Application of Qualitative Methods in Health Research: An Overview

Qualitative research is type of formative research that includes specialized techniques for obtaining in-depth responses about what people think and how they feel. It is seen as the research that seeks answer to the questions in the real world. Qualitative researchers gather what they see, hear, read from people and places, from events and activities, with the purpose to learn about the community and to generate new understanding that can be used by the social world. Qualitative research have often been conducted to answer the question “why” rather than “what”. A purpose of qualitative research is the construction of new understanding. Here, we present an overview of application of qualitative methods in health research. We have discussed here the different types of qualitative methods and how we and others have used them in different settings/scenarios; sample size and sampling techniques; analysis of qualitative data; validity in qualitative research; and ethical issues

Transcriptional and Proteomic Analysis of a Ferric Uptake Regulator (Fur) Mutant of Shewanella oneidensis: Possible Involvement of Fur in Energy Metabolism, Transcriptional Regulation, and Oxidative Stress

The iron-directed, coordinate regulation of genes depends on the fur (ferric uptake regulator) gene product, which acts as an iron-responsive, transcriptional repressor protein. To investigate the biological function of a fur homolog in the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a fur knockout strain (FUR1) was generated by suicide plasmid integration into this gene and characterized using phenotype assays, DNA microarrays containing 691 arrayed genes, and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Physiological studies indicated that FUR1 was similar to the wild-type strain when they were compared for anaerobic growth and reduction of various electron acceptors. Transcription profiling, however, revealed that genes with predicted functions in electron transport, energy metabolism, transcriptional regulation, and oxidative stress protection were either repressed (ccoNQ, etrA, cytochrome b and c maturation-encoding genes, qor, yiaY, sodB, rpoH, phoB, and chvI) or induced (yggW, pdhC, prpC, aceE, fdhD, and ppc) in the fur mutant. Disruption of fur also resulted in derepression of genes (hxuC, alcC, fhuA, hemR, irgA, and ompW) putatively involved in iron uptake. This agreed with the finding that the fur mutant produced threefold-higher levels of siderophore than the wild-type strain under conditions of sufficient iron. Analysis of a subset of the FUR1 proteome (i.e., primarily soluble cytoplasmic and periplasmic proteins) indicated that 11 major protein species reproducibly showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in abundance relative to the wild type. Protein identification using mass spectrometry indicated that the expression of two of these proteins (SodB and AlcC) correlated with the microarray data. These results suggest a possible regulatory role of S. oneidensis MR-1 Fur in energy metabolism that extends the traditional model of Fur as a negative regulator of iron acquisition systems

Evaluating the audio-diary method in qualitative research

Purpose Audio-diary methods are under-utilised in contemporary qualitative research. In this paper we discuss participants and researchers’ experiences of using audio-diaries alongside semi-structured interviews to explore breastfeeding experiences in a short-term longitudinal study with 22 first-time mothers. Design/methodology/approach We provide a qualitative content analysis of the participants’ feedback about their experiences of the audio-diary method and supplement this with the perspectives of the research team based on fieldwork notes, memos and team discussions. We pay particular attention to the ways in which the data attained from diaries compared with those from the interviews. Findings The diaries produced were heterogeneous in terms of data length and quality. Participants’ experiences with the method were varied. Some found the process therapeutic and useful for reflecting upon the development of breastfeeding skills whilst negative aspects related to lack of mobility, self-consciousness and concerns about confidentiality. Researchers were positive about the audio-diary method but raised certain ethical, epistemological and methodological concerns. These include debates around the use of prompts, appropriate support for participants and the potential of the method to influence the behaviour under scrutiny. Interview and diary accounts contrasted and complemented in ways which typically enriched data analysis. Practical implications The authors conclude that audio-diaries are a flexible and useful tool for qualitative research especially within critical realist and phenomenological paradigms Originality/value This appears to be the first paper to evaluate both participants and researchers’ experiences of using audio-diaries in a detailed and systematic fashio

Texas Runaway Slave Digital Project - Final Report to the Summerlee Foundation

The SFASU Foundation, on behalf of the East Texas Research Center (ETRC), Ralph W. Steen Library, Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA), was awarded a Summerlee Foundation grant to research slavery in Texas through the lens of newspaper advertisements, articles and capture notices for runaway slaves. A $10,000 grant from the Summerlee Foundation supported the project. The ETRC hired six student assistants for 780 hours of digital research. The students looked at newspaper issues from 1835-1865 in the collection of the Texas Digital Newspaper Program. The researchers reviewed 62.5 percent (4,735) of the available content, found 1,116 records and input their findings into a Microsoft Excel database. This research was then organized and added to the Texas Runaway Slave Project (TRSP) website, which is part of the ETRC’s publicly available digital archives. All the records found by the student assistants are now online. At present the TRSP documents 1,285 runaway slaves from Texas in 1,058 advertisements, articles and capture notices. Google Analytics data shows that students, scholars and genealogists worldwide are using the project research

Dagstuhl Reports : Volume 1, Issue 2, February 2011

Online Privacy: Towards Informational Self-Determination on the Internet (Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop 11061) : Simone Fischer-Hübner, Chris Hoofnagle, Kai Rannenberg, Michael Waidner, Ioannis Krontiris and Michael Marhöfer Self-Repairing Programs (Dagstuhl Seminar 11062) : Mauro Pezzé, Martin C. Rinard, Westley Weimer and Andreas Zeller Theory and Applications of Graph Searching Problems (Dagstuhl Seminar 11071) : Fedor V. Fomin, Pierre Fraigniaud, Stephan Kreutzer and Dimitrios M. Thilikos Combinatorial and Algorithmic Aspects of Sequence Processing (Dagstuhl Seminar 11081) : Maxime Crochemore, Lila Kari, Mehryar Mohri and Dirk Nowotka Packing and Scheduling Algorithms for Information and Communication Services (Dagstuhl Seminar 11091) Klaus Jansen, Claire Mathieu, Hadas Shachnai and Neal E. Youn

Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 2: Introducing qualitative research methodologies and methods

This paper explores a number of commonly used methodologies and methods in qualitative research, namely grounded theory, case study, phenomenology, ethnography and narrative research. For each methodology a brief history of its development and variants is given, followed by typical methods of data collection and analysis. Examples of manual therapy qualitative research studies are highlighted for each methodology. Data collection methods are then discussed and include individual interviews, focus groups, observation and documentary analysis. A frequently used method of data analysis, thematic analysis, is briefly explained. Finally, the strategies to enhance the quality of qualitative research is explored and compared to those of quantitative research. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

Synthetic biology and microdevices : a powerful combination

Recent developments demonstrate that the combination of microbiology with micro-and nanoelectronics is a successful approach to develop new miniaturized sensing devices and other technologies. In the last decade, there has been a shift from the optimization of the abiotic components, for example, the chip, to the improvement of the processing capabilities of cells through genetic engineering. The synthetic biology approach will not only give rise to systems with new functionalities, but will also improve the robustness and speed of their response towards applied signals. To this end, the development of new genetic circuits has to be guided by computational design methods that enable to tune and optimize the circuit response. As the successful design of genetic circuits is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of its composing elements, intense characterization of standard biological parts will be crucial for an efficient rational design process in the development of new genetic circuits. Microengineered devices can thereby offer a new analytical approach for the study of complex biological parts and systems. By summarizing the recent techniques in creating new synthetic circuits and in integrating biology with microdevices, this review aims at emphasizing the power of combining synthetic biology with microfluidics and microelectronics

Enhancing Trustworthiness of Qualitative Findings: Using Leximancer for Qualitative Data Analysis Triangulation

This paper offers an approach to enhancing trustworthiness of qualitative findings through data analysis triangulation using Leximancer, a text mining software that uses co-occurrence to conduct semantic and relational analyses of text corpuses to identify concepts, themes, and how they relate to one another. This study explores the usefulness of Leximancer for triangulation by examining 309 pages of previously analyzed interview data that resulted in a conceptual model. Findings show Leximancer to be an ideal tool for refining a priori conceptual models. The Leximancer analysis provided missing nuance from the a priori model, depicting the value of and connection between emergent themes. Dependability was also added to the findings by facilitating a better understanding of how participant quotes represent particular themes