Interview-based Qualitative Research in Emergency Care Part II: Data Collection, Analysis and Results Reporting.
Qualitative methods are increasingly being used in emergency care research. Rigorous qualitative methods can play a critical role in advancing the emergency care research agenda by allowing investigators to generate hypotheses, gain an in-depth understanding of health problems or specific populations, create expert consensus, and develop new intervention and dissemination strategies. In Part I of this two-article series, we provided an introduction to general principles of applied qualitative health research and examples of its common use in emergency care research, describing study designs and data collection methods most relevant to our field (observation, individual interviews, and focus groups). Here in Part II of this series, we outline the specific steps necessary to conduct a valid and reliable qualitative research project, with a focus on interview-based studies. These elements include building the research team, preparing data collection guides, defining and obtaining an adequate sample, collecting and organizing qualitative data, and coding and analyzing the data. We also discuss potential ethical considerations unique to qualitative research as it relates to emergency care research.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital/Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Megan L
ML
Ranney
Department of Emergency Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Zachary F
ZF
Meisel
Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital/Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Esther K
EK
Choo
Department of Emergency Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital/Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Aris C
AC
Garro
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO.|Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO.|American Heart Association, Dallas, TX.
Comilla
C
Sasson
Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, The Miriam Hospital/Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Kate
K
Morrow Guthrie
D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design