School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2011 Feb 24;6(2):e16937. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016937.
Qualitative research appears to be gaining acceptability in medical journals. Yet, little is actually known about the proportion of qualitative research and factors affecting its publication. This study describes the proportion of qualitative research over a 10 year period and correlates associated with its publication.
A quantitative longitudinal examination of the proportion of original qualitative research in 67 journals of general medicine during a 10 year period (1998-2007). The proportion of qualitative research was determined by dividing original qualitative studies published (numerator) by all original research articles published (denominator). We used a generalized estimating equations approach to assess the longitudinal association between the proportion of qualitative studies and independent variables (i.e. journals' country of publication and impact factor; editorial/methodological papers discussing qualitative research; and specific journal guidelines pertaining to qualitative research).
A 2.9% absolute increase and 3.4-fold relative increase in qualitative research publications occurred over a 10 year period (1.2% in 1998 vs. 4.1% in 2007). The proportion of original qualitative research was independently and significantly associated with the publication of editorial/methodological papers in the journal (b = 3.688, P = 0.012); and with qualitative research specifically mentioned in guidelines for authors (b = 6.847, P<0.001). Additionally, a higher proportion of qualitative research was associated only with journals published in the UK in comparison to other countries, yet with borderline statistical significance (b = 1.776, P = 0.075). The journals' impact factor was not associated with the publication of qualitative research.
Despite an increase in the proportion of qualitative research in medical journals over a 10 year period, the proportion remains low. Journals' policies pertaining to qualitative research, as expressed by the appearance of specific guidelines and editorials/methodological papers on the subject, are independently associated with the publication of original qualitative research; irrespective of the journals' impact factor.
定性研究似乎在医学期刊中越来越被接受。然而，实际上对于定性研究的比例以及影响其发表的因素知之甚少。本研究描述了在 10 年期间（1998-2007 年）67 种普通医学期刊中定性研究的比例，并分析了其相关影响因素。
10 年期间（1998-2007 年）对 67 种普通医学期刊中原始定性研究比例的定量纵向研究。通过将发表的原始定性研究（分子）除以发表的所有原始研究文章（分母）来确定定性研究的比例。我们使用广义估计方程方法来评估定性研究比例与独立变量（即期刊的出版国家和影响因子、讨论定性研究的编辑/方法学论文以及与定性研究相关的具体期刊指南）之间的纵向关联。
10 年内定性研究出版物的绝对增长 2.9%，相对增长 3.4 倍（1998 年为 1.2%，2007 年为 4.1%）。原始定性研究的比例与期刊发表的编辑/方法学论文（b=3.688，P=0.012）以及作者指南中明确提到的定性研究（b=6.847，P<0.001）独立且显著相关。此外，与其他国家相比，英国出版的期刊与更多的定性研究相关，尽管这一关联仅具有边缘统计学意义（b=1.776，P=0.075）。期刊的影响因子与定性研究的发表无关。
尽管医学期刊中定性研究的比例在 10 年内有所增加，但比例仍然很低。期刊关于定性研究的政策，如专门的指南和关于该主题的编辑/方法学论文的出现，与原始定性研究的发表独立相关；这与期刊的影响因子无关。
