Seven Practical Recommendations for Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research in Medical Education

Abstract

Qualitative research seeks to provide context, nuance, and depth of understanding in regard to systems, behaviors, and/or lived experiences. As such, it plays a key role in many areas of medical education. Composed of myriad methods and methodologies, each of which may be valuable for some areas of inquiry but less so for others, qualitative research can be challenging to design, conduct, and report. This challenge can be conceptualized as ensuring that the study design, conduct, and reporting are “fit for purpose,” following directly from a well-formulated research question. In this Perspective, we share seven important and practical recommendations to enhance the design and conduct of high-quality qualitative research in medical education: 1 ) craft a strong research question, 2 ) link the study design to this question, 3 ) assemble a team with diverse expertise, 4 ) prioritize information power when selecting recruitment and sampling strategies, 5 ) collect data carefully, 6 ) rigorously analyze data, and 7 ) disseminate results that tell a complete story.