Employing qualitative methods with parents with sick children offers an excellent opportunity to truly explore their information needs. In these studies, Kai interviewed 95 mothers of preschool children recruited from a range of locations within a disadvantaged community. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Grounded theory, first described by Glaser and Strauss in 1967,2 entails analyzing interview data for concepts and categories that are confirmed or discarded in further interviews. Interviewing continues until no further concepts are generated or no new information is obtained.
Sample size is determined, therefore, as the research continues rather than from the outset.
Findings Quotations illustrate the main themes. Mystique of the doctors' assessment. Diagnosis of viral illness. The doctor said it was a virus and needed no treatment and then a few days later the other doctor gave her antibiotics. The doctor said it was a virus and eventually she gave me antibiotics but said they probably wouldn't work anyway.