Education and debate

Qualitative Research: Reaching the parts other methods cannot reach: an introduction to qualitative methods in health and health services research

^a Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester, 22-28 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP

King's Fund Institute, London W2 4HT Nicholas Mays, director of health services research. Correspondence to: Ms Pope.

Qualitative research methods have a long history in the social sciences and deserve to be an essential component in health and health services research. Qualitative and quantitative approaches to research tend to be portrayed as antithetical; the aim of this series of papers is to show the value of a range of qualitative techniques and how they can complement quantitative research.

Aims of this series

Medical advances, increasing specialisation, rising patient expectations, and the sheer size and diversity of health service provision mean that today's health professionals work in an increasingly complex arena. The wide range of research questions generated by this complexity has encouraged the search for new ways of conducting research. The rapid expansion of research on and about health and health services, and the relatively recent demarcation of a distinct field of "health services research" depend heavily on . . . [Full text of this article]

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