Evidence-based medicine. Part 4: Qualitative research
Holt T.
All research attempts to address answerable questions and create new knowledge that is generalisable to wider populations. In some instances, numerical data cannot help to answer the research question and a different approach is required. Qualitative methods respond to this need by generating and analysing data based largely on words rather than numbers. The fourth in a series looking at evidence-based medicine, this article explores qualitative research methods and uses an article on self-monitoring of blood glucose as an example.