Mother and Child Health: Research Methods

1
Mother and Child Health Research Methods

• G.J.Ebrahim
• Editor
• Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, Oxford University
  Press.

2
Qualitative Field Research

• Definition
• A disciplined inquiry examining the personal
  meanings of individuals experiences and actions
  in the context of their social environment

3
Qualitative Field Research

• Qualitative because of the nature of the data
  collected, - detailed descriptions recorded by
  the investigator.
• Field research because the investigation is
  carried out in the usual environment where the
  phenomenon occurs.
• Disciplined because the inquiry is guided by
  methodological principles for problem definition,
  data collection and analysis, and theory
  formulation

4
Methodological Roots

• Phenomenology - different people experience the
  world in different ways.
• Symbolic interactionism - A social situation has
  meaning only in the way people define and
  interpret happenings and events.
• Ethnography - A study of the World View of
  different groups.

5
Sampling

• Convenience sampling - used when the group of
  interest is not easily accessible e.g. in
  ethnography
• Systematic non-probabilistic sampling -
  Informants are recruited because they are
  knowledgeable
• Theoretical sampling - A form of
  non-probabilistic sampling where the objective of
  developing an explanation or theory guides
  sampling and data collection

6
Methods of Qualitative Research

• Participant Observation
• In-depth Interview
• Group Interviews
• Focus Groups

7
Data Collection and Analysis

• No precisely defined hypotheses. Instead there
  are general aims and theoretical notions about
  the phenomenon being studied.
• Data is analyzed and categorized as data
  collection proceeds
• Sub-sets of categories formed to describe the
  full range of the data.
• Theory building is done by linking categories and
  different segments of data.

8
Data Collection and Analysis - II

• Analysis proceeds as follows
• Description of the sample population
• Coding of data
• Displaying summaries of data for interpretation
• Drawing of conclusions
• Testing and confirming the findings

9
Qualitative Approach in Medical Research

• Qualitative methods may be employed in
• Preliminary stage for hypothesis generation, and
  design of data form
• Principal stage for case studies for sensitive
  topics for process evaluation.
• Validation stage for validation between
  techniques or methods