Qualitative Health Research: BASIC module: Defining and developing qualitative research in public health

Within public health, there is a growing interest to study and understand human behavior, representations, and individual experiences of those taking part in a studied phenomenon. 

Qualitative designs are the method of choice to address those issues. 

Objectives

• Understanding the main features of qualitative methods and approaches
• Overview of tools such as interviews, focus groups and participant/non-participant observation
• Organizing data collection and coding and analysis

This basic module will guide participants in understanding and defining the main specificities of qualitative methods and approaches. It will help them plan and organize the data collection and familiarize them with data coding and analysis. An emphasis will be put on the importance of the theoretical frameworks underlying the interpretive process of researchers. 

It will focus on the choice of tools and the concrete use of interviews, focus groups and participant observation. 

Learning outcomes: define qualitative research, choose between several designs and tools and develop a qualitative research protocol.