Qualitative Research

One of ten Cochrane Methods Groups within the international Cochrane Collaboration. This group's primary concerns relate to increasing an awareness of the role of qualitative evidence in guiding health care practices; the development of approaches suitable for systematically reviewing qualitative evidence; and the training of reviewers in qualitative meta-synthesis. The group develops and supports methodological work on the inclusion in systematic reviews of findings from studies using qualitative methods and disseminates this work within and beyond the Collaboration's Review Groups

Links to resources in the following categories: conferences and workshops; journals and publishers; methods; multimedia and data analysis software; organizations and interest groups; teaching qualitative research; and more.

List for sharing developments in qualitative evidence synthesis. Includes details of conferences and training events and recent articles of interest. (Archives are searchable by non members.)

Designed to increase understanding and strengthen methods used by researchers in the variety of fields contributing to health services research. Includes extensive glossary, list of data sources (databases and data sets), suggested readings and presentation, and many other links.

Links to information in the following broad categories: research tips and tools; research methodology; research ethics and institutional review; statistics and data analysis; Web-based research; professional organizations; and more.

An international research network that produces systematic reviews of the effects of social interventions in the areas of social welfare, crime and justice, and education. Persons interested in the ways in which qualitative research might play a role in reviews of social interventions should refer to Campbell guidelines and methods documentation.