Grounding Qualitative Research in Coherence, Not Standards: A Content Analysis

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Figurations and Interrogations in Qualitative Methodology (Table 15)

Abstract

Qualitative research publications have become more prominent in medical journals. However in medical discourse, those researchers who are adhere to postpositivist (quantitative) paradigm often criticize qualitative inquiry for a perceived lack of rigor. Similarly, reviewers not familiar with qualitative inquiry request the justification of findings via quantification and postpositivist standards. The authors’ interest in this topic stems from assessing the rigor of qualitative research in STEM grant proposals and medical journals. While the literature reviews in these submissions are frequently excellent, the method and results sections often lacked methodological coherence. To understand this phenomenon, we undertook a critical review using deductive content analysis of the qualitative scholarship found in 40 qualitative articles in a top-tier medical journal.

Authors

• Carol A. Isaac, Mercer University
  Presenting Author

• Linda Behar-Horenstein, University of Florida
  Non-Presenting Author