios drawn from across education, this book is a practical compendium on qualitative research in education ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate research methods courses and early career researchers alike.

Hear  Marilyn discuss what inspired her to write this fourth edition and what readers can expect. In this podcast episode of The Qualitative Report, she discusses the various types of qualitative research and what defines quality and rigor as well as current issues in education and how qualitative research methods can be used to address them. Finally, she shares her thoughts about technology and the future of qualitative research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter | 10  pages, introduction, part i | 112  pages, traditions, theory, and practice, chapter 12chapter 1 | 26  pages, overview of the field, chapter chapter 2 | 25  pages, learning how to be a qualitative researcher, chapter chapter 3 | 28  pages, ethical issues in qualitative research, chapter chapter 4 | 16  pages, reflexivity and subjectivity, chapter chapter 5 | 15  pages, philosophy, theory, theories, and frameworks, part ii | 120  pages, planning your research, chapter 124chapter 6 | 16  pages, identifying research areas, topics, and main question, chapter chapter 7 | 18  pages, role and function of a review of research, chapter chapter 8 | 16  pages, using social media, technology, and the internet, chapter chapter 9 | 38  pages, designing your research: part 1, chapter chapter 10 | 30  pages, designing your research: part 2, part iii | 112  pages, collecting, organizing, and communicating, chapter 244chapter 11 | 23  pages, judging and evaluating, chapter chapter 12 | 31  pages, gathering data (interviews, observations, documents, other), chapter chapter 13 | 24  pages, making meaning from your data, chapter chapter 14 | 23  pages, communicating and connecting, chapter chapter 15 | 9  pages, thinking about the future.

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4th Edition

Qualitative Research in Education A User's Guide

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Description

The fourth edition of this reader-friendly book offers an accessible introduction to conducting qualitative research in education. The text begins with an introduction to the history, context, and traditions of qualitative research, and then walks readers step-by-step through the research process. Lichtman outlines research planning and design, as well as the methodologies, techniques, and strategies to help researchers make the best use of their qualitative investigation. Throughout, chapters touch on important issues that impact this research process such as ethics and subjectivity and making use of technology.

The fourth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated featuring new examples, an increased focus on virtual and digital data collection, and the latest approaches to qualitative research.

Written in a practical, conversational style and full of real-world scenarios drawn from across education, this book is a practical compendium on qualitative research in education ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate research methods courses and early career researchers alike.

Hear  Marilyn discuss what inspired her to write this fourth edition and what readers can expect. In this podcast episode of The Qualitative Report, she discusses the various types of qualitative research and what defines quality and rigor as well as current issues in education and how qualitative research methods can be used to address them. Finally, she shares her thoughts about technology and the future of qualitative research.

Table of Contents

PART 1: TRADITIONS, THEORY AND PRACTICE   1. Introduction and Overview of the Field  2. Learning How to Be a Qualitative Researcher  3. Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research  4. Reflexivity and Subjectivity  5. Philosophy, Theory, Theories, and Frameworks   PART 2: PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH   6. Identifying Research Areas and Questions  7. Role and Function of a Review of Research  8. Using Social Media, Technology and the Internet  9. Designing Your Research: Part 1  10. Designing Your Research: Part 2   PART 3: COLLECTING, ORGANIZING, AND COMMUNICATING   11. Judging and Evaluating  12. Gathering Data (Interviews, Observations, Documents, Other)  13. Making Meaning From Your Data  14. Communicating and Connecting  15. Thinking About the Future

Marilyn Lichtman is a retired professor from Virginia Tech where she taught quantitative and qualitative research and statistics for more than 30 years. She serves on the editorial boards of The Qualitative Report , Forum: Qualitative Social Research ( FQS ), and Qualitative Research in Education (Spain). She is a docent at the Kreeger Museum in Washington, DC, where she sponsors the Lichtman Distinguished Speaker Series.

Critics' Reviews

From the book cover to the way she organizes and writes the chapters, Lichtman invites readers to join her on a journey to learn how qualitative research can address some of education’s most pressing problems. Up-to-date, easy to read, and useful, this book has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf [...] the way Lichtman weaves in personal stories makes one feel like she is right there with you–your personal qualitative research 'guide on the side'. -Marti Snyder, Professor in the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice; Director of Faculty Professional Development in the Learning and Educational Center at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), as reviewed in TQR Full book review can be found here I fully anticipate that future instructors and students will be able to work through this text and finish it with the ability to not only conceptualize and carry out a research study but be able to do so with confidence and a mindset that qualitative inquiry offers us an exciting journey for understanding phenomena which impact us as well as our world. In summary, I have no doubt that students and teachers as well as those who simply want to get some fresh insights into will find this latest edition to be well-worth reading. I know that I continue to draw new insights from it and give it my highest recommendation. - James A. Bernauer, Robert Morris University, as reviewed in FQS Full book review can be found  here  Lichtman displays a unique understanding of the importance of qualitative research in our examination of 21st-century education. Those of us in the academy should celebrate her books as periodic reminders of that importance. In addition, her Qualitative Research in Education (2023, Fourth Edition) is an excellent how-to text for all who practice qualitative research. This book should be on the shelf of every practitioner, both those new to the field as well as those of us who need a refresher course on why we do this work. - Henry M. Smith, EdD., Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education.

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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.

Introduction

When we speak of “quantitative” or “qualitative” methodologies, we are in the final analysis speaking about an interrelated set of assumptions about the social world which are philosophical, ideological, and epistemological. They encompass more than just data collection methodologies [ 1 ].

It is easy to assume that the differences between quantitative and qualitative research are solely about how data is collected—the randomized controlled trial versus ethnographic fieldwork, the cohort study versus the semi-structured interview. However, quantitative and qualitative approaches make different assumptions about the world [ 2 ], about how science should be conducted, and about what constitutes legitimate problems, solutions and criteria of “proof” [ 3 ].

Why is it important to understand differences in assumptions, or philosophies, of research? Why not just go ahead and do a survey or carry out some interviews? First, the assumptions behind the research tools you choose provide guidance for conducting your research. They indicate whether you should be an objective observer or whether you have a contributory role in the research process. They guide whether or not you must slavishly ask each person in a study the same questions or whether your questions can evolve as the study progresses. Second, you may wish to submit your work as a dissertation or as a research paper to be considered for publication in a journal. If so, the chances are that examiners, editors, and reviewers might have knowledge of different research philosophies from yours and may be unwilling to accept the legitimacy of your approach unless you can make its assumptions clear. Third, each research paradigm has its own norms and standards, its accepted ways of doing things. You need to “do things right”. Finally, understanding the theoretical assumptions of the research approach helps you recognize what the data collection and analysis methods you are working with do well and what they do less well, and lets you design your research to take full advantage of their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses.

In this short article, I will introduce the assumptions of qualitative research and their implications for research questions, study design, methods and tools, and analysis and interpretation. Readers who wish a comparison between qualitative and quantitative approaches may find Cleland [ 4 ] useful.

Ontology and epistemology

We start with a consideration of the ontology (assumptions about the nature of reality) and epistemology (assumptions about the nature of knowledge) of qualitative research.

Qualitative research approaches are used to understand everyday human experience in all its complexity and in all its natural settings [ 5 ]. To do this, qualitative research conforms to notions that reality is socially constructed and that inquiry is unavoidably value-laden [ 6 ]. The first of these, reality is socially constructed, means reality cannot be measured directly—it exists as perceived by people and by the observer. In other words, reality is relative and multiple, perceived through socially constructed and subjective interpretations [ 7 ]. For example, what I see as an exciting event may be seen as a threat by other people. What is considered a cultural ritual in my country may be thought of as quite bizarre elsewhere. Qualitative research is concerned with how the social world is interpreted, understood, experienced, or constructed. Mann and MacLeod [ 8 ] provide a very good overview of social constructivism which is a excellent starting point for understanding this.

The idea of people seeing things in diverse ways also holds true in research process, hence inquiry being valued-laden. Different people have different views of the same thing depending on their upbringing and other experiences, their training, and professional background. Someone who has been trained as a social scientist may “see” things differently from someone who has been medically trained. A woman may see things differently to a man. A more experienced researcher will see things differently from a novice. A qualitative researcher will have very different views of the nature of “evidence” than a quantitative researcher. All these viewpoints are valid. Moreover, different researchers can study the same topic and try to find solutions to the same challenges using different study designs—and hence come up with different interpretations and different recommendations. For example, if your position is that learning is about individual, cognitive, and acquisitive processes, then you are likely to research the use of simulation training in surgery in terms of the effectiveness and efficacy of training related to mastery of technical skills [ 9 , 10 ]. However, if your stance is that learning is inherently a social activity, one which involves interactions between people or groups of people, then you will look to see how the relationships between faculty members, participants and activities during a simulation, and the wider social and cultural context, influence learning [ 11 , 12 ].

Whether researchers are explicit about it or not, ontological and epistemological assumptions will underpin how they study aspects of teaching and learning. Differences in these assumptions shape not only study design, but also what emerges as data, how this data can be analysed and even the conclusions that can be drawn and recommendations that can be made from the study. This is referred to as worldview, defined by Creswell [ 13 ] as “a general orientation about the world and the nature of research that a researcher holds.” McMillan [ 14 ] gives a very good explanation of the importance of this phenomenon in relation to medical education research. There is increasing expectation that researchers make their worldview explicit in research papers.

The research objective

Given the underlying premise that reality is socially constructed, qualitative research focuses on answering “how” and “why” questions, of understanding a phenomena or a context. For example, “Our study aimed to answer the research question: why do assessors fail to report underperformance in medical students? [ 15 ]”, “The aim of this work was to investigate how widening participation policy is translated and interpreted for implementation at the level of the individual medical school [ 4 ].”

Common verbs in qualitative research questions are identify, explore, describe, understand, and explain. If your research question includes words like test or measure or compare in your objectives, these are more appropriate for quantitative methods, as they are better suited to these types of aims. Bezuidenhout and van Schalkwyk [ 16 ] provide a good guide to developing and refining your research question. Lingard [ 17 ]’s notion of joining the conversation and the problem-gap-hook heuristic are also very useful in terms of thinking about your question and setting it out in the introduction to a paper in such a way as to interest journal editors and readers.

Do not think formulating a research question is easy. Maxwell [ 18 ] gives a good overview of some of the potential issues including being too general, making assumptions about the nature of the issue/problem and using questions which focus the study on difference rather than process. Developing relevant, focused, answerable research questions takes time and generating good questions requires that you pay attention not just to the questions themselves but to their connections with all the other components of the study (the conceptual lens/theory, the methods) [ 18 ].

Theory can be applied to qualitative studies at different times during the research process, from the selection of the research phenomenon to the write-up of the results. The application of theory at different points can be described as follows [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]: (1) Theory frames the study questions, develops the philosophical underpinnings of the study, and makes assumptions to justify or rationalize the methodological approach. (2) Qualitative investigations relate the target phenomenon to the theory. (3) Theory provides a comparative context or framework for data analysis and interpretation. (4) Theory provides triangulation of study findings.

Schwartz-Barcott et al. [ 20 ] characterized those processes as theoretical selectivity (the linking of selected concepts with existing theories), theoretical integration (the incorporation and testing of selected concepts within a particular theoretical perspective), and theory creation (the generation of relational statements and the development of a new theory). Thus, theory can be the outcome of the research project as well as the starting point [ 22 ].

However, the emerging qualitative researcher may wish a little more direction on how to use theory in practice. I direct you to two papers: Reeves et al. [ 23 ] and Bordage [ 24 ]. These authors clearly explain the utility of theory, or conceptual frameworks, in qualitative research, how theory can give researchers different “lenses” through which to look at complicated problems and social issues, focusing their attention on different aspects of the data and providing a framework within which to conduct their analysis. Bordage [ 24 ] states that “conceptual frameworks represent ways of thinking about a problem or a study, or ways of representing how complex things work the way they do. Different frameworks will emphasise different variables and outcomes.” He presents an example in his paper and illustrates how different lens highlight or emphasise different aspects of the data. Other authors suggest that two theories are potentially better than one in exploring complex social issues [ 25 ]. There is an example of this in one of my papers, where we used the theories of Bourdieu [ 26 ] and Engestrom [ 27 , 28 ] nested within an overarching framework of complexity theory [ 29 ] to help us understand learning at a surgical bootcamp. However, I suggest that for focused studies and emerging educational researchers, one theoretical framework or lens is probably sufficient.

So how to identify an appropriate theory, and when to use it? It is crucially important to read widely, to explore lots of theories, from disciplines such as (but not only) education, psychology, sociology, and economics, to see what theory is available and what may be suitable for your study. Carefully consider any theory, check its assumptions [ 30 ] are congruent with your approach, question, and context before final selection [ 31 ] before deciding which theory to use. The time you spend exploring theory will be time well spent in terms not just of interpreting a specific data set but also to broadening your knowledge. The second question, when to use it, depends on the nature of the study, but generally the use of theory in qualitative research tends to be inductive; that is, building explanations from the ground up, based on what is discovered. This typically means that theory is brought in at the analysis stage, as a lens to interpret data.

In the qualitative approach, the activities of collecting and analyzing data, developing and modifying theory, and elaborating or refocusing the research questions, are usually going on more or less simultaneously, each influencing all of the others for a useful model of qualitative research design [ 18 ]. The researcher may need to reconsider or modify any design decision during the study in response to new developments. In this way, qualitative research design is less linear than quantitative research, which is much more step-wise and fixed.

This is not the same as no structure or plan. Most qualitative projects are pre-structured at least in terms of the equivalent of a research protocol, setting out what you are doing (aims and objectives), why (why is this important), and how (theoretical underpinning, design, methods, and analysis). I have provided a brief overview of common approaches to qualitative research design below and direct you to the numerous excellent textbooks which go into this in more detail [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].

There are five basic categories of qualitative research design: ethnography, narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory, and case study [ 13 , 32 ].

2. Ethnography

In ethnography, you immerse yourself in the target participants’ environment to understand the goals, cultures, challenges, motivations, and themes that emerge. Ethnography has its roots in cultural anthropology where researchers immerse themselves within a culture, often for years. Through multiple data collection approaches—observations, interviews and documentary data, ethnographic research offers a qualitative approach with the potential to yield detailed and comprehensive accounts of different social phenomenon (actions, behavior, interactions, and beliefs). Rather than relying on interviews or surveys, you experience the environment first hand, and sometimes as a “participant observer” which gives opportunity to gather empirical insights into social practices which are normally “hidden” from the public gaze. Reeves et al. [ 36 ] give an excellent guide to ethnography in medical education which is essential reading if you are interested in using this approach.

3. Narrative

The narrative approach weaves together a sequence of events, usually from just one or two individuals to form a cohesive story. You conduct in-depth interviews, read documents, and look for themes; in other words, how does an individual story illustrate the larger life influences that created it. Often interviews are conducted over weeks, months, or even years, but the final narrative does not need to be in chronological order. Rather it can be presented as a story (or narrative) with themes, and can reconcile conflicting stories and highlight tensions and challenges which can be opportunities for innovation.

4. Phenomenology

Phenomenology is concerned with the study of experience from the perspective of the individual, “bracketing” taken-for-granted assumptions and usual ways of perceiving. Phenomenological approaches emphasise the importance of personal perspective and interpretation. As such they are powerful for understanding subjective experience, gaining insights into people’s motivations and actions, and cutting through the clutter of taken-for-granted assumptions and conventional wisdom.

Phenomenological approaches can be applied to single cases or to selected samples. A variety of methods can be used in phenomenologically-based research, including interviews, conversations, participant observation, action research, focus meetings, and analysis of personal texts. Beware though—phenomenological research generates a large quantity data for analysis.

The phenomenological approach is used in medical education research and there are some good articles which will familiarise you with this approach [ 37 , 38 ].

5. Grounded theory

Whereas a phenomenological study looks to describe the essence of an activity or event, grounded theory looks to provide an explanation or theory behind the events. Its main thrust is to generate theories regarding social phenomena: that is, to develop higher level understanding that is “grounded” in, or derived from, a systematic analysis of data [ 39 ]. Grounded theory is appropriate when the study of social interactions or experiences aims to explain a process, not to test or verify an existing theory. Rather, the theory emerges through a close and careful analysis of the data.

The key features of grounded theory are its iterative study design, theoretical (purposive) sampling, and cycles of simultaneous data collection and analysis, where analysis informs the next cycle of data collection. In keeping with this iterative design, the sample is not set at the outset but is selected purposefully as the analysis progresses; participants are chosen for their ability to confirm or challenge an emerging theory. As issues of interest are noted in the data, they are compared with other examples for similarities and differences.

Grounded theory was first proposed by Glaser and Strauss [ 40 ] in 1967 but since then there have been many interpretations of this approach, each with their own processes and norms [ 41 , 42 , 43 ].

Beware—grounded theory is often done very badly, and numerous studies are rejected by journals because they claim to use grounded theory but do not actually do so, or do so badly.

6. Case study

Researcher Yin [ 44 ] defines the case study research method as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. The case study method enables a researcher to closely examine the data within a specific context—for example, in a small geographical area or a very limited number of individuals as the subjects of study. Case studies explore and investigate contemporary real-life phenomenon through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions, and their relationships. A case study involves a deep understanding through multiple types of data sources. For example, we used case study methodology recently to explore the nature of the clinical learning environment in a general surgical unit, and used both documents and interviews as data sources. Case studies can be explanatory, exploratory, or describing an event [ 44 ] and case study design can be very open or more structured [ 45 ]. Case studies are a useful approach where the focus is to explain the complexities of real life situations.

While the five methods generally use similar data collection techniques (observation, interviews, and reviewing text—see below), the purpose of the study differentiates them.

Data collection methods

The qualitative methods most commonly used for research purposes can be classified in three broad categories: (1) interviews (individual or group), (2) observation methods, and (3) document review.

The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and gain understanding of certain themes in the life world of the subjects. Interviews can be organised one-to-one or group (focus groups) depending on the topic under study, the cultural context, and the aims of the project. Observational data collection in qualitative research involves the detailed observation of people and events to learn about behaviors and interactions in natural settings [ 46 ]. Such study designs are useful when the study goal is to understand cultural aspects of a setting or phenomenon [ 47 ], when the situation of interest is hidden, (tacit), or when subjects in the setting appear to have notably different views to other groups. Written materials or documents such as institutional records, personal diaries, and historical public documents may also serve as a valuable source of secondary data, providing insight into the lives and experiences of the group under study. For example, in one of my recent studies we used document analysis to uncover the thinking behind the design of a new medical school, then carried out interviews with “users” of the new building to explore how the intentions of the planners played out in reality. However, this is only one way of incorporating document analysis into a study: see Bowen [ 48 ] for an excellent introduction to the purpose and practicalities of document review within qualitative research.

See Dicicco-Bloom and Crabtree [ 49 ] for a useful summary of the content and process of the qualitative research interview, Creswell [ 50 ] for further discussion of the many different approaches in qualitative research and their common characteristics.

1. Data management

Qualitative research may use some form of quantification, but statistical forms of analysis are not central [ 51 ]. Instead, qualitative data analysis aims to uncover emerging themes, patterns, concepts, insights, and understandings [ 52 ]. The data are allowed to “speak for themselves” by the emergence of conceptual categories and descriptive themes. Trying to squeeze narratives into boxes (like “0” and “1”) would result in the loss of contextualisation and narrative layering. The researcher must immerse themselves in the data in order to be able to see meaningful patterns and themes, making notes as they go through the processes of data collection and analysis, and then using these notes to guide the analysis strategy.

Qualitative data has to be managed before it can be analysed—you can generate a lot of data from just a few interviews or observations! You may want to use a specialist qualitative database to facilitate data management and analysis. NVivo is a well-known qualitative data analysis software package (note that qualitative software packages enable you to make and store notes, and explanations of your codes, so you do not need to juggle bits of paper and electronic data files). These and similar databases are available commercially (i.e., at a cost) and are used widely by universities. The choice of database may be dictated by the resources of your institution, your personal preference, and/or what technical support is available locally. However, if you do not have access to qualitative data management software, then use paper and pencil: read and re-read transcripts, take notes on specifics and the bigger patterns, and label different themes with different coloured pen. You do all this in a software package anyway, as data management software does not describe or analyse your data for you. See Cleland et al. [ 53 ] for comprehensive guidance on how to use qualitative databases in education research.

Data analysis

While bearing in mind that qualitative data collection and analysis are iterative rather than linear (see earlier), Miles and Huberman [ 54 ] explain the process of qualitative data analysis as (1) data reduction (extracting the essence), (2) data display (organizing for meaning), and (3) drawing conclusions (explaining the findings).

Data analysis usually follows an inductive approach where the data are allowed to “speak for themselves” by the emergence of conceptual categories and descriptive themes. The researcher must be open to multiple possibilities or ways to think about a problem, engaging in “mental excursions” using multiple stimuli, “side-tracking” or “zigzagging,” changing patterns of thinking, making linkages between the “seemingly unconnected,” and “playing at it,” all with the intention of “opening the world to us in some way” [ 52 ]. The researcher must immerse themselves in the data in order to be able to see meaningful patterns and themes, making notes as they go through the processes of data collection and analysis, and then using these notes to guide the analysis strategy and the development of a coding framework.

In this way, good qualitative research has a logical chain of reasoning, multiple sources of converging evidence to support an explanation, and rules out rival hypotheses with convincing arguments and solid data. The wider literature and theory are used to derive analytical frameworks as the process of analysis develops and different interpretations of the data are likely to be considered before the final argument is built. For example, one of our own studies aimed to explore how widening access policy is translated and implemented at the level of individual medical schools [ 4 ]. Data was collected via individual interviews with key personnel. We initially conducted a primary level thematic analysis to determine themes. After the themes emerged, and following further team discussion, we explored the literature, identified and considered various theories, in some depth, before identifying the most appropriate theory or conceptual lens for a secondary, theory-driven analysis.

There are some excellent text books which discuss qualitative data analysis in detail [ 35 , 55 ].

Judging the quality of research

There are various criteria by which you can judge the quality of qualitative research. These link to efforts by the research team to consider their findings. The most common ways of doing so are triangulation, respondent validation, reflexivity, detail and process, and fair dealing [ 56 ] (but see also Varpio et al. [ 57 ] for a detailed discussion of the limitations of some of these methods).

Triangulation compares the results from either two or more different methods of data collection (for example, interviews and observation) or, more simply, two or more data sources (for example, interviews with different people). The researcher looks for patterns of convergence to develop or corroborate an overall interpretation. This is as a way of ensuring comprehensiveness. Respondent validation, or “member checking,” includes techniques in which the investigator’s account is compared with those of the research subjects to establish the level of correspondence between the two sets. Study participants’ reactions to the analyses are then incorporated into the study findings. Providing a clear account of the process of data collection and analysis is important. By the end of the study, it should be possible to provide a clear account of how early, simple coding evolved into more sophisticated coding structures and thence into clearly defined concepts and explanations for the data collected. Reflexivity is discussed earlier but in terms of analysis reflexivity means sensitivity to the ways in which the researcher and the research process have shaped the collected data, including the role of prior assumptions and experience. These two points address credibility, whether the study has been conducted well and the findings seem reasonable. It is important to pay attention to “negative cases,” data that contradict, or seem to contradict, the emerging explanation of the phenomena under study. These can be a very useful source of information in terms of refining the analysis and thinking beyond the obvious. The final technique is to ensure that the research design explicitly incorporates a wide range of different perspectives. In practice this can mean presenting data from a wide range of diverse participants. A very practical point is worth mentioning here—any reviewer will want to see quotes labelled in some way; for example, P11FFG2 would be participant 11, female, focus group 2). This helps the reader see that your data does not just represent the view of one or two people, but that there is indeed some sort of pattern or commonality to report.

Guba and Lincoln [ 58 ] provide the following criteria for judging qualitative research: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. I direct you to the original resource and to a very good explanation of these criteria in Mann and MacLeod [ 8 ].

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 answer big questions. 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.

Using Qualitative Data in Education For Better Student Outcomes

Qualitative data in education is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance instructional practices and improve student outcomes. By understanding and effectively utilizing qualitative data, educators can gain valuable insights into their students’ experiences, perceptions, and needs.

In this article, we’ll uncover the importance of qualitative data in education, discuss different techniques for gathering and analyzing data, and provide strategies for applying this knowledge to make data-informed decisions to benefit students.

• What is Qualitative Data in Education?
• The Importance of Qualitative Data in Education
• Gathering Qualitative Data in the Classroom
• Analyzing Qualitative Data for Educational Insights
• Tools for Qualitative Data Analysis
• Applying Qualitative Data to Improve Student Outcomes
• Overcoming Challenges in Using Qualitative Data

1.  What is Qualitative Data in Education?

When it comes to understanding qualitative data in education, it’s important to have a clear definition. Qualitative data encompasses a wide range of information that is gathered through various methods, including observations, interviews, focus groups, and written documents. These methods include observing students in their natural learning environments, conducting interviews to gather their perspectives, engaging in focus groups to explore shared experiences, and analyzing written documents such as essays or reflective journals.

By using these methods, educators can gather rich and detailed information about students’ experiences, allowing them to gain insights into their thoughts, emotions, and motivations. This type of data is often subjective in nature, as it is influenced by the unique perspectives and interpretations of the individuals involved.

2.  The Importance of Qualitative Data in Education

Qualitative data plays a crucial role in education as it provides insights into complex phenomena that quantitative data alone cannot capture. While quantitative data can provide information about student performance and achievement, it does not provide a complete picture of the factors that influence these outcomes.

Read next: A guide to the different types of data in education

By gathering qualitative data, teachers can gain a holistic understanding of their students’ learning environments. They can uncover factors that may influence their academic performance, such as classroom dynamics, instructional approaches, and socio-cultural factors. For example, qualitative data can reveal how students’ cultural backgrounds impact their learning experiences and how their interactions with peers and teachers shape their attitudes towards education.

Moreover, qualitative data allows educators to explore the why and how behind students’ behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes. It enables them to identify patterns, themes, and trends that can guide instructional practices, curriculum development, and overall school improvement strategies.

By analyzing qualitative data, educators can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their teaching methods and make informed decisions to enhance student learning. They can also use this data to tailor their instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students, ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to succeed.

3.  Gathering Qualitative Data in the Classroom

Gathering qualitative data in the classroom involves using various methods to collect and document students’ experiences and perspectives. By employing a range of techniques, educators can gather a rich and diverse set of qualitative data that represents various dimensions of students’ educational journey.

Qualitative data in education can take different forms, including:

• Written reflections
• Classroom observations
• Focus groups, and
• Student work samples.

Each type of data collection method offers unique insights into students’ thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. For example, interviews can provide in-depth information about individual students’ experiences and perceptions. Educators can sit down with students one-on-one and ask open-ended questions to delve into their thoughts and emotions regarding their learning experiences. This method allows for a deeper understanding of the student’s perspective and allows them to express their thoughts freely.

Focus groups, on the other hand, allow for group discussions and the exploration of shared perspectives and experiences. Educators can gather a small group of students and facilitate a conversation around a specific topic or theme. This method encourages students to share their thoughts and engage in meaningful dialogue with their peers, providing valuable insights into their collective experiences.

By employing these techniques, educators can engage students directly in the data collection process, offering them the opportunity to have their voices heard. This participatory approach not only promotes student engagement but also provides a more accurate representation of their experiences and perspectives.

4.  Analyzing Qualitative Data for Educational Insights

Once qualitative data has been collected, the next step is to analyze it to derive meaningful insights. Analyzing qualitative data involves a systematic and rigorous examination of the gathered information to identify patterns, themes, and trends.

Qualitative data analysis is a crucial step in the research process, as it allows educators to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences, perspectives, and behaviors of their students. By analyzing qualitative data, educators can uncover valuable insights that can inform their teaching practices and decision-making processes.

The process of qualitative data analysis typically involves several key steps. These include transcribing interviews or observations, identifying codes or themes, categorizing data, and interpreting the findings.

Transcribing interviews or observations is an essential step in qualitative data analysis. It involves converting audio or video recordings into written text, ensuring that every detail and nuance is captured accurately. This transcription process allows educators to review and analyze the data more effectively.

Identifying codes or themes is another crucial aspect of qualitative data analysis. Codes are labels or tags that are assigned to specific segments of data, representing concepts or ideas that emerge from the analysis. By identifying codes, educators can organize the data and make it more manageable for further analysis.

Categorizing data is the process of grouping similar codes or themes together. This step helps educators identify patterns and connections within the data. By categorizing data, educators can gain a holistic view of the information and draw meaningful conclusions.

Interpreting the findings is the final step in qualitative data analysis. It involves making sense of the data and extracting meaningful insights. Educators need to critically analyze the data, considering the context, participants’ perspectives, and their own experiences and knowledge. By interpreting the findings, educators can generate valuable knowledge that can be applied to their teaching practices.

5.  Tools for Qualitative Data Analysis

There are various software tools available that can facilitate the analysis of qualitative data. These tools provide features for coding, organizing, and visualizing data, making the analysis process more efficient and manageable.

One popular qualitative data analysis software is NVivo. NVivo offers a range of features that allow educators to organize and analyze their qualitative data effectively. It provides tools for coding, annotating, and visualizing data, making it easier to identify patterns and themes. NVivo also allows for collaboration, enabling educators to work together on analyzing the data and deriving insights.

Another widely used software for qualitative data analysis is ATLAS.ti. ATLAS.ti provides a comprehensive set of tools for coding, organizing, and analyzing qualitative data. It allows educators to create networks and visual representations of their data, helping them to identify relationships and connections. ATLAS.ti also offers advanced text search capabilities, making it easier to locate specific information within the data.

Overall, the availability of these software tools has revolutionized the process of qualitative data analysis. Educators now have access to powerful and user-friendly tools that can enhance their ability to analyze and derive insights from qualitative data. By utilizing these tools, educators can make more informed decisions and improve their teaching practices based on a deeper understanding of their students’ experiences and perspectives.

6.  Applying Qualitative Data to Improve Student Outcomes

Using qualitative data effectively can lead to tangible improvements in student outcomes. By applying insights gained from qualitative data analysis, educators can tailor their instructional practices and interventions to better support students’ needs.

Strategies for Data-Informed Decision Making

Data-informed decision making involves using qualitative data as a basis for making informed choices about teaching strategies, curriculum development, and student support services. Educators can use qualitative data to identify areas for improvement, monitor student progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions or instructional approaches.

For example, qualitative data might highlight areas where students are experiencing difficulties or disengagement. Based on this information, educators can implement targeted interventions or adapt teaching methods to better meet students’ needs.

Read next: How student data can improve your teaching strategy

Monitoring and Evaluating the Impact of Data-Driven Changes

Once changes have been implemented based on qualitative data findings, it is essential to monitor and evaluate their impact. Ongoing assessment ensures that interventions are effective and responsive to students’ needs.

Regularly reviewing the outcomes of data-driven changes allows educators to gather additional qualitative data to inform and refine their practices. This cyclical process of data collection, analysis, implementation, and evaluation enables continuous improvement and better student outcomes.

7.  Overcoming Challenges in Using Qualitative Data

While qualitative data can provide valuable insights, there are challenges to consider when collecting and analyzing this type of data in education. By addressing these obstacles, educators can maximize the benefits of using qualitative data.

One common challenge is ensuring data reliability and validity. To address this, educators should use established research methodologies, such as triangulation, where multiple methods and data sources are used to support or validate findings. Additionally, educators may face time constraints and limited resources when collecting qualitative data. Planning and prioritizing data collection activities, as well as leveraging technology tools for data analysis, can help overcome these challenges.

When working with qualitative data, it is essential to prioritize ethical considerations. Educators must obtain informed consent from participants, protect their privacy and confidentiality , and ensure that the data is used only for educational purposes. By nurturing a culture of ethical data use, educators can build trust with their students and maintain the integrity of their research and decision-making processes.

Final Thoughts

In summary, qualitative data in education is a valuable resource that can enhance and improve student outcomes. Understanding qualitative data, employing effective data collection techniques, and analyzing the gathered information can provide educators with insights into students’ experiences and needs.

While qualitative data provides rich, in-depth insights into student experiences and needs, it’s essential to visualize and interpret this information for maximum impact. Our Inno™ Starter Kits are designed precisely for this purpose. By offering educators a comprehensive platform to easily plug in and showcase qualitative student data, the kits empower you to derive actionable strategies for enhanced student outcomes. Don’t just gather data—transform it into meaningful change with Inno™ Starter Kits.

Thank you for sharing!

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Research Methods: Qualitative

What is qualitative research, about this guide, introduction.

• Qualitative Research Approaches
• Key Resources
• Finding Qualitative Studies

 The purpose of this guide is to provide a starting point for learning about qualitative research. In this guide, you'll find:

• Resources on diverse types of qualitative research
• An overview of resources methods, data, coding & analysis
• Popular qualitative software options
• Information on how to find qualitative studies

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. It answers the hows and whys instead of how many or how much. It could be structured as a stand-alone study, purely relying on qualitative data or it could be part of mixed-methods research that combines qualitative and quantitative data.

Qualitative researchers use multiple systems of inquiry for the study of human phenomena including biography, case study, historical analysis, discourse analysis, ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology.

Watch the following video to learn more about Qualitative Research:

(Video best viewed in Edge and Chrome browsers, or click here to view in the Sage Research Methods Database )

Qualitative Approaches

The case study approach is useful to employ when there is a need to obtain an in-depth appreciation of an issue, event or phenomenon of interest, in its natural real-life context.

Ethnography

Ethnographies are an in-depth, holistic type of research used to capture cultural practices, beliefs, traditions, and so on. Here, the researcher observes and interviews members of a culture an ethnic group, a clique, members of a religion, etc. and then analyzes their findings.

Grounded Theory

Researchers will create and test a hypothesis using qualitative data. Often, researchers use grounded theory to understand decision-making, problem-solving, and other types of behavior.

Narrative Research

Researchers use this type of framework to understand different aspects of the human experience and how their subjects assign meaning to their experiences. Researchers use interviews to collect data from a small group of subjects, then discuss those results in the form of a narrative or story.

Phenomenology

This type of research attempts to understand the lived experiences of a group and/or how members of that group find meaning in their experiences. Researchers use interviews, observation, and other qualitative methods to collect data.

Watch the video "Choosing among the Five Qualitative Approaches" from Sage Research Methods database for more on these qualitative approaches:

Note: Video is best viewed using Chrome, Edge, or Safari browsers.

Poth, C. (Academic). (2023). Choosing among five qualitative approaches [Video]. Sage Research Methods. doi.org/10.4135/9781529629866

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Home » Qualitative Research – Methods, Analysis Types and Guide

Qualitative Research – Methods, Analysis Types and Guide

Table of Contents

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a type of research methodology that focuses on exploring and understanding people’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and experiences through the collection and analysis of non-numerical data. It seeks to answer research questions through the examination of subjective data, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, and textual analysis.

Qualitative research aims to uncover the meaning and significance of social phenomena, and it typically involves a more flexible and iterative approach to data collection and analysis compared to quantitative research. Qualitative research is often used in fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, and education.

Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative Research Methods are as follows:

One-to-One Interview

This method involves conducting an interview with a single participant to gain a detailed understanding of their experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. One-to-one interviews can be conducted in-person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. The interviewer typically uses open-ended questions to encourage the participant to share their thoughts and feelings. One-to-one interviews are useful for gaining detailed insights into individual experiences.

Focus Groups

This method involves bringing together a group of people to discuss a specific topic in a structured setting. The focus group is led by a moderator who guides the discussion and encourages participants to share their thoughts and opinions. Focus groups are useful for generating ideas and insights, exploring social norms and attitudes, and understanding group dynamics.

Ethnographic Studies

This method involves immersing oneself in a culture or community to gain a deep understanding of its norms, beliefs, and practices. Ethnographic studies typically involve long-term fieldwork and observation, as well as interviews and document analysis. Ethnographic studies are useful for understanding the cultural context of social phenomena and for gaining a holistic understanding of complex social processes.

Text Analysis

This method involves analyzing written or spoken language to identify patterns and themes. Text analysis can be quantitative or qualitative. Qualitative text analysis involves close reading and interpretation of texts to identify recurring themes, concepts, and patterns. Text analysis is useful for understanding media messages, public discourse, and cultural trends.

This method involves an in-depth examination of a single person, group, or event to gain an understanding of complex phenomena. Case studies typically involve a combination of data collection methods, such as interviews, observations, and document analysis, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the case. Case studies are useful for exploring unique or rare cases, and for generating hypotheses for further research.

Process of Observation

This method involves systematically observing and recording behaviors and interactions in natural settings. The observer may take notes, use audio or video recordings, or use other methods to document what they see. Process of observation is useful for understanding social interactions, cultural practices, and the context in which behaviors occur.

Record Keeping

This method involves keeping detailed records of observations, interviews, and other data collected during the research process. Record keeping is essential for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the data, and for providing a basis for analysis and interpretation.

This method involves collecting data from a large sample of participants through a structured questionnaire. Surveys can be conducted in person, over the phone, through mail, or online. Surveys are useful for collecting data on attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and for identifying patterns and trends in a population.

Qualitative data analysis is a process of turning unstructured data into meaningful insights. It involves extracting and organizing information from sources like interviews, focus groups, and surveys. The goal is to understand people’s attitudes, behaviors, and motivations

Qualitative Research Analysis Methods

Qualitative Research analysis methods involve a systematic approach to interpreting and making sense of the data collected in qualitative research. Here are some common qualitative data analysis methods:

Thematic Analysis

This method involves identifying patterns or themes in the data that are relevant to the research question. The researcher reviews the data, identifies keywords or phrases, and groups them into categories or themes. Thematic analysis is useful for identifying patterns across multiple data sources and for generating new insights into the research topic.

Content Analysis

This method involves analyzing the content of written or spoken language to identify key themes or concepts. Content analysis can be quantitative or qualitative. Qualitative content analysis involves close reading and interpretation of texts to identify recurring themes, concepts, and patterns. Content analysis is useful for identifying patterns in media messages, public discourse, and cultural trends.

Discourse Analysis

This method involves analyzing language to understand how it constructs meaning and shapes social interactions. Discourse analysis can involve a variety of methods, such as conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, and narrative analysis. Discourse analysis is useful for understanding how language shapes social interactions, cultural norms, and power relationships.

Grounded Theory Analysis

This method involves developing a theory or explanation based on the data collected. Grounded theory analysis starts with the data and uses an iterative process of coding and analysis to identify patterns and themes in the data. The theory or explanation that emerges is grounded in the data, rather than preconceived hypotheses. Grounded theory analysis is useful for understanding complex social phenomena and for generating new theoretical insights.

Narrative Analysis

This method involves analyzing the stories or narratives that participants share to gain insights into their experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. Narrative analysis can involve a variety of methods, such as structural analysis, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis. Narrative analysis is useful for understanding how individuals construct their identities, make sense of their experiences, and communicate their values and beliefs.

Phenomenological Analysis

This method involves analyzing how individuals make sense of their experiences and the meanings they attach to them. Phenomenological analysis typically involves in-depth interviews with participants to explore their experiences in detail. Phenomenological analysis is useful for understanding subjective experiences and for developing a rich understanding of human consciousness.

Comparative Analysis

This method involves comparing and contrasting data across different cases or groups to identify similarities and differences. Comparative analysis can be used to identify patterns or themes that are common across multiple cases, as well as to identify unique or distinctive features of individual cases. Comparative analysis is useful for understanding how social phenomena vary across different contexts and groups.

Applications of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research has many applications across different fields and industries. Here are some examples of how qualitative research is used:

• Market Research: Qualitative research is often used in market research to understand consumer attitudes, behaviors, and preferences. Researchers conduct focus groups and one-on-one interviews with consumers to gather insights into their experiences and perceptions of products and services.
• Health Care: Qualitative research is used in health care to explore patient experiences and perspectives on health and illness. Researchers conduct in-depth interviews with patients and their families to gather information on their experiences with different health care providers and treatments.
• Education: Qualitative research is used in education to understand student experiences and to develop effective teaching strategies. Researchers conduct classroom observations and interviews with students and teachers to gather insights into classroom dynamics and instructional practices.
• Social Work : Qualitative research is used in social work to explore social problems and to develop interventions to address them. Researchers conduct in-depth interviews with individuals and families to understand their experiences with poverty, discrimination, and other social problems.
• Anthropology : Qualitative research is used in anthropology to understand different cultures and societies. Researchers conduct ethnographic studies and observe and interview members of different cultural groups to gain insights into their beliefs, practices, and social structures.
• Psychology : Qualitative research is used in psychology to understand human behavior and mental processes. Researchers conduct in-depth interviews with individuals to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
• Public Policy : Qualitative research is used in public policy to explore public attitudes and to inform policy decisions. Researchers conduct focus groups and one-on-one interviews with members of the public to gather insights into their perspectives on different policy issues.

How to Conduct Qualitative Research

Here are some general steps for conducting qualitative research:

• Identify your research question: Qualitative research starts with a research question or set of questions that you want to explore. This question should be focused and specific, but also broad enough to allow for exploration and discovery.
• Select your research design: There are different types of qualitative research designs, including ethnography, case study, grounded theory, and phenomenology. You should select a design that aligns with your research question and that will allow you to gather the data you need to answer your research question.
• Recruit participants: Once you have your research question and design, you need to recruit participants. The number of participants you need will depend on your research design and the scope of your research. You can recruit participants through advertisements, social media, or through personal networks.
• Collect data: There are different methods for collecting qualitative data, including interviews, focus groups, observation, and document analysis. You should select the method or methods that align with your research design and that will allow you to gather the data you need to answer your research question.
• Analyze data: Once you have collected your data, you need to analyze it. This involves reviewing your data, identifying patterns and themes, and developing codes to organize your data. You can use different software programs to help you analyze your data, or you can do it manually.
• Interpret data: Once you have analyzed your data, you need to interpret it. This involves making sense of the patterns and themes you have identified, and developing insights and conclusions that answer your research question. You should be guided by your research question and use your data to support your conclusions.
• Communicate results: Once you have interpreted your data, you need to communicate your results. This can be done through academic papers, presentations, or reports. You should be clear and concise in your communication, and use examples and quotes from your data to support your findings.

Examples of Qualitative Research

Here are some real-time examples of qualitative research:

• Customer Feedback: A company may conduct qualitative research to understand the feedback and experiences of its customers. This may involve conducting focus groups or one-on-one interviews with customers to gather insights into their attitudes, behaviors, and preferences.
• Healthcare : A healthcare provider may conduct qualitative research to explore patient experiences and perspectives on health and illness. This may involve conducting in-depth interviews with patients and their families to gather information on their experiences with different health care providers and treatments.
• Education : An educational institution may conduct qualitative research to understand student experiences and to develop effective teaching strategies. This may involve conducting classroom observations and interviews with students and teachers to gather insights into classroom dynamics and instructional practices.
• Social Work: A social worker may conduct qualitative research to explore social problems and to develop interventions to address them. This may involve conducting in-depth interviews with individuals and families to understand their experiences with poverty, discrimination, and other social problems.
• Anthropology : An anthropologist may conduct qualitative research to understand different cultures and societies. This may involve conducting ethnographic studies and observing and interviewing members of different cultural groups to gain insights into their beliefs, practices, and social structures.
• Psychology : A psychologist may conduct qualitative research to understand human behavior and mental processes. This may involve conducting in-depth interviews with individuals to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
• Public Policy: A government agency or non-profit organization may conduct qualitative research to explore public attitudes and to inform policy decisions. This may involve conducting focus groups and one-on-one interviews with members of the public to gather insights into their perspectives on different policy issues.

Purpose of Qualitative Research

The purpose of qualitative research is to explore and understand the subjective experiences, behaviors, and perspectives of individuals or groups in a particular context. Unlike quantitative research, which focuses on numerical data and statistical analysis, qualitative research aims to provide in-depth, descriptive information that can help researchers develop insights and theories about complex social phenomena.

Qualitative research can serve multiple purposes, including:

• Exploring new or emerging phenomena : Qualitative research can be useful for exploring new or emerging phenomena, such as new technologies or social trends. This type of research can help researchers develop a deeper understanding of these phenomena and identify potential areas for further study.
• Understanding complex social phenomena : Qualitative research can be useful for exploring complex social phenomena, such as cultural beliefs, social norms, or political processes. This type of research can help researchers develop a more nuanced understanding of these phenomena and identify factors that may influence them.
• Generating new theories or hypotheses: Qualitative research can be useful for generating new theories or hypotheses about social phenomena. By gathering rich, detailed data about individuals’ experiences and perspectives, researchers can develop insights that may challenge existing theories or lead to new lines of inquiry.
• Providing context for quantitative data: Qualitative research can be useful for providing context for quantitative data. By gathering qualitative data alongside quantitative data, researchers can develop a more complete understanding of complex social phenomena and identify potential explanations for quantitative findings.

When to use Qualitative Research

Here are some situations where qualitative research may be appropriate:

• Exploring a new area: If little is known about a particular topic, qualitative research can help to identify key issues, generate hypotheses, and develop new theories.
• Understanding complex phenomena: Qualitative research can be used to investigate complex social, cultural, or organizational phenomena that are difficult to measure quantitatively.
• Investigating subjective experiences: Qualitative research is particularly useful for investigating the subjective experiences of individuals or groups, such as their attitudes, beliefs, values, or emotions.
• Conducting formative research: Qualitative research can be used in the early stages of a research project to develop research questions, identify potential research participants, and refine research methods.
• Evaluating interventions or programs: Qualitative research can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions or programs by collecting data on participants’ experiences, attitudes, and behaviors.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is characterized by several key features, including:

• Focus on subjective experience: Qualitative research is concerned with understanding the subjective experiences, beliefs, and perspectives of individuals or groups in a particular context. Researchers aim to explore the meanings that people attach to their experiences and to understand the social and cultural factors that shape these meanings.
• Use of open-ended questions: Qualitative research relies on open-ended questions that allow participants to provide detailed, in-depth responses. Researchers seek to elicit rich, descriptive data that can provide insights into participants’ experiences and perspectives.
• Sampling-based on purpose and diversity: Qualitative research often involves purposive sampling, in which participants are selected based on specific criteria related to the research question. Researchers may also seek to include participants with diverse experiences and perspectives to capture a range of viewpoints.
• Data collection through multiple methods: Qualitative research typically involves the use of multiple data collection methods, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observation. This allows researchers to gather rich, detailed data from multiple sources, which can provide a more complete picture of participants’ experiences and perspectives.
• Inductive data analysis: Qualitative research relies on inductive data analysis, in which researchers develop theories and insights based on the data rather than testing pre-existing hypotheses. Researchers use coding and thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes in the data and to develop theories and explanations based on these patterns.
• Emphasis on researcher reflexivity: Qualitative research recognizes the importance of the researcher’s role in shaping the research process and outcomes. Researchers are encouraged to reflect on their own biases and assumptions and to be transparent about their role in the research process.

Advantages of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research offers several advantages over other research methods, including:

• Depth and detail: Qualitative research allows researchers to gather rich, detailed data that provides a deeper understanding of complex social phenomena. Through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observation, researchers can gather detailed information about participants’ experiences and perspectives that may be missed by other research methods.
• Flexibility : Qualitative research is a flexible approach that allows researchers to adapt their methods to the research question and context. Researchers can adjust their research methods in real-time to gather more information or explore unexpected findings.
• Contextual understanding: Qualitative research is well-suited to exploring the social and cultural context in which individuals or groups are situated. Researchers can gather information about cultural norms, social structures, and historical events that may influence participants’ experiences and perspectives.
• Participant perspective : Qualitative research prioritizes the perspective of participants, allowing researchers to explore subjective experiences and understand the meanings that participants attach to their experiences.
• Theory development: Qualitative research can contribute to the development of new theories and insights about complex social phenomena. By gathering rich, detailed data and using inductive data analysis, researchers can develop new theories and explanations that may challenge existing understandings.
• Validity : Qualitative research can offer high validity by using multiple data collection methods, purposive and diverse sampling, and researcher reflexivity. This can help ensure that findings are credible and trustworthy.

Limitations of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research also has some limitations, including:

• Subjectivity : Qualitative research relies on the subjective interpretation of researchers, which can introduce bias into the research process. The researcher’s perspective, beliefs, and experiences can influence the way data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted.
• Limited generalizability: Qualitative research typically involves small, purposive samples that may not be representative of larger populations. This limits the generalizability of findings to other contexts or populations.
• Time-consuming: Qualitative research can be a time-consuming process, requiring significant resources for data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Resource-intensive: Qualitative research may require more resources than other research methods, including specialized training for researchers, specialized software for data analysis, and transcription services.
• Limited reliability: Qualitative research may be less reliable than quantitative research, as it relies on the subjective interpretation of researchers. This can make it difficult to replicate findings or compare results across different studies.
• Ethics and confidentiality: Qualitative research involves collecting sensitive information from participants, which raises ethical concerns about confidentiality and informed consent. Researchers must take care to protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants and obtain informed consent.

Also see Research Methods

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This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Published on 6.8.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

This is a member publication of University of Toronto

Patient and Provider Experiences With Compassionate Care in Virtual Physiatry: Qualitative Study

Authors of this article:

Original Paper

• Marina B Wasilewski 1 , PhD   ; 
• Abirami Vijayakumar 1 , MSc   ; 
• Zara Szigeti 1 , MSc   ; 
• Amanda Mayo 1 , MD, MHSc   ; 
• Laura Desveaux 2 , PhD   ; 
• James Shaw 3 , PhD   ; 
• Sander L Hitzig 1 , PhD   ; 
• Robert Simpson 3 , MBChB, PhD  

1 Sunnybrook Research Institute, St. John's Rehab, Toronto, ON, Canada

2 Institute for Better Health, Mississauga, ON, Canada

3 University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Marina B Wasilewski, PhD

Sunnybrook Research Institute

St. John's Rehab

285 Cummer Avenue, Room B114

Toronto, ON, M2M 2G1

Phone: 1 416 226 6780 ext 57957

Email: [email protected]

Background: Telemedicine in the realm of rehabilitation includes the remote delivery of rehabilitation services using communication technologies (eg, telephone, emails, and video). The widespread application of virtual care grants a suitable time to explore the intersection of compassion and telemedicine, especially due to the impact of COVID-19 and how it greatly influenced the delivery of health care universally.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how compassionate care is understood and experienced by physiatrists and patients engaged in telemedicine.

Methods: We used a qualitative descriptive approach to conduct interviews with patients and physiatrists between June 2021 and March 2022. Patients were recruited across Canada from social media and from a single hospital network in Toronto, Ontario. Physiatrists were recruited across Canada through social media and the Canadian Association for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (CAPM&R) email listserve. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed thematically.

Results: A total of 19 participants were interviewed—8 physiatrists and 11 patients. Two themes capturing physiatrists’ and patients’ experiences with delivering and receiving compassionate care, especially in the context of virtual care were identified: (1) compassionate care is inherently rooted in health care providers’ inner intentions and are, therefore, expressed as caring behaviors and (2) virtual elements impact the delivery and receipt of compassionate care.

Conclusions: Compassionate care stemmed from physiatrists’ caring attitudes which then manifest as caring behaviors. In turn, these caring attitudes and behaviors enable individualized care and the establishment of a safe space for patients. Moreover, the virtual care modality both positively and negatively influenced how compassion is enacted by physiatrists and received by patients. Notably, there was large ambiguity around the norms and etiquette surrounding virtual care. Nonetheless, the flexibility and person-centeredness of virtual care cause it to be useful in health care settings.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted health care delivery around the world. Like many health disciplines [ 1 , 2 ], physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) (also known as “physiatry” or “rehabilitation medicine”) pivoted to “virtual care”—or “telemedicine”—to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure that patients had continued access to vital rehabilitation services throughout the pandemic [ 3 , 4 ]. “Telemedicine” in the context of rehabilitation involves the remote provision of rehabilitation services using information and communication technologies either synchronously (eg, phone calls and videoconferences) or asynchronously (eg, email) to improve patient health [ 5 , 6 ]. Telemedicine models enabled physiatrists (PM&R physicians) to continue providing care to patients, to promote functional recovery and improve quality of life [ 7 ]. An abundance of evidence across typical PM&R patient populations (eg, stroke, chronic musculoskeletal conditions, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder) has demonstrated telemedicine to be as effective as in-person care at improving several physical (eg, motor function) and social (eg, quality of life) health outcomes [ 8 - 12 ]. Despite these clinical and practical advantages, the implementation of telemedicine was limited prior to the pandemic [ 13 , 14 ], when it was driven forward by necessity at a pace that left little room to optimize its delivery.

Telemedicine introduces the potential to disrupt the relational nature of the traditional doctor-patient relationship, including complex, relational processes such as empathic connection, rapport building, and compassionate responding, which form the basis of compassionate care [ 15 ]. Compassion itself is a multifaceted concept that can be broadly defined as the emotions that arise when noticing someone suffer, and feeling motivated to help reduce such suffering through relational care and action [ 16 ]. Viewed widely as a core aspect of high-quality health care, compassionate patient care entails human-to-human “contact,” personal interaction, and bidirectional communication [ 17 ]. Many of these implicit processes that take place during in-person encounters may not be the same in virtual care contexts. For example, health care workers have expressed that many long hours of providing care virtually leads to exhaustion, due to a heightened need to concentrate on the screen and overcompensate for the challenges associated with processing nonverbal cues (eg, body language, facial expressions) [ 18 ]. This potentially puts providers at higher risk for burnout and compassion fatigue [ 18 ], especially concerning given that physiatrists are the third most burnt out medical specialty in North America [ 19 ].

The widespread implementation of virtual care presents an opportune time to explore the emerging intersection of compassion and telemedicine. A recent scoping review on the conceptualization, use, and outcomes associated with compassion in PM&R found that no studies had explored the concept of compassion in a virtual care setting [ 20 ]. What compassionate care means to health care providers and patients in PM&R settings and how it is conveyed and experienced virtually represents a key knowledge gap. The aim of this study was to explore how compassionate care is understood and experienced by physiatrists and patients engaged in telemedicine. Although there are a range of theoretical approaches to answer research questions, many designs may not be optimal for studies that do not necessitate a highly theoretical framework and instead focus closely on capturing and understanding participants’ experiences [ 21 ]. Hence, a qualitative descriptive approach may be used to provide experiences and perceptions of study participants [ 22 ] to better understand the conceptualization of compassionate care among patients and health care providers.

Research Design

We used a qualitative descriptive approach, which entails a concise and descriptively rich analysis that remains true to participants’ own words. Thus, it produces a data-near report that is representative of participants’ views, making it meaningful for key stakeholders and relevant for justifying actionable change [ 22 , 23 ].

Participants

Participant profile.

Eight Physiatrists and 11 patients across Canada were recruited for this study.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Participants were eligible to participate if they were English speaking adults and judged able to provide informed consent. Patient participants had to have received care virtually, at least once, from a physiatrist in the 90 days preceding recruitment. Physiatrist had to have provided virtual care at least once in the previous 90 days. Virtual care included video, telephone, and email consultation or follow-up visits (or both).

Recruitment Procedure

Between June 2021 and March 2022, we recruited physiatrists across Canada via social media and the Canadian Association for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (CAPM&R) email listserve. Patients were recruited across Canada from social media and [REHABILITATION HOSPITAL—DE-IDENTIFIED] outpatient clinic via referral by a member of their circle of care.

Ethical Considerations

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Board at Sunnybrook Hospital (ID: 4960). Informed consent was obtained prior to data collection.

Data Collection

Once informed consent was collected for participants, one-on-one interviews were conducted by two trained qualitative researchers (AV and ZS) via telephone or Zoom (Zoom Video Communications) between June 2021 and March 2022. Interview questions were focused on participants’ experiences with providing and receiving virtual care and the ways that compassion featured in these interactions (see Multimedia Appendices 1 and 2 for interview questions). Data were collected until saturation of ideas was achieved (ie, no new information emerged from subsequent interviews) [ 24 ]. The participants had no prior relationship with the interviewers and understood that the study goals were to explore experiences with virtual care. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no data sets were generated or analyzed during this study.

Interviews ranged from 25 to 75 minutes, were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. All identifying information was removed from the transcripts, which were uploaded to NVivo [ 25 ] for organization and analysis. Sociodemographic information was collected from both patients and physiatrists—for the latter we also collected professional practice information (eg, years of practice, practice setting).

Data Analysis

We used an inductive thematic approach following the steps outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006), whereby data were deconstructed into isolated fragments, followed by reconstruction into overarching themes which describe the higher-level messaging in the data [ 26 ]. Two independent researchers (AV and ZS) completed the coding process and 2 additional researchers (RS and MBW) participated in the thematic analysis.

Analytic rigor was enhanced by triangulating between multiple individuals throughout analysis, having regular team meetings, and practicing reflexivity (discussing and journaling the study team’s own biases and experiences that may influence data interpretation) [ 24 ]. We also adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines (See Appendix A). The COREQ checklist is used to encourage explicit and clear documentation of interview methodologies, ensuring important details are included in this document. Refer to Domains 2 and 3 of the COREQ to see how study design, analysis and findings were outlined. Furthermore, a generative AI was not used in any portion of the manuscript writing.

We interviewed n=19 participants (n=11 patients and n=8 physiatrists; see Table 1 for participant characteristics). We identified 2 key themes that captured patients’ and physiatrists’ experiences with receiving and providing compassionate care, broadly, and their experiences within the virtual context, specifically.

a Not applicable.

Theme #1: Compassionate Care Is Rooted in Providers’ Inner Caring Intentions that Are Expressed as Outward Caring Behaviors

Our findings suggest that compassionate care (or lack thereof) transcended health care discipline and was understood as stemming from caring attitudes which then manifested as caring behaviors. Caring attitudes and behaviors were enacted to create a safe environment, where patients felt comfortable in discussing their health concerns. Physiatrists were, thus, able to appreciate patients’ perspectives, which facilitated individualization of care.

Caring Attitudes Manifest as Caring Behaviors

Compassionate behaviors demonstrated by health care professionals stemmed from their compassionate attitudes and intentions. When patients talked about caring attitudes, they explained that their physiatrists were being “nice” and “pleasant” (Patient 10), “kind” (health care provider [HCP] 08), as well as exercising “patience” (Patient 09). Additionally, physiatrists commonly reported being “sympathetic and empathetic” (HCP05, HCP08) to better understand the needs of their patients and respond in a “respectful and humane” (HCP01) manner.

While having kindhearted intent was highlighted as a foundation for physiatrists to exercise compassion, caring attitudes were not sufficient in isolation. Rather, participants noted that compassionate intentions needed to be expressed in the form of caring behaviors to “show me [my physiatrist] cares” (Patient 03). For example, patients noted that caring attitudes, such as “empathy” (Patient 01, Patient 03, Patient 05, Patient 09, HCP02, HCP03, HCP05, HCP08), were reflected in attentive behaviors like “actively listening about the situation” (Patient 01). In one instance, a patient described how a physiatrist “respond[ed] to me within ten minutes of my email and getting me an appointment quickly”, reinforcing that the patient's concerns were going to be “nipped in the bud” (Patient 03). Patients also felt empathy from their physiatrists when they “spent time with you and talking to you [...], that I think there’s an element of understanding, some compassion” (Patient 05).

Physiatrists’ caring behaviors were often focused on cultivating interpersonal connections and expressing interest in and respect for patients’ concerns and values—understanding that “there’s a person there [...] it’s not just the body, it’s the mind, and how that will affect [the patient] in the future” (Patient 02). Caring behaviors were rooted in “recognizing that this is a person and the person is experiencing suffering” (HCP04); hence, a compassionate approach involved alleviating this suffering rather than just “making a diagnosis and giving somebody a medication” (HCP04). Patients additionally described caring behaviors as humanizing, such as when physiatrists referred to “patients as people and using their name” (Patient 08) and when there was “the caring feeling that you get [from] somebody when you talk to them, you know they’re really interested or they really care. It’s almost like they become your friend” (Patient 05). Patients often described the importance of feeling “that interconnectedness,” which was facilitated by physiatrists “asking how I’m feeling” (Patient 09) or “call[ing] back to things about [patients’] lives that they’ve mentioned … because [the patient] knows that I’ve been listening” (HCP03). Interconnectedness was described as being facilitated by “being present and listening and taking no notes” (HCP01), “offer[ing] an assuring pat on the arm” and “reassuring them that they have my undivided attention. I’ll say a statement like, I’m here for you. How can I help you?” (HCP07).

At times, caring behaviors were clinically oriented like exercising therapeutic touch or “going out of their way” (Patient 06) to provide care, such as in the case of Patient 06’s physiatrist who was “teaching other doctors how to save limbs. And, he's also going out to the Indigenous community and doing the services for them. So, when you hear somebody doing that, then you know that they care.”

Having Caring Attitudes and Behaviors Facilitates the Creation of a Safe Space for Individualized Care

Through a combination of caring attitudes and behaviors, patients felt that physiatrists created a safe and comfortable zone where psychological stressors were reduced, and space was created to ask questions and express concerns and fears while their physiatrist remained “non-judgmental” (Patient 08). A safe space was shaped by “giving the time for me” (Patient 02, Patient 03, Patient 10); time for physiatrists “to listen to me, hear me out […] compassionate care to me is just accepting me as I am […] not making me feel judged or less than […] that I can be myself” (Patient 03). Participants noted that a safe space was created over a prolonged period characterized by their physiatrist “know[ing] me” (Patient 04) because physiatrists “really develop[ed] rapport over a longer period of time” (HCP05) with their patients, making them feel safe and “comfortable” (Patient 04, Patient 08) enough to “start rattling off question after question […] and it’s like, perfect. She knows me, she knows that I want to try to answer questions and that she immediately feels comfortable” (HCP05). Some patients also spoke about the importance of feeling “wanted” (Patient 08), which stemmed from physiatrists being attentive and allowing them to “ramble on and communicate because I was coming to terms with certain thoughts [...] she allowed for [some self-discovery]” (Patient 01). Physiatrists described the skills needed to create a safe environment, where “listening is a big part of providing an atmosphere that feels open, supportive, so that patients feel like they can open up a fair bit and say what is actually on their mind” (HCP05).

When patients were able to express their questions, concerns, and needs in a safe, nonjudgmental space, physiatrists were better able to individualize care. Patients felt that care was individualized when physiatrists remembered “who I am and that you know me… you don't have to flip through your notes to find out who the heck I am” (Patient 03). Patients noted that their physiatrist knowing who they were, individualizing their care, and “understand[ing] what’s best for the individual” (Patient 01) occurred when physiatrist were able to “identify that not everyone’s the same and use their professional experience to alter that message to be more specific to what they hear from a condition standpoint. I feel that’s compassion” (Patient 01). Conversely, patients felt that the antithesis to individualized care was a “cookie-cutter approach” (Patient 01) that left patients feeling that their physiatrists were “putting [them] in one of the buckets” (Patient 01) without acknowledging their individual histories, limitations, and goals. Physiatrists described individualizing care by incorporating patients’ interests and meaningful activities into care plans, which was referred to as “personalizing the experience” (HCP08). For example, “let’s say, somewhere in the interview, they mention that they love to walk. And they can’t walk because of their foot drop, I will try to work that into conversation later” (HCP01). Physiatrists emphasized that “putting myself in [the patient’s] shoes” (HCP06) allowed them to better understand and acknowledge patients’ unique interests and circumstances (eg, availability of family support).

Compassionate Care Is Absent When Caring Attitudes and Behaviors Are Lacking

Patients referenced encounters with health care providers more broadly to describe that uncaring attitudes manifested as providers “being rude” (Patient 02, Patient 05, Patient 07), “not car[ing] about [losing my leg]” (Patient 10) and being unsympathetic toward patient limitations, which hindered the provision of compassionate care. For some, descriptions of uncompassionate HCPs included individuals who were “excellent doctors but crappy human beings [that] had no bedside manners” (Patient 03). For others, this meant “a gruff attitude…and the feeling that they don’t give a damn” (Patient 05). Patients described an absence of compassionate care when their providers exhibited uncaring behaviors such as “rushing” (Patient 02, Patient 06) them and having “one-sided discussions'' (Patient 01) where patients were not given the opportunity to discuss their concerns. In some cases, the absence of caring attitudes was attributable to a lack of time. For instance, one patient said “I have found [physiatrist] to be quite compassionate when she’s not too busy. If she’s really busy and time is short, I would say she’s very matter of fact as opposed to being compassionate” (Patient 05).

Theme #2: Virtual Elements Influence the Provision and Receipt of Compassionate Care

Participants highlighted many unique advantages to virtual care including that “you can pretty much do it anywhere” (HCP02) and provide it to “anyone” (HCP01), thereby making care “more efficient, time-wise” (HCP04). Despite the fact that virtual care “expanded a lot of opportunity” (HCP02) to access care, participants also highlighted challenges associated with virtual care, such as technical glitches or the fact that not everyone “knew how to do [virtual care]” (HCP03).

The Flexibility of Virtual Care Modalities Allows for Individualized Compassionate Care

The ability to “[give] patients a choice” (HCP01, HCP06, HCP07) of virtual modality (eg, phone, videoconferencing, and email) and platform (eg, Zoom and Doxy.me) was viewed across participants as being compassionate as it promoted a sense of “flexibility” (Patient 03, Patient 10, HCP01), “ease” (Patient 08), “comfort” (HCP01, HCP04, HCP05, Patient 06, Patient 08, Patient 09), and autonomy. When options were provided, patients felt like their physiatrists were being “more personal, more private and more one on one” (Patient 03). Physiatrists explained that “when the [patient] actually felt like [the virtual visit] was more convenient for them” it resulted in a “really meaningful visit” and that “giving [patients] that choice” is what they “enjoy the most” (HCP02, HCP07). Providing virtual care options, specifically those with visual features (eg, Zoom and Doxy.me), was also described as advantageous for individualizing care since physiatrists could “get a sneak peek into their [patient’s] home life” (HCP02) and see elements of a patient that perhaps could not be seen otherwise. For example, physiatrists mentioned how they have “had patients show me them dancing with their grandchildren in the backyard on their cell phone […] or having them get up and show me something from their house that wouldn’t necessarily be available if they were just in a clinic, [that] personalis[es] the experience [...] And that really is helpful on virtual care because you get those intimate moments, even though you’re distanced” (HCP08). Furthermore, the unique features and flexibility of virtual modalities allowed for better family engagement in care appointments because “[patients] can have a family member with them, which often times in the pandemic or even before the pandemic, they couldn’t if they had come into clinic physically” (HCP05). Ultimately, this facilitated care individualization because families could offer supplemental information that physiatrists could then use to better-tailor care to the patient.

The Ambiguous Nature of Virtual Care Norms Altered How Caring Attitudes and Behaviors Were Enacted

Ambiguity concerning safety.

Physiatrists emphasized that the highest priorities of medicine were to avoid patient harm and ensure patient safety. This norm was still noted in a virtual world, where physiatrists described safety concerns that prevented them from “examin[ing] [the patient]” because they were in an inappropriate or unsafe environment, like “sitting in a truck at the side of the road on a construction site” (HCP03). Physiatrists noted how taking appointments from inappropriate locations was “a bit of a challenge because some patients don’t treat it like a medical appointment … they’re distracted” (HCP01). Patients agreed that they did not always take their medical appointments seriously and that they were “a little bit too comfortable because […] I didn’t have to get dressed up, I didn’t have to make any kind of an impression” (Patient 08), illustrating uncertainty as to what was and was not appropriate etiquette for virtual appointments.

Physiatrists also said that, because of the types of populations that they worked with (eg, people with complex disabilities, impaired mobility, high falls risks), they “have to be cognisant of certain safety aspects of what's happening with the patient. If they're not steady, you can't get them up to stand because they might fall” (HCP02). In addition, the ambiguity around ensuring patient safety in a virtual setting was described in relation to concerns around “consent, confidentiality, and documentation…It was like…we need to do virtual care yesterday. Here’s what you [need] to do [to] make sure you’ve covered your bases” (HCP07). Overall, physiatrists’ comments highlighted that physical safety and privacy were of paramount importance. This meant first ensuring the protection of patients’ health information and offering virtual care options that were used “in a safe way” (HCP03)—a way that considered both confidentiality and patient choice because “as long as patients provide the level of consent, you can use any virtual platform that you wish” (HCP03).

Ambiguity Concerning Presence

Participants’ perspectives varied when it came to norms around facilitating a sense of presence and feeling as if their physiatrist was in the moment with them. Patients noted how certain behaviors, like a physiatrist “tak[ing] notes while they were typing into a computer,” left patients feeling like their physiatrist was not really present and “not really engaged with me” (Patient 09). Some patients highlighted how feeling connected to their physiatrist was particularly difficult in an online setting because of uncaring behaviors like when “there’s one eye always on the clock to make sure that you can make the next meeting. I just found that you get that impression in any video meeting, but I don’t get that as much in the in-person meetings” (Patient 07). Physiatrists agreed that “it’s difficult to engage in the same way” (HCP02) because interpersonal caring behaviors that help facilitate a person-to-person connection are often intangible and can be challenging to enact in an online setting. Regardless, it was universally understood that enacting interpersonal caring behaviors and facilitating a sense of engagement were easier “when you already have a relationship with the patient” (HCP07) because “virtually it’s really difficult to create that connection […] that interconnection is just not being established as well. That rapport is just not happening” (Patient 09).

There were also varied comments around promptness and timing in a virtual setting. In some cases, physiatrists expressed being “more comfortable” if “a phone [appointment] ends up being 15 or 20 minutes late, because [the patient] is on the phone … they’re not sitting in clinic, doing nothing but wait[ing] for me” (HCP01). Conversely, other physiatrists felt worried that if they were late to a virtual appointment, patients may “sign off or get cut off” (HCP02). The prevailing sentiment among physiatrists, however, was that regardless of the modality, being “on time is very good” (Patient 07) because a lack of punctuality was viewed as cold, disrespectful of patient’s time, and inherently “uncaring.”

Compassionate Behaviors and Individualized Care Are Challenged in Virtual Physiatry

Virtual care challenged physiatry practice both in terms of exercising core clinical tasks that required physical presence, and in exercising compassion. Physiatrists strongly emphasized that being physically present with patients was particularly important for physiatry because a “physical examination is very much a standard part of a physiatry assessment. And it's important for multiple reasons in terms of assessing function […] thinking about things like dexterity, things like mobility […] things that [have] to be assessed hands on” (HCP04). Patients echoed similar sentiments explaining that “if [PHYSIATRIST] wanted to look at my leg [to help with the prosthetic] […] well you can talk about it over the phone, but you can’t fix a prosthetic unless you go in” (Patient 07). The inability to perform clinical tasks and physically assess a patient further challenged physiatrists in getting “a sense of who the person is, what their needs are” (HCP01), which made it difficult for them to individualize and tailor care. Physiatrists also noted that other clinical behaviors like “handing [the patient] a tissue if they start to cry” (HCP02) or “putting your hand on their shoulder. […] even maybe hugging a patient” (HCP05) were tested when there was physical separation. The inability to enact many caring behaviors in the absence of physical presence left physiatrists feeling like they did not always “know the patient” or “know what [they] can do to support them” (HCP05). Since the virtual environment precludes many typical caring behaviors, patients stated that their physiatrists needed to “compensate for the fact you’re not physically there. The fact that you can’t tap me on the arm or you can’t rub my arm and say you’re going to be fine if I start to cry, I think you need something else to make me feel that you’re listening” (Patient 09).

Principal Findings

This qualitative descriptive study explored the experiences of patients and physiatrists engaged in virtual care with the goal of understanding how compassion was expressed and received in the virtual modality. First, findings underscored that compassionate care stemmed from providers’ caring attitudes, which manifested as caring behaviors. Participants felt compassionate care was characterized by the creation of a psychologically safe space for patients where care could be individualized. Second, findings suggest that the virtual modality both positively and negatively impacts how compassion is enacted by physiatrists and received by patients. There was also ambiguity around the norms and etiquette for virtual care.

The way that compassionate care was described in our study aligns with the growing body of literature on this topic. Participants emphasized that compassion began with providers’ internal motivations and benevolent intentions but that those intentions necessarily had to manifest as tangible behaviors and expressions of care. This echoes other research that has demonstrated that while “virtuous intent” is a main driver of compassion, compassionate care is cultivated through “contemplative practices” (eg, actions, behaviors, self-reflection) [ 27 ]. In essence, providers’ internal feelings, values, and morals are what drive actions that aim to alleviate pain and suffering in others, which is the heart of compassionate care [ 28 ]. These findings suggest that providers’ intentions and motivations positively impact the care received by patients. Many participants described compassionate care in terms of the psychologically safe environment that it enabled. This included statements about feeling “safe” to ask questions and express concerns, knowing that their physiatrist knew them “as a person” (eg, recalling details about their life and family without checking notes), and feeling that their physiatrist gave them “time” (ie, not rushing through appointments). In accordance to previous studies, creating a “safe space” and making patients feeling valued, important, and “known” are all important outcomes of compassionate acts by providers [ 29 , 30 ]. Hence, these results support the idea that compassionate care often is received by patients in a psychologically safe location.

Conversely, participants in our study felt that compassion was lacking when providers’ behaviors and acts did not reflect concern or care for the patient (eg, provider being rude, rushing through an appointment, or not listening to the patient). This highlights that even though these providers may have had good intentions, patients will not experience compassionate care unless those intentions translate into caring acts and behaviors. Even though individual providers’ “baseline compassion aptitude” varies, skills in compassionate responding can be taught, for example, learning to enhance affective and relational components through role playing [ 31 ]. Indeed, while arguments have been made in the past that compassionate is innate and that you either “have it or you do not,” mounting research supports the notion that compassion can be cultivated through learned behaviors, principles, and strategies [ 32 - 34 ]. These findings raise intriguing questions regarding the nature of compassion and how it is learned and expressed by providers.

The virtual modality was viewed as impacting expressions of compassion by providers and receipt of compassion by patients. A notable theme here was that virtual care’s naissance underpinned many ambiguities about the appropriate norms and etiquette within this setting. In the most extreme cases, physiatrists expressed concerns about their patients engaging in virtual appointments from inappropriate, potentially unsafe locations, which undermined compassionate care in as far as physiatrists were primarily concerned with ensuring their patient’s safety. This issue has been noted in other literature and points to the challenge of providers having limited control over a patient’s virtual care environment and etiquette [ 35 ]. Some recommendations to address this issue include providers communicating expectations to patients around how to safely and optimally engage in virtual care appointments [ 35 ] and providing education that helps patients value virtual care in the same way as in-person care [ 36 ].

On the provider side, the idea of “webside” manner has gained a lot of traction with the rapid pivot to virtual care throughout the pandemic and refers to “virtual care etiquette” to be exercised by providers [ 37 ]. Good “webside” manner entails noting patient needs, taking time to clarify any concerns, and following up with their care as a way of exercising kindness and compassion in the virtual setting [ 37 ]. In our study, a lack of “webside manner” was experienced by some patients who felt that an interpersonal connection with their provider was absent and that their provider was not always “present” and “in the moment” (eg, taking notes on screen, looking off at a clock). One element that was ubiquitously mentioned by participants as mitigating this challenge was having an established patient-physiatrist relationship that could then translate to the virtual setting. This aligns with other studies of compassionate care that have emphasized the importance of mutual trust and continuity of care between patients and providers [ 38 ]. In the absence of a pre-existing relationship, providers must be additionally intentional in building rapport with patients and working to make appointments feel less rushed and more conversational [ 38 ].

Our focus on physiatry elucidated that virtual care can be especially challenging for the field of PM&R due to physiatrists’ scope of practice and the core clinical tasks in which they routinely engage. In this context, physical examination is a central part of standard practice (eg, physical manipulation of limbs, assessing prosthetics, assessing function and dexterity, etc). Although telemedicine can be optimally used for symptom monitoring, prescribing, medical advice, and psychological support (ie, tasks that typically do not require any physical presence [ 39 ]), other rehabilitation interventions (eg, physical assessments and examinations) do not necessarily have good validity when conducted virtually compared to in person [ 40 , 41 ]. This emphasizes that in the field of PM&R especially, there may be many opportunities to leverage the advantages of virtual care, but that in-person assessment and care remain necessary under certain conditions.

Although the virtual setting posed several challenges to compassionate care, it is important to note that the flexibility afforded by the modality was unanimously considered as an enabler of compassionate and person-centered care by patients and physiatrists. Person-centered care is defined as care that respects an individual’s preferences, needs, and values, and is provided in an empathic and compassionate way [ 42 ]. In alignment with this definition, participants in our study felt that the flexibility afforded by virtual care led to care being more individualized, considerate of unique needs and circumstances. Moving forward—during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic—it is important to build on the many advantages of virtual care that have been identified, particularly in terms of enhancing accessibility to diverse patient populations, while also mitigating less favorable aspects of the virtual environment which otherwise might serve to undermine the provision of compassionate patient care.

Strengths and Limitations

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to focus on compassionate care in the field of physiatry and in the context of virtual care. We were able to achieve a more complete understanding of compassionate care by including both physiatrist and patient perspectives. This allowed us to elucidate how compassion is both enacted and experienced in physiatry practice broadly, and in the virtual care context more specifically. One limitation is that nearly all participants were Caucasian and lived or practiced in major metropolitan areas, making our findings less transferable to patients and providers of other ethnicities and those who live or practice in rural settings. Our study also took place during a period where compensation mechanisms for virtual care where enhanced and streamlined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which eased provision of this type of care and allowed for exploration of compassion in this context. Thus, our findings may not be transferable to circumstances when these mechanisms are no longer in place (due to reduction or elimination of virtual care compensation codes).

Conclusions

Although virtual care has the potential to optimize patients’ access to therapy and treatment, great caution must be taken to maintain the compassionate elements of care; especially in the field of PM&R. Compassion is rooted in providers’ inner caring attitudes which manifest as caring behaviors and enable individualized care and the creation of a safe space for patients. Notably, the physical nature of core clinical tasks in physiatry was challenged by the virtual setting. Moving forward, the flexibility and person-centeredness of virtual care render it a useful modality in a routine sense, as long as in-person care is provided too, when necessary. Greater patient education, clinical guidance, and competency training for physiatrists in this area may help optimize safe and compassionate virtual care in PM&R settings.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an AMS Small Grant in Compassion and Artificial Intelligence. No generative AI was used for this study.

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

Patient Interview Guide.

Physiatrist Interview Guide.

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Abbreviations

Edited by T de Azevedo Cardoso; submitted 22.08.23; peer-reviewed by H Pilabré, S Kaur; comments to author 05.12.23; revised version received 20.03.24; accepted 30.05.24; published 06.08.24.

©Marina B Wasilewski, Abirami Vijayakumar, Zara Szigeti, Amanda Mayo, Laura Desveaux, James Shaw, Sander L Hitzig, Robert Simpson. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 06.08.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (ISSN 1438-8871), is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

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GBH Education Research Internship – Fall 2024

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GBH enriches people’s lives through programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives.

At GBH, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission. As a result, the majority of our staff are hybrid and work both from home and onsite. Our current hybrid approach requires staff to work onsite a minimum of two days each week, every Tuesday and one other day, to be determined by their business unit. Hybrid staff are also welcome to come in additional days each week or may be asked to come in on other days by their manager.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

GBH Education is a division within GBH, whose mission is to work with communities to research, develop, and distribute quality media-integrated resources to support the equitable learning and development of children and youth. We aim to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people through research-based programming, partnerships with educators, communities, and community-based organizations. In particular, we are guided by an equity compass and seek to respond to specific community needs, include communities in the development of media and educational initiatives, and represent diverse people and stories throughout. We serve educators and learners in both in-school (prek-12) and out-of-school (informal) settings, and are co-leads of PBS LearningMedia ( www.pbslearningmedia.org ), public media’s national, free service of digital learning resources that is typically accessed by over a million users a month. We also work with GBH brands such as Arthur, Design Squad Global, NOVA, and Frontline (among others) to develop, produce, and disseminate content for formal learning and community educational settings. JOB OVERVIEW

The Education Research intern will assist the Education teams with the research and development projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist in designing and conducting research studies to evaluate the impact of educational programs and content.
• Collect, clean, and analyze qualitative and quantitative data using various research methods and tools.
• Conduct literature reviews and summarize key findings to support ongoing research projects.
• Develop and implement surveys, interview protocols,, and other research instruments.
• Assist in the preparation of research reports, presentations, and publications.
• Participate in team meetings and contribute to discussions on research strategies and findings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including curriculum designers, production, and marketing
• Proficiency in data analysis software (e.g., SPSS, R, Excel) and qualitative analysis tools (e.g., NVivo).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interest in K-12 education, educational research and educational media.
• Must be proactive, professional, and juggle multiple tasks
• Comfortable working independently, as well as with a team
• Organizational skills and keen attention to detail are essential

Paid Internship $17/hour (Part-time 10 hours per week)

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

GBH internships provide students with valuable work experience and real-world knowledge across many different fields of study, from TV and radio production, to web design, accounting, law, and other administrative arenas.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

• Internship dates: September 16th to December 6th
• You must have cover letters for each internship that you are applying to.
• Candidates must have their own computer and access to Wifi.
• Candidates must be in an Undergrad or Grad program and have work authorization for the United States.
• Position is remote but those local to Boston may have the option to come to the office.

To learn more about our program follow us on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gbhinterns

GBH is an equal opportunity employer. The community and audience we serve are diverse, and we wish to foster that diversity in our workplace. Toward that end, GBH does not discriminate against individuals in hiring, employment, or promotion based on race, religion, color, sex/gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, disability, veteran or military status, political belief, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Application Process Assistance

GBH will reasonably accommodate applicants with disabilities who need adjustments to participate in the application or interview process. To initiate an accommodation request, contact the Human Resource department by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling 617-300-2000.

Connect with us:

Contact us: 9a-5p, M-F | 134 Mary Gates Hall | Seattle, WA 98195 | (206) 543-0535 tel | [email protected]

The Division of Student Life acknowledges the Coast Salish people of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot Nations. Student Life is committed to developing and maintaining an inclusive climate that honors the diverse array of students, faculty, and staff. We strive to provide pathways for success and to purposefully confront and dismantle existing physical, social, and psychological barriers for minoritized students and communities. We engage in this work while learning and demonstrating cultural humility.

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UW Bitcoin Research Institute

The UW Bitcoin Research Institute, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences , exists to output peer-reviewed academic research on bitcoin and contribute to curriculum in philosophy, economics, and interdisciplinary courses.

The Director of the institute is Dr. Bradley Rettler , Associate Professor of Philosophy. 

You can help further the work of the Bitcoin Research Institute today by making a gift. Click the button below to make an impact on academic bitcoin research. 

Publications

Resistance Money : A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin (Routledge)

Academic Papers

Money Without State  ( Philosophy Compass )

The Moral Landscape of Monetary Design  ( Philosophy Compass )

Carbon neutral bitcoin adoption for nation states  ( Financial Cryptography and Data Security ) [ video presentation ]

Greening Bitcoin With Incentive Offsets (whitepaper)

Bitcoin is King  ( Cryptocurrency Concepts, Technology, and Applications )

Digital Value  ( Philosophy & Digitality )

Educational Videos

An Introduction to Bitcoin   (for the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Project for Wyoming public schools)

Panel Discussion at Bitcoin Policy Summit: What Makes Bitcoin Special

Where Bitcoin Fits

Bitcoin Can Protect Freedom and Help Win Elections   ( Newsweek )

Bitcoin is for Anyone, Left or Right  ( USA Today)  [ PDF ] [ archive ]

Governments should invest in the bitcoin network  ( Newsweek )

The U.S. Needs Digital Cash, not Digital Money  ( Barron's )

Why Privacy Matters for Digital Money  ( RealClearPolicy )

Bitcoin and Financial Injustice  ( Institute of Art and Ideas ) [ PDF ] [ archive ]

Philosophy and Bitcoin   ( American Philosophical Association  blog)

Is bitcoin really a bubble ? ( CogX )

Bitcoin's Halving is a Major Spectacle -- that's the whole point   ( Blockworks )

Why Bitcoin Needs Philosophy  ( CoinDesk )

Another Way to Think About Bitcoin's Value  ( Bitcoin Magazine )

An Orange New Deal  [German translation  here ] ( Bitcoin Magazine )

Hard Forks Are Fan Fiction  ( CoinDesk )

Mine Your Values  ( CoinDesk )

Bitcoin stands apart  ( CoinTelegraph )

Neutral Money  ( Bitcoin Policy Institute )

The Bitcoin Research Institute will run the following events. Particular event details will be posted here.

Annual Summer Workshop

Paper Prizes

Public Writing Prizes

Public Outreach Events

Weekly Seminars

Special Issues of Academic Journals

Book Workshops  

Why a Bitcoin Research Institute?

The state of academic bitcoin research is poor. For example, Mora et al’s (2018) prediction that “Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2°C” has been debunked in three publications in Nature and is empirically falsified but still has 400 citations. "Digiconomist" Alex de Vries calculates energy use per bitcoin transaction, despite the fact that bitcoin transactions use as much energy as sending an email. Hinzen, John, and Salah (2022) argue that bitcoin adoption will increase block time because it will prolong consensus; they are not aware of bitcoin's difficulty adjustment.

In short, academics, journalists, policymakers, and the public lack access to good research on bitcoin. The Bitcoin Research Institute aims to provide it.

UW's Distinctive Strengths

There are many reasons to house the Bitcoin Research Institute at the University of Wyoming:

There is interdisciplinary academic unit collaboration: philosophy, economics, School of Computing, Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation, Advanced Blockchain Lab, School of Energy Resources, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Center for Subsurface Energy and Digital Innovation

Wyoming's proximity to renewable energy – wind, solar – and renewables research

Wyoming's positive regulatory and legislative environment for bitcoin

The opportunity to support Wyoming’s economic and community development through bitcoin education and partnerships and mentoring

Prepares students for thinking about money and finance in an increasing digital world

Donations to the Bitcoin Research Institute are tax-deductible. We accept bitcoin (obviously), bank drafts, and credit card. We will hold any bitcoin that is donated. Thanks to Mark Casey for the initial gift that led to the founding of the Institute. For sizable donations, donations in bitcoin (on-chain or Lightning), or for those who don't want to donate through a web page, contact John Small at [email protected].

Bradley Rettler Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion [email protected] (307) 766-6514

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Primary care health professionals’ approach to clinical coding: a qualitative interview study

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• ORCID record for Aled Huw Davies
• For correspondence: [email protected]
• ORCID record for Haroon Ahmed

Background: Clinical coding allows for structured and standardised recording of data in patients electronic healthcare records. How clinical and non-clinical staff in general practice approach clinical coding is poorly understood. Aim: To explore primary care staff’s experiences and views on clinical coding. Design and setting: Qualitative, semi-structured interview study with primary care staff across Wales in 2023. Method: All general practices within Wales were invited to participate via NHS Health Boards. Semi-structured interview questions guided the interview. Audio-recorded data were transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: 19 participants from general practices across Wales were interviewed. Six themes were identified: ‘the daily task of coding’, ‘making coding easier’, ’coding challenges’, ‘what and when to code?’, ‘motivation to code’ and ‘coding through COVID’. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the complexity of clinical coding in primary care. Clinical and non-clinical staff spoke of systems that lacked intuitiveness, and the challenges of multi-morbidity and time pressures when coding in clinical situations. These challenges are likely to be exacerbated in socio-economically deprived areas, leading to under-reporting of disease in these areas. Challenges of clinical coding may lead to implications for data quality, particularly the validity of research findings generated from studies reliant on clinical coding from primary care. There are also consequences for patient care. Participants cared about coding quality and wanted a better way of using coding. There is a need to explore technological and non-technological solutions, such as artificial intelligence, training and education, to unburden people using clinical coding in primary care.

• Received January 17, 2024.
• Accepted May 13, 2024.
• Copyright © 2024, The Authors

This article is Open Access: CC BY license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

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