A Brief Literature Review - Coursework Example

LITERATURE REVIEW Qualitative research is all about discussing issues into detail, understanding the phenomena, and being able to answer queries by analyzing and making sense of data that is unstructured. Nearly every day from health studies, to education, business and policy research, qualitative research takes place in these work places and academic environment. Qualitative research can simply be defined as those phenomena that are measured and expressed in terms of quality or kind (Lapan, et al. 20).Quantitative research is applicable to phenomena that can be measured or expressed in terms of quantity or amount.

Biomedical discipline has recognized the significance of drawing on the wide learning potential derived from qualitative research (Black, 1994). Qualitative research has a big contribution in the fields of medicine, health and public health (Merriam et al. 40). A good qualitative research is one that went through the following 6 steps;1. Research question decided: it should be clear specific and achievable. It should look into the reasons why people believe in something or why they do some things.2. Background literature review: it helps one to find out what other people have found out concerning the question.

It helps you to be well informed and be more specific about the topic. It also helps one to determine if there is need for the question to be answered (Seidman, Irving 27).3. Have a qualitative research methodology that you want to choose. The research methodology should be one that is suitable for the question to be answered.4. Collection of data: the method used for collection of data should be the most suitable one.5. Analyze data: once data has been collected it should be analyzed so as to come up with answers and theories to the research questions.6. Report: this is the final stage and one should keep in mind his/her audience to whom he/she is writing to and the guidelines used in formatting.

Debate and guidance around the quality of qualitative research has often been overshadowed by a kind of ‘disciplinary tribalism’ (Pawson, 2001) whereby polemic debate between quantitative vs qualitative theory the needs of practitioners trying to apply its findings.When one plans to asses the evaluation studies through qualitative study methods in social work, it is imperative that the question of criteria to be used to evaluate the related research studies is critical ( Seale, 2002). In public health it helpful since it does not only answer the research question of how something works but also why it is working.

The department of health in 2004 reframed health in the context of its wider economic, social and cultural determinants. The parallel developments of evidence based practice and model of health improvement constitute the determinants at large of health as created by gulf between the significance of addressing health related inequalities and the critical evidence to help inform the practice. This translates into a mismatch between increasing multi-disciplinary models of health policy (Davey-Smith, Ebrahim, & Frankel, 2001) and a continued reliance on models of bio medically foccused evidence, emphatic on experiment concepts and attachmnt to attribution.

Furthermore, alot translats to qualitative studies rigor into criteria for the medical readers as assumption about effective quantitative research commonly form the elements selected (Oakely, 2000). The reliability of qualitative research is often addressed within a polemic debate, pitting qualitative research against quantitative. Oakley (2000) highlighted this dichotomy, focused debate but also noted that flawed research from both camps often exhibits the same problems.Work cited.Lapan, Stephen D, MaryLynn T.

Quartaroli, and Frances J. Riemer (2011). Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Internet resource.Merriam, Sharan B, and Sharan B. Merriam (2009). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Print.Seidman, Irving (2013). Interviewing As Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. New York: Teachers College Press, 2013. Print.