Why QHRC?
Why Include Qualitative Research in Your Study?
We live in an age of big data. Never before have physicians and policymakers had access to more information about so many health-related behaviors of so many individuals, and yet most decision-makers remain stymied. Qualitative research is uniquely designed to uncover surprising answers to unasked questions, and to find the important “how?” and “why?” answers you need to move from data to solutions.
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research is any inquiry that involves words and images rather than numbers. It might be an in-depth interview where the respondent is encouraged to say whatever they wish about topics that matter to them instead of checking a “yes/no” box or an “always/sometimes/never” drop down menu. It might be a focus group where the data are the exchanges of ideas as participants puzzle through a problem. It might be an observational study where the observer’s fieldnotes track workflows.
At the end of the qualitative data analysis process, results are in the form of a conceptual model, a narrative, or a set of exemplary quotes in participants’ own words demonstrating how human behavior and individual interpretations shape healthcare delivery and health outcomes.
Why Work With QHRC?
We Listen.
Deep listening aimed at uncovering the patterns. We excel at this specialized kind of listening. We start by listening to YOU as the investigator –your research aims, your hunches, your concerns. We translate that understanding into designing question pathways that will elicit the most frank, detailed, and unbiased responses. We then listen to your respondents: patients, clinicians, stakeholders –to find the answers you need.
We Learn.
The most useful qualitative research is conducted in the language of the participants. We learn the language of your research by taking a deep dive into the literature, by job shadowing your clinicians or conducting cognitive interviews with your participants. These crucial preparatory steps enable our researchers to “think with your research question in mind” and ask the follow-up questions YOU would ask when collecting or analyzing data.
We Teach.
We are led by an award-winning instructor, and we put our academic background to good use. QHRC’s research team works continually to improve our skills by attending regular QHRC Methods Seminars. We will teach you and your team as well. Whether you come to us for a training seminar or hire us to collect and analyze data for you, we will help you and your team learn how to make the most effective use of qualitative and mixed-methods data. We strengthen your research team while we support with your research.
We Excel.
Our research finds audiences in the top clinical and policy journals and helps shape decisions in the highest levels of government. Our expertise in research design and dissemination will ensure that your data can answer your research questions effectively and reach decision makers that matter.