The Virtue of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Authors: Thomas S. Inu
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1996)

Editorials1 November 1996The Virtue of Qualitative and Quantitative ResearchThomas S. Inu, MD, ScMThomas S. Inu, MD, ScMHarvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-125-9-199611010-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The human enterprise of research may be characterized as a problem-solving activity, one driven by curiosity or by various needs for information—to take action in the face of threats, to make predictions, to test a theory about how nature works, or to establish a context of meaning and order. In the Judeo-Christian cosmology, it may be speculated that research might never have arisen had Adam and Eve not been expelled from the Garden of Eden. Perfect circumstances create little or no need for an expanded understanding of the origin of problems. But once out of the Garden, as soon as ...References1. Toulmin S. Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity. New York: Free Pr; 1990. Google Scholar2. Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage; 1985. Google Scholar3. Inui TS, Frankel RM. Evaluating the quality of qualitative research: a proposal pro tem. J Gen Intern Med. 1991; 6:485-6. Google Scholar4. Kravitz RL, Callahan EJ, Paterniti D, Antonius D, Dunham M, Lewis CE. Prevalence and sources of patients' unmet expectations for care. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:730-7. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215.Corresponding Author: Thomas Inui, MD, Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, 126 Brookline Avenue, Suite 200, Boston, MA 02215. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPrevalence and Sources of Patients' Unmet Expectations for Care Richard L. Kravitz , Edward J. Callahan , Debora Paterniti , Deirdre Antonius , Marcia Dunham , and Charles E. Lewis Metrics Cited byBeliefs About Perioperative Opioid and Alcohol Use among Elective Surgical Patients Who Report Unhealthy Drinking: A Qualitative StudyDevelopment of OSTQOL: A Measure of Quality of Life for Patients in Opioid Substitution TreatmentPrioritizing qualitative research in surgery: A synthesis and analysis of publication trendsRacialising the "great man": A Critical Race study of idealised male athletic bodies in Men's Health magazineImplications for EvaluationHow theory is used and articulated in qualitative research: Development of a new typologyFacilitators and barriers around teaching concepts of hand hygiene to undergraduate medical studentsThe Impact of Experience on Undergraduate Preregistration Student Nurses' Responses to Patients in Pain: A 2-Year Qualitative Longitudinal StudyPoetic inquiry and multidisciplinary qualitative researchPromoting Publication of Rigorous Qualitative ResearchEmpirical research consolidation: a generic overview and a classification scheme for methodsA Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Individuals With Disabilities About Their Health Care Experiences: Implications for Culturally Appropriate Health CareConducting qualitative research in audiology: A tutorialWhat Distinguishes Top-Performing Hospitals in Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality Rates? A Qualitative StudyLeslie A. Curry, PhD, Erica Spatz, MD, Emily Cherlin, PhD, MSW, Jennifer W. Thompson, MPP, David Berg, PhD, Henry H. Ting, MD, MBA, Carole Decker, RN, PhD, Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM, and Elizabeth H. Bradley, PhDDescribing Medical Error and HarmQualitative and Mixed Methods Provide Unique Contributions to Outcomes ResearchReconsidering Evaluation Criteria for Scientific Adequacy in Health Care Research: An Integrative Framework of Quantitative and Qualitative CriteriaThe value of qualitative research in urogynaecologyA Clinical Framework for Improving the Advance Care Planning Process: Start with Patients' Self-Identified BarriersDaily Temporal Self-Care Responses to Osteoarthritis Symptoms by Older African Americans and WhitesQuality, not just quantity: the role of qualitative methods in anesthesia researchUsing Focus Groups to Improve the Validity of Cross-National Survey Research: A Study of Physician Decision MakingQualitative assessment of the long-term impact of a faculty development programme in teaching skillsAggregation of qualitative studies—From theory to practice: Patient priorities and family medicine/general practice evaluationsBeyond Substituted Judgment: How Surrogates Navigate End-of-Life Decision-MakingThe Illness Experience of Older Adults near the End of Life: a Systematic ReviewHow do surrogate decision makers describe hospice? Does it matter?American Association for Cancer Education Membership Perspectives of Spirituality in Cancer EducationWhen critical illness becomes chronic: informational needs of patients and familiesShort- and Long-Term Impact of Receiving Genetic Mutation Results in Women at Increased Risk for Hereditary Breast CancerClose encounters: exemplars of process-oriented qualitative research in health careThe work of physicians with individuals and communities. Epidemiology and other partners in evidence-based medicineGood Deaths, Bad Deaths, and Preferences for the End of Life: A Qualitative Study of Geriatric OutpatientsA Qualitative Assessment of 1st-Year Internal Medicine Residents' Perceptions of Evidence-Based Clinical Decision MakingQualitative MethodsBarriers to Optimum End‐of‐life Care for Minority PatientsNarrative Medicine: Form, Function, and EthicsRita Charon, MD, PhDEnd-of-life decision makingThe reason and rhyme of qualitative research: why, when, and how to use qualitative methods in the study of adolescent healthHealthcare Workers' Perceptions of Occupational ExposurePatients' stories and clinical careMore Than Meets the EarDisturbance and Resilience: An Overview of Evidence Based PracticeMaking use of qualitative research techniquesQualitative research in medicine and health care 1 November 1996Volume 125, Issue 9Page: 770-771KeywordsInformation theoryMedical ethicsMedical ethics, humanities, and educationMedical sociologyMotivationPatientsPerceptionQualitative studiesResearch quality assessmentScientists ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 1 November 1996 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1996 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...