(^118) Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice: Model and Guidelines, Third Edition
Grounded theory designs seek to examine the basic social and psychological
problems/concerns that characterize real-world phenomena and to identify the
process used to resolve these problems/concerns (Polit & Beck, 2017). In this
type of qualitative research design, the researcher simultaneously collects and
analyzes data to generate concepts and integrate these concepts into a data-
grounded theory that explains a process (Birks & Mills, 2015). Data analysis is
done by way of coding.
Example: Qualitative Ethnography Design
The ethnographic study of Curtis and Northcott (2016) explored how children,
parents, and nurses in a pediatric hospital experienced family-centered care. The
researchers were interested in how the spaces within the hospital—particularly,
single and shared rooms—affected family-centered care. The 2-phase study
included observations (Phase 1) within four pediatric units and interviews and
focus groups (Phase 2) with children, parents, and nurses or support staff. Curtis
and Northcott found two themes from analysis—role expectations and family-
nurse interactions—and concluded that the spaces within the hospital change
how family-centered care occurs.Example: Qualitative Grounded Theory Design
Hyatt, Davis, and Barroso (2015) used grounded theory to understand the process
by which soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with mild traumatic brain
injury (mTBI) reintegrated into their family life. The researchers theoretically
selected their sample in order to continuously compare and test the themes as
they emerged from the data from previous participants. After interviewing nine
soldiers with mTBI and their spouses, Hyatt, Davis, and Barroso concluded that
reintegrating into family life following mTBI was “finding a new normal.” The
researchers recommend future interventions to assist family adjustment to a new
normal and management of mismatched expectations.Phenomenology originates in philosophy and examines an experience as people
live it rather than as they conceptualize it. Phenomenological research seeks to
understand what an experience means and what the lived experience of a per-
son is. The researcher collects data primarily by way of in-depth conversations,
and sample sizes are often small (Polit & Beck, 2017). Phenomenology includes