Introduction 

Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to complete them in the order in which they are presented.

Qualitative research uses inductive reasoning based on an exploration or observation. The focus is typically on the researcher investigating the reasons why something happened. The information comes from interviews or observations. The answers emerge as more information is discovered. You could relate it to the work of a detective who gathers facts and organizes them to find patterns that lead to explanations for events.

In this assessment, you will continue to expand your understanding of a research framework in the context of qualitative research by analyzing and evaluating research questions in qualitative studies. You will also continue to analyze the interrelated elements of a research study making the connection among theory, problem, purpose, and, now, qualitative research questions and design.For this assessment it is suggested that you build upon the work that you did in the Research Problem and Purpose Statements assessment.

The assessment has two distinct parts:

Part 1: Qualitative Research Question

Relevant Scoring Guide Criteria:

Formulate a qualitative research question.

Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.

For this section, you will formulate a research question that is appropriate for a research project that will use qualitative methodologies. Remember the HAC that you used in your Research Problem and Purpose Statements assessment for this course. Your research question should align to the problem and purpose statements that you developed in this assessment. A well-written research question should be a single statement.

When examining or creating qualitative research questions, the following checklist may be useful:

Qualitative Research Question Checklist

Does the purpose statement fit logically with the problem statement? Are there similar words, or does it seem to address a different topic?

Do the research questions align with the method and design of the study? For instance, are words like perception used that would automatically reject a quantitative study? 

Do questions seek to describe responses to the variables described in the study?

Do the questions begin with the word why?

Do the questions focus on a single phenomenon?

Do the questions include exploratory verbs?

Is the language nondirectional?

Are the questions open ended?

Do the questions specify the participants and research site?

Part 2: Qualitative Methods and Data Collection

Relevant Scoring Guide Criteria:

Identify relevant qualitative methodologies that will support answering a research question.

Describe qualitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering research questions.

Explain the importance of methodologically relevant data collection to a research plan as a whole.

Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.

For this section, you will draw upon your readings about qualitative methods and data collection to first identify specific qualitative methodologies that will enable you to answer your research question. You will also discuss specific qualitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering your research questions. Questions to consider when looking for tools and strategies and tools include:

What is your research question specifically trying to answer?

How does the specific HAC impact the types of tools and strategies that would work best?

How does the health care setting that the research project will be occurring in impact the types of tools and strategies that would work best?

Lastly, this section should include a review of why it is important to a potential research plan as a whole to ensure that your data collection plan is relevant to your chosen methodology.