Employing a Qualitative Description Approach in Health Care Research
Open accessAbstract
A qualitative description design is particularly relevant where information is required directly from those experiencing the phenomenon under investigation and where time and resources are limited. Nurses and midwives often have clinical questions suitable to a qualitative approach but little time to develop an exhaustive comprehension of qualitative methodological approaches. Qualitative description research is sometimes considered a less sophisticated approach for epistemological reasons. Another challenge when considering qualitative description design is differentiating qualitative description from other qualitative approaches. This article provides a systematic and robust journey through the philosophical, ontological, and epistemological perspectives, which evidences the purpose of qualitative description research. Methods and rigor issues underpinning qualitative description research are also appraised to provide the researcher with a systematic approach to conduct research utilizing this approach. The key attributes and value of qualitative description research in the health care professions will be highlighted with the aim of extending its usage.
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A purposeful sampling strategy was employed to select participants with an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon.
“This study employed a purposeful sampling strategy [42], aimed at selecting participants with an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon to effectively address the research objectives [41].”
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- Authors
- Bradshaw, C., Atkinson, S., & Doody, O.
- Affiliations
- University of Limerick (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Bradshaw, Carmel
- Venue
- Global Qualitative Nursing Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-01-01
- Volume
- 4
- Pages
- 2333393617742282-2333393617742282
- ISSN
- 2333-3936 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5703087
- OpenAlex
- W2770289357
- Cited by
- 2,475
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 343 · 2025: 437 · 2024: 463 · 2023: 375 · 2022: 371 · 2021: 262 · 2020: 139 · 2019: 65 · 2018: 11 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 192.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Global Qualitative Nursing Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (acceptedVersion)
- University of Limerick Institutional Repository (University of Limerick) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- University of Limerick Institutional Repository (University of Limerick) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- University of Limerick Institutional Repository (University of Limerick)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Methodologies in Health Research and Practice
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- epistemology, ontology, philosophical views, research rigor, nursing research, midwifery research, clinical questions, health care research
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