Formulating a Qualitative Research Study
In late 2019, there was an outbreak of novel pandemic, COVID 19, which spread widely all over the world causing a myriad of deaths (WHO, 2019). This brought up the question on whether health systems were prepared for such pandemic and how it affected health workers. Therefore, this paper focuses on Health system preparedness for COVID-19 and its impacts on frontline health care workers. This study will seek to answer the questions: What were the preparedness levels of health systems in handling COVID 19? How has health system preparedness affected frontline health workers?
This study will adopt phenomenological research method. This method is best suited for this study because its focus is on people’s experience (Swinton & Mowat, 2006). Since the study focuses on already lived experience (COVID 19) by health workers. The study might encounter the challenge of confidentiality and anonymity. To deal with this, the researcher will ensure no identifier is filled in the data collection tool. Also, to assure respondents that the information they provide will be used solely for academic purpose, a research permit and letter from the institution will be provided. Also, the quality of the study can be influenced by researchers’ bias; therefore, statistical sampling method will be used in selecting study sample to ensure representation.
This study could also adopt a case study research design (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). In this method, the study will focus on specific areas like a specific hospital, region, or country. Unlike other methods, using a case study allows collection of details resulting in richer and deeper data. Also, this design allows experiments to be conducted and new ideas can be adopted leading to new hypothesis that can be tested. However, the findings from a case study are limited to the selected case and therefore cannot be generalized. In addition, it is a challenge to determine cause/effect in case studies.
References
Cohen D, & Crabtree B. (2006). Qualitative research guidelines project. Retrieved from http://www.qualres.org/HomeSemi-3629.html.
Swinton J, & Mowat H. (2006). Practical theology and qualitative research. SCM Press; London, UK.
World Health Organization. (2019). Global COVID 19 report 2019. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/329368.
Great post Axel. I think the Covid topic is going to be a main topic used for research in many years to come. I like your research
questions. I don’t think anyone was prepared for this type of pandemic. I think it would be great to do research about how the preparedness affected the frontline healthcare workers. I remember doing drill after drill in the emergency room to prepare for large occurrences such as multiple causalities from a plane wreck or how to handle patients when they have been exposed to toxic matter. I don’t think anyone was prepared for the Covid pandemic.
I think that the phenomenological research method is a good choice. Using this method, the researcher does not express their values or opinions towards the research and examines how the phenomenon affects the participants instead of how the researcher perceives the phenomenon and this is called bracketing (Elkatawneh, 2016). There are so many opinions and ideas around the Covid topic. Would you have a hard time not expressing your thoughts when performing the research?
Elkatawneh, H. H. (2016). The five qualitative approaches: Problem, purpose, and
questions/The role theory in the five qualitative approaches/Comparative case study.
SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2761327
Selection of qualitative research topic and research question(s)
In nursing practice, several issues that need to be investigated may require qualitative or quantitative research. In this discussion, I have selected the topic of stress among mental healthcare nurses. Particularly, the qualitative research will address the questions “among nurses working in mental healthcare unit, what is the cause of stress? What is the relationship between stress and healthcare outcomes in the mental healthcare unit? This study will examine the cause of the relationship between stress and factors that cause it and consequently, propose a strategy to prevent stress in the mental healthcare unit.
Research Methodology
Based on the above research topic of stress and causative agents, the proposed methodology for gathering data would be a one-on-one interview. The method entails a personal interview that is conducted with one respondent at a time. The reason for using one-on-one interview is because different people have different causes of stress and therefore, the one-one-one interview will give an opportunity to get details of factors from different respondents (Jamshed, 2014). Conducting in-depth interviews face to face will also give the researcher a better opportunity to read the body language of the participants and match the responses (Borcsa & Willig, 2021).
The challenges of conducting one-one-one interview
The first possible challenge in conducting one-on-one interviews is time constraints. In most cases, a one-on-one interview requires enough to engage each participant. The nurses may also not have time to take part in the one-one-one interview because of their workload. The challenge is based on interview fatigue (Jamshed, 2014).
The strengths and weaknesses one-one-one interview
As a qualitative research method, the one-on-one interview has the strength of providing a great opportunity for the researcher to gather precise data about what participants experience and believe. The second strength is that the researcher can guide the respondents to collect meaningful data. With an in-depth interview, there is a better opportunity to read and comprehend the body language of the respondents which in turn improves the quality of data collected. Furthermore, interviews can be used to get detailed data about the feelings, opinions, and perception of the participant about stress and thus, informing the intervention to be used (Jamshed, 2014).
However, interview as a qualitative research method has weaknesses in terms of cost. There is the cost of time, documentation for the interview, and traveling expenses. The speed and efficiency of the data collection is also affected because one the participant is contacted at the time
Other the possible qualitative method that could be used to research
Other than an interview, the other possible qualitative research method that can be used to examine the causes of stress in the mental healthcare unit is a focus group. By description, focus group refers to data collection that includes a limited number of participants such as 6 to 10 from within the target population (Gray, Grove & Sutherland, 2021). The goal of the focus group is to find answers such as what causes stress among mental healthcare workers and how does this affect their duty.
References
Borcsa, M., & Willig, C. (2021). Qualitative research methods in mental health: Innovative and collaborative approaches. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2021). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Saunders Elsevier
Jamshed, S. (2014). Qualitative research method-interviewing and observation. Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, 5, 4, 87-88.
