Cobb Ann Kuckelman, Forbes Sarah
University of Kansas School of Nursing, Kansas City 66160-7502, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2002 Apr;57(4):M197-202. doi: 10.1093/gerona/57.4.m197.
The growing challenges of promoting health and managing illness in an ever-changing health care system require an arsenal of research approaches. Qualitative methods have a long tradition in disciplines such as sociology and anthropology and are being used with greater frequency as interdisciplinary health-related disciplines attempt to understand and explain complex problems. The purpose of this article is to define and describe the main features of qualitative research and to examine ways in which this methodology is relevant and useful in gerontological studies. A concise comparison of quantitative and qualitative methods is made, and suggestions are provided for when qualitative approaches are useful. A review of the three most common approaches is provided. Most important, references are provided for those gerontologists interested in learning more about qualitative research methods.
在不断变化的医疗保健系统中，促进健康和管理疾病面临着越来越多的挑战，这需要一系列研究方法。定性方法在社会学和人类学等学科中有着悠久的传统，随着跨学科健康相关学科试图理解和解释复杂问题，其使用频率也越来越高。本文的目的是定义和描述定性研究的主要特征，并探讨这种方法在老年学研究中的相关性和实用性。本文对定量和定性方法进行了简要比较，并针对定性方法何时有用提供了建议。还对三种最常见的方法进行了综述。最重要的是，为那些有兴趣更多了解定性研究方法的老年学家提供了参考文献。
