Performing Subjectivist Studies in the Qualitative Traditions Responsive to Users - Evaluation Methods in Biomedical Informatics - page 268

What Do We Mean by Qualitative Studies?
Strauss and Corbin 2 define qualitative/subjectivist research (and, by exten-
sion, evaluation) as “any type of research that produces findings not arrived
at by statistical procedures or other means of quantification.” Qualitative
studies generally gather data in an open-ended way through interviews or
observation, and the data are then progressively interpreted by the inves-
tigators. These data are usually words and pictures, not numbers. Qualita-
tive studies are usually conducted at the site where the work of interest is
actually being done; typically these are sites where an information resource
is or will be in actual use. This study setting is called “the field” and the
studies themselves are often called field studies.
Qualitative studies are designed so that the topic of interest is considered
within a larger context. For example, a clinical researcher's success in using
a new protocol management system depends in part on whether the system
is consistent with other features of the local research environment such as
institutional human subjects procedures and perceptions of the system by
colleagues. Qualitative methods might be used to evaluate the system
within such a context, and the data collected can be the source of both rich
descriptions and explanations. Qualitative methods can illuminate the evo-
lution of important phenomena over time if the study has an historical com-
ponent; they can indicate what led up to certain consequences; they can lead
to new questions and insights; and their results can be presented in partic-
ularly vivid ways by using quotes to illustrate points. As discussed in the
previous chapter, well-executed qualitative studies are credible, depend-
able, and replicable. (Readers interested in the variants of qualitative
methods that have evolved over time may wish to refer to Appendix A at
this point.)
Why Is It Important to Understand the
Qualitative Framework?
Qualitative/subjectivist studies have become an accepted alternative or
complement to quantitative/objectivist studies in the health care literature
because they make it possible to address certain research questions that
cannot be investigated any other way. Because they accommodate study of
“attitudes, beliefs, and preferences, and the whole question of how evidence
is turned into practice,” 3 they are ideal for evaluating information resource
implementation processes, for example. Like their objectivist counterparts,
subjectivist studies can be done either well or poorly. Examples of both exist
in the literature. It is therefore critical that persons knowledgeable in infor-
matics be able to distinguish the useful studies from the flawed ones, as well
as be able to do high-quality evaluation studies themselves.