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Health and Qualitative Research Methods

Code: 106140
Credits: 3
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Nursing OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Susana Santos Ruiz
Email :
susana.santos@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

The purpose of the subject is to provide adequate knowledge and skills to critically evaluate the scientific nursing literature carried out using qualitative methods. It also aims to increase student capacity in how to design a qualitative research project incorporating a gender-sensitive view during the research process.

Learning outcomes

  • CM11 (Promote the right to information, participation and promotion of autonomy in the decision-making of the people served, according to their way they experience their health and disease process.) Promote the right to information, participation and promotion of autonomy in the decision-making of the people served, according to their way they experience their health and disease process.
  • SM13 (Assess physical, psychological and sociocultural aspects of individuals, their families or the community.) Assess physical, psychological and sociocultural aspects of individuals, their families or the community.
  • SM34 (Use critical and reflective thinking for problem-solving, decision-making and lifelong learning.) Use critical and reflective thinking for problem-solving, decision-making and lifelong learning.
  • SM43 (Analyse the social impact of disease and health problems on people and their environments, recognising changes in social roles, interpersonal relationships and support networks.) Analyse the social impact of disease and health problems on people and their environments, recognising changes in social roles, interpersonal relationships and support networks.

Contents

  1. Research paradigms: positivist vs phenomenological-interpretative.
  2. Formulation of the qualitative research question.
  3. Introduced to qualitative research methodologies: phenomenology, ethnography, research-action-participation, historical research.
  4. Selection of participants and saturation of information.
  5. Qualitative data collection techniques applied to the health-malware-care process.
  6. Analysis and qualitative coding.
  7. Rigor criteria for qualitative research.
  8. Critical reading of scientific literature with qualitative methodology.
  9. Perspective of gender in health with qualitative methods.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
CLASSROOM PRACTICES 8.75 0.35 CM11, SM13, SM34, SM43
THEORY 16 0.64 CM11, SM13, SM34, SM43
SELF-STUDY 40.8 1.632 SM34, SM43

The different learning methodologies make up both the theoretical content and the skills related to critical thinking in the decision-making nursing process in the health-illness-attention process.

Theory will provide all the necessary basic content in order to be successful in the rest of the teaching methodologies.


The classroom practices will include:

  1. The planning of a search in scientific databases based on a qualitative research question
  2. Critical analysis of qualitative methodology.



Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Work submission 30% 3 0.12 CM11, SM13, SM34, SM43
Objective tests: multiple-choice test 35% 3.45 0.138 CM11, SM13, SM34, SM43
Objective tests: multiple-choice test 35% 3 0.12 CM11, SM13, SM34, SM43

Continuous evaluation

The evaluation tests are:


1) Proves objectives:

a) A typical test exam will evaluate the theory. It will have a weight of 35%.

b) A typical test exam is where questions will be asked about an original article that will be presented in advance on Moodle, and that will take time to print out on the day of the exam. It will have a weight of 35%.


2) Presentation of papers: each group of seminarians will deliver, at the end of the seminars, a written paper on the application of qualitative research methodology that they will present to the classroom (30%).


Final note:

The final qualification of the subject is the weighted average of each series of evaluative activities.

The final qualification of the subject is the weighted average of the assessment activities, provided that the grade for each of these activities remains equal to or greater than 4.

In cases where any of the assessment activities remains lower than 4, the resulting numerical grade will be obtained with less value, and the subject will subtract its weight.


Evaluation criteria:

All assessment activities are mandatory. In case of not presenting it without justification, it will be qualified as Not Assessable (NA), and it will be quantified as zero (0), the rest of the subject is failed.

Definition of NOT ASSESSABLE: Not Assessable (NA) will be understood as a situation in which the student does NOT attend 50% or more of the assessment activities.

Students who have not passed the subject through continuous assessment may take a retake test as long as the student has been evaluated for the third part of the total qualification for the subject.

To pass the subject, you must obtain a minimum of 5.0 in the final grade; you will be subject to recovery.


Recovery:

Students who have not passed the subject through continuous assessment may take a retake test as long as the student has been evaluated for the third part of the total qualification for the subject.

The recovery test includes the entire syllabus of the subject and the learning of the seminars, including a typical test exam to recovery the entire subject. You may ask about another original article that will be printed on exam day.

The recovery grade will be the final grade of the subject; it will not be promoted in any case with the rest of the evaluative activities.

You must obtain a minimum of 5.0 on the remedial exam to pass the subject.


Proof Review: All students have the opportunity to review the evaluation proofs by prior appointment with the professor. The review will consist of an individual tutorial along with feedback from the student in relation to the evaluation.


This subject does not foresee a single evaluation system


AI Uses: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in tasks supporting the correction of texts or translations or the realisation of audiovisual support. The use of AI in support tasks such as bibliographic or information fencing or any other connection generation tasks is prohibited. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated by this technology, specify the aspects, including a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity and reference them (as specified in the bibliography). The non-transparency of the use of AI in this evaluable activity is considered a lack of academic honesty and may entail a total penalty in the activity grade, or major sanctions in serious cases.

Bibliography

Selected References
 
  1. Susan K. Grove., Jennifer R. Gray, Nancy Burns. Investigación en enfermería. Desarrollo de la práctica enfermera basada en la evidencia. Madrid. Elsevier. 6a ed. 2021
  2. McCance, Tanya, Jan Dewing, and Brendan McCormack. Person-Centred Nursing Research : Methodology, Methods and Outcomes. Springer Nature Switzerland, 2021. Print.
  3. Ana Berenguera, Maria J. Fernández de Sanmamed, Mariona Pons, Enriqueta Pujol, Dolors Rodríguez, Silvia Saura. Escuchar, observar y comprender. Recuperando la narrativa en las Ciencias de la Salud. Aportaciones de la investigacióncualitativa. Barcelona: Institut Universitari d’Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAP J. Gol), 2014
  4. David Silverman. Interpreting qualitative data : methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. London. Sage, 2014.
  5. John W. Creswell. Research design : qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. California. Sage Publications3rd ed2009. Disponible en http://fe.unj.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Research-Design_Qualitative-Quantitative-and-Mixed-Methods-Approaches.pdf
  6. Maria L. Vázquez Navarrete; M. Rejane Ferreira da Silva; Amparo Mogollon Pérez; Maria J. Fernández de Sanmamed Santos ;M. Eugenia Delgado Gallego; Ingrid Vargas Lorenzo. Introducción a las técnicas cualitativas de investigación aplicadas en salud. Cursos GRAAL 5. Materials 168. 2006.
  7. Amanda Coffey; Paul Atkinson. Encontrar el sentido a los datos cualitativos: estrategias complementarias de investigación. Universidad de Alicante. 2005
 
Referral References:
  1. Kara, Helen, and Su-ming Khoo. Qualitative and Digital Research in Times of Crisis : Methods, Reflexivity and Ethics / Edited by Helen Kara and Su-Ming Khoo. Ed. Helen Kara and Su-ming Khoo. 1st ed. Bristol: Policy Press, 2022. Print.
  2. Lincoln, Timothy. Qualitative Research. Chicago, IL: Atla Open Press, 2021. Web.
  3. Neale, Bren, and Graham Crow. What Is Qualitative Longitudinal Research? London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2018. Web.
  4. Sonyel Oflazoglu. Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research. Rijeka, Croatia: IntechOpen, 2017. Web.
  5. Oriol Romaní (ed.). Etnografía, técnicas cualitativas e investigación en salud: un debate abierto. Publicacions URV, Tarragona. 2013. Disponible en https://www.academia.edu/7065196/Etnograf%C3%ADa_metodolog%C3%ADas_cualitativas_e_investigaci%C3%B3n_en_salud_un_debate_abierto

Citing AI use: Since some use of AI is allowed, AI must be cited. To know how to cite it see Citar y elaborar Bibliografías. Estilos bibliográficos: COMO CITAR INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL (IA).                        Recommended Reading Por qué ChatGPT no puede firmar artículos científicos. Javier Palanca.


Internet Sources
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
http://www.scopus.com/
http://www.doaj.org/
http://www.easp.es/exploraevidencia/

Software

No software is used.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 301 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 301 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 501 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 501 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 601 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 601 Catalan/Spanish annual morning-mixed