Quantitative and qualitative research methods: Can they coexist?
Qualitative design is gaining ground in nursing research. In spite of relative progress, however, the evidence-based practice movement continues to dominate and to claim the exclusive value of quantitative design (particularly that of randomized clinical trials) for clinical decision making. In the present context—useful to those in power, making utilitarian decisions on one hand, and facing nursing criticism of the establishment in favor of qualitative research on the other—it is difficult to choose a practical and ethical path that values the nursing role within the health care system, keeping us committed to quality care and maintaining researchers’ integrity. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have advantages and disadvantages, and clearly, none can, by itself, capture, describe, and explain reality adequately. Therefore, a balance between the two methods is needed. Researchers bear a responsibility to society and science, and they should opt for the design which is appropriate for answering the research question, rather than the one favored by the research funding distributors.
Keywords
- qualitative research
- quantitative research
- method
- design
- evidence based practice