Qualitative Research and
Evaluation Methodology Workshop
• Abraham (Rami) Rudnick
BMedSc, MD, MPsych, PhD, CPRP, FRCPC
• Associate Professor
Departments of Psychiatry and Philosophy
• Chair, Division of Social and Rural Psychiatry
• Director, Extended Campus Program
• Clinical Director, North of Superior Programs
• University of Western Ontario
• Email: arudnic2@uwo.ca
Learning Objectives
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Enhance awareness of relevance of
qualitative research and evaluation
methodology.
Enhance knowledge of qualitative
research and evaluation methodology.
Enhance skill of determining suitable
qualitative methodology for a research or
evaluation idea.
Method
• Interactive presentation.
• Group exercise.
Outline
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Introductions.
Fundamentals
Methodologies.
Data collection.
Data analysis.
Generic procedures.
Write up.
Mixed designs
Group exercise: Determining a suitable
qualitative methodology for a research or evaluation
idea.
• Opportunities to Train in Qualitative Research
Methodology
Introductions
Fundamentals
• Related to experience and conduct of
human beings.
• Based on social sciences, humanities and
arts.
• Declines numerical standardization and
measurement (in most cases).
• Generalization and comparative approach
(which are fundamental to quantitative
research) are controversial.
Methodologies
• Standard in health related research –
phenomenology; ethnography; grounded
theory; narrative; case study (Creswell 2007).
• Others –
discourse analysis; auto-ethnography;
photovoice; art-based research; PAR; historical;
other (Denzin and Lincoln 2005).
• Examples –
Davidson 2003 (phenomenology);
Somasundaram 2007 (ethnography); Roe et al
2004 (grounded theory); Rudnick et al In
progress (case study).
Data Collection
• Semi-structured vs. unstructured
interviews.
• Group interviews (focus groups or other).
• Direct vs. participant observations (with
field notes).
• Documents.
Data Analysis
• Coding, categorizing, thematic analysis
(and sometimes theory generation and
even testing).
Generic Procedures
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Sample saturation.
Transcribing and validating.
Memos.
Trustworthiness/credibility (triangulation of
sources of information or of methods of
data collection, peer debriefing, member
checking).
Write Up
• Verbatim examples (and sometimes
verbatim theme titles).
Mixed (Quantitative and Qualitative)
Evaluation and Research
• Generating hypotheses, then testing them:
qualitative  quantitative.
• Testing hypotheses, then explaining
findings:
quantitative  qualitative.
• Other (e.g., answer qualitative questions
and test quantitative hypotheses in
parallel).
Group exercise:
Determining a Suitable
Qualitative Methodology for a
Research or Evaluation Idea
• Small group discussion.
• Large group presentation.
• Q & A.
Opportunities to Train in Qualitative
Research Methodology
• International Institute for Qualitative
Methodology:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/
• Other
References
• Creswell JW. Qualitative Inquiry and Research
Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Thousand
Oaks, California: Sage, 2007.
• Davidson L. Living Outside Mental Illness: Qualitative
Studies of Recovery in Schizophrenia. New York: New
York University Press, 2003.
• Denzin NK, Lincoln Y (Editors). The SAGE Handbook
of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, California:
Sage, 2005.
• Roe D, Chopra M, Rudnick A. Persons with psychosis
as active agents interacting with their disorder.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2004, 28:122-128.
• Somasundaram D. Collective trauma in northern Sri
Lanka: a qualitative psychosocial-ecological study.
International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2007,
1:5.