!help! Qualitative question !!!

[marie233]

I am trying to formulate a qualitative research question on or nurses... I cannot think of anything.

i wanted to do a Phenomenology research question.. any suggestions?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I'm so glad that you're being encouraged to look at qualitative research - it's often downplayed in favor of the 'numbers' advocates.

This technique is very useful for investigating the issues surrounding any sort of quality problem in healthcare. Example - You're trying to 'fix' a staff productivity issue in a pre-natal clinic for teen moms. You've discovered that the reason for all that overtime is that a lot of patients are always late for their appointments; digging deeper, you uncover a lot of 'attitude' about the need for regular visits. In order to 'fix' this problem, you're going to have to find out why the patients don't feel that pre-natal care is important. The only way to do this is through interviews...

How would you turn this 'attitude investigation' into a qualitative research study? BTW, this was an actual situation related by a colleague some years ago.

[llg, PhD, RN]

You can develop a qualitative research question on just about any topic -- particularly a phenomenological one. So, it's really just a matter of choosing a topic that you are interested in. What general topics interest you?

Remember: phenomenology explores the "lived experience" of something. Questions are often in the format of "What is the lived experience of ....?" or ... phrased in more every-day English ... "What is it like to ....?" or ... "What is the experience of ...?" Just plug you topic of interest in to complete your question.

What is the lived experience of taking the NCLEX for the first time?

What is the lived experience of being diagnosed with Diabetes Type II?

What is the lived experience of patients undergoing a cardiac catheterization?

What is the lived experience of RN's transfering from a general med/surg unit to an ICU?

Whatever ...

[marie233]

i am interested in the role of the RN , how could i plug that in the correct way ? What is the lived experience of nurses working in the OR?

[marie233]

We were asked to formulate a pico/ps question but the pico formulation does not suit the direction of my paper. As a new student, I am honored to have the opportunity to interact with other professionals who have such a rich and diverse knowledge base. Thank you for your response.