History and Process of Nursing Research full custom essay
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is one of the two main types of research. Qualitative research is a
systematic scientific inquiry which seeks to build a holistic narrative, description to inform the
researcher’s understanding of a social or cultural phenomenon (Astalin 2013). It has been applied
in various academic disciplines with the aim of identifying the reasons or causes behind a certain
phenomena. This type of research focuses on how and why many of the occurrences take place
instead of majoring on the number of occasions. It has enabled to understand various phenomena
in nursing such as the epidemiology of many illnesses and the causes of outbreaks within certain
populations. There are main concepts that are sought to be understood when covering any type of
qualitative research; description of things, characteristics, metaphors, meanings, and concept
definitions. The main field that qualitative research is applied in the academic field is the human
elements of either the natural and social sciences. Apart from being applied in the academic
field, qualitative research is also used in marketing, business research, service study, and
journalism. There are four major types of qualitative research that are currently applied;
phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and case study. The paper focuses on explaining
only two types, phenomenological and ethnographic research.
Phenomenological research
From the term phenomena, this type of qualitative research is based on the study of
phenomenological events that occur within our living world. Phenomena are situations, events,
occurrences, experiences, or concepts that are not clearly understood (Astalin 2013).
Phenomenology is a way of describing something that is an integral part of the living ecosystem.
Many forms of phenomena exist in the current world which few people clearly understood. Some
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of them they are not understood at all and thus it is the aim of the research to try and clear the
issues and circumstances surrounding any phenomena. Phenomenological research is a type of
research with strong philosophical origins (Wilson 2015). An example of a type of
phenomenological research is trying to explain and describe the reason behind counselling and
its impact on the human life. Another example is the understanding the relationship between the
causes of back pain, what it actually means to have back pains, and the effects that it may cause
on the quality of life of the individuals. Thus, a phenomenological research will be based on
understanding the phenomena and the relationship it has with human life may it be positive or
negative. Unlike many research conducted on the management and the significance of various
analgesics, this type of study is limited to only understanding the concept. The study is
conducted in a systematic manner that is well planned and analyzed to help focus on
establishment of facts behind various phenomena. Sometimes the study may not provide
complete actual facts relating to certain concept but is helpful in the increase of awareness and
insight.
Ethnographic research
Ethnographic research is obtained from anthropology which is the study of human origin
and their relationships throughout existence. Thus, ethnography is a branch of anthropology that
focuses on the study of individual human societies and their description in relation to existence
(Astalin 2013). It is basically the study of the human imaging hence the development of the
research which is a type of descriptive study that focuses on study of human culture and the
people. Based on one of the core founders, Van Maanen, the study is based on behaving and
living like the people who are under study. Ethnographic research is a study in which researchers
do not reveal their true identity to the people they are studying (Marzano 2018). Just like
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phenomenological study, it involves vigorous interaction with the individuals under study.
However, the study can take longer periods of time which are not specified it aims at
understanding how the people behave and conduct themselves under ordinary situations within
their normal environments. Unlike the latter, this type of study is based on a group of individuals
who should have common characteristics which promulgate the study.
Some of the cultural parameters that can be studies are religion, the geographical
location, the tribe, and lifestyle. Phenomenological research is targeted at understanding
phenomena which may be affecting or influencing the life of even one particular individual.
However, ethnographic is based on study of a group of people who have similar traits that affect
them as a group. An example of ethnography study is research on a culture that affects the health
seeking behaviour of patients because of the fear in interaction of the male and female genders.
The study requires an extensive field of study and focus so that the researcher may focus on the
group of individuals with interrogations and interviews. They may observe the behaviour of the
occupants under natural circumstances and then analyse their speculations. Hence, this type of
study takes a longer period of time compared to phenomenological research.
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References
Astalin, P. K. (2013). Qualitative research designs: A conceptual framework. International
Journal of Social Science and Interdisciplinary Research, 2(1), 118-124.
Marzano, M. (2018). The Ethics of Covert Ethnographic Research. In The Palgrave Handbook of
Ethics in Critical Research (pp. 399-413). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Wilson, A. (2015). A guide to phenomenological research. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(34),
38.
