Qualitative Research Methods

Running head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Qualitative Research Methods
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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 2
Qualitative Research Methods
Week One Summary
In the first week of the study, I undertook two learning activities. The first activity
reminded me of what I had learned in my previous units. I read the file named “overview of
research process and methods.” The file defined research as a systematic process that utilizes
scientific methods to explore the relationships or determination of differences to answer a
question. The scientific process follows a specific process to formulate questions and find
answers. I also learned the definition of research design. I learned research designs are series of
steps followed by the researcher when carrying out a study.
I read four research abstracts in the second activity of the study. The first abstract was for
a descriptive study conducted by Liou and Cheng (2010). A descriptive study describes the
occurrence of a phenomena or a situation within a given environment. For instance, in the study
by Liou and Cheng (2010), the researchers investigated how the organizational climate impact
nurses’ performance and attitudes towards the organization. The second research abstract was an
explorative study from Erlinda and Julie (n.d.). An explorative study seeks to improve
information and findings for a problem that has not been studied more clearly. The third abstract
was an explanatory study from Peters (2006). Explanatory studies seek to add new knowledge to
a study that was not properly conducted. The final abstract was a predictive study by Woo,
Leung, and Wong (2009). Predictive studies forecast outcomes or consequences of something
that has not been done before.
Week Two Summary
I covered two topics in this week. The first topic introduced me to epidemiology. People
studying epidemiology are called epidemiologists. They are mainly interested in understanding

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 3
occurrence of diseases in human populations and factors responsible for those diseases. I learned
that the occurrence of diseases is influenced by factors called determinants of health such as age,
biological characteristics, and personal behavior. These factors may be positive or negative, even
though they tend to be negative in most cases. Positive factors are in favor of a person’s health.
The terminologies in this week were more compared to those covered in the first week.
Some of the new terminologies I learned are prevalence, which defines a given group at a certain
point in time. The “incidence” refers to the number of new cases of a disease within a given
population that is at risk of being affected. I learned how one can calculate the incidence of
diseases and prevalence. When calculating incidence, the denominator is the number of people at
risk of being affected and the numerator consists of new cases. This indicates that incidence of a
disease is a risk and not a burden of a disease. When computing the prevalence of a disease, the
numerator is the number of people infected with the disease at a given time and the denominator
is the total number of people living within that environment at the time the disease occurs.
Prevalence is often expressed as a percentage by multiplying the results by 100.
Week Three Summary
There were four topics in this week. I used Leon (2014) as the main text and learned
some terminologies used in research. I learned that quantitative research often involves the
relationship between the independent variable which affects the dependent variable. The
dependent variable is always the outcome of interest. I also learned the difference between
observational and experimental studies. Observational studies do not involve intervention in the
variables involved in the study. The researcher only observes what is happening and makes a
conclusion. On the other hand, experimental studies involve the researcher’s intervention to alter
one variable and determine the impact on the other variable.