Razafsha Mahdi, Behforuzi Hura, Azari Hassan, Zhang Zhiqun, Wang Kevin K, Kobeissy Firas H, Gold Mark S
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Neuroproteomics and Biomarkers Research at the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012;829:49-62. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_3.
Qualitative studies are gaining their credibility after a period of being misinterpreted as "not being quantitative." Qualitative method is a broad umbrella term for research methodologies that describe and explain individuals' experiences, behaviors, interactions, and social contexts. In-depth interview, focus groups, and participant observation are among the qualitative methods of inquiry commonly used in psychiatry. Researchers measure the frequency of occurring events using quantitative methods; however, qualitative methods provide a broader understanding and a more thorough reasoning behind the event. Hence, it is considered to be of special importance in psychiatry. Besides hypothesis generation in earlier phases of the research, qualitative methods can be employed in questionnaire design, diagnostic criteria establishment, feasibility studies, as well as studies of attitude and beliefs. Animal models are another area that qualitative methods can be employed, especially when naturalistic observation of animal behavior is important. However, since qualitative results can be researcher's own view, they need to be statistically confirmed, quantitative methods. The tendency to combine both qualitative and quantitative methods as complementary methods has emerged over recent years. By applying both methods of research, scientists can take advantage of interpretative characteristics of qualitative methods as well as experimental dimensions of quantitative methods.
定性研究在经历了一段被误解为“非定量”的时期后，正逐渐获得其可信度。定性方法是一个宽泛的术语，涵盖了描述和解释个体经历、行为、互动及社会背景的研究方法。深度访谈、焦点小组和参与观察是精神病学中常用的定性研究方法。研究人员使用定量方法来测量事件发生的频率；然而，定性方法能提供更广泛的理解以及事件背后更深入的推理。因此，它在精神病学中被认为具有特殊重要性。除了在研究早期阶段生成假设外，定性方法还可用于问卷设计、诊断标准制定、可行性研究以及态度和信念研究。动物模型是另一个可应用定性方法的领域，特别是当对动物行为进行自然主义观察很重要时。然而，由于定性结果可能是研究者自己的观点，它们需要通过定量方法进行统计确认。近年来，出现了将定性和定量方法结合作为互补方法的趋势。通过应用这两种研究方法，科学家可以利用定性方法的解释性特征以及定量方法的实验维度。
