Clinical Guides: Data Collection and Storage: Qualitative Data

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research does not collect numerical data points. Qualitative research gathers information about participants' thoughts, experiences, perceptions, or behaviour.

Recommended resources:

Yale University - Fundamentals of qualitative research methods.
Pope C, et al (2002). Qualitative methods in research on healthcare quality. BMJ Quality & Safety, 11, 148-152.
Pope, C. (1995). Qualitative Research: Reaching the parts other methods cannot reach: an introduction to qualitative methods in health and health services research. BMJ, 311, 42.

Qualitative Methods

Qualitative data can be collected through observation, interviews, focus groups, documents, surveys and questionnaires. It might be in the format of a photograph, audio visual recording, text transcript, or observer notes.

Qualitative Research Methods
Download the PDF of the table. The PDF version allows you to access the available links.

Overview of study designs

The table below provides an overview of study designs used in health research. Click the image to view the full-size PDF version.

For more information on study designs, see our guide to Planning a Research Project.

NVivo is a tool for analysing qualitative data. It can also be used to store the data itself.

Access

NVivo is available at select PCs in the Clayton, Dandenong, and Casey libraries.
NVivo Transcription services are available via a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model to be paid by your Department.

Resources

NVivo user guide.

Dedoose, Atlas.ti, and MAXQDA are paid alternatives to NVivo. Please note that the Library does not provide support for these products

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web application for building, sending, and managing online surveys. REDCap can be used to collect any type of data, however, it is specifically geared to support data capture for research studies.

REDCap allows for form customisation with HTML and CSS, survey logic, file attachment, data export and import, collaboration with external researchers, and sending email and text alerts.

Unlike, Excel or Survey Monkey, REDCap meets the requirements for security, privacy, data quality, and data auditing and should be used when conducting health research. Many ethics committees are aware of and approve of the use of REDCap.

Access

To access REDCap, or to find more information about accessing REDCap at Monash Health, contact:

Simon Basterfield: simon.basterfield@monashhealth.org

Resources

Introductory video to REDCap.
REDCap instructional videos.
Additional REDCap product resources.
Melbourne University's REDCap How To Guides
University of Florida's REDCap user guides.
Email library@monashhealth.org to be added to the RedCap User Group SharePoint site and Teams chat.

Microsoft Forms is available to all Monash Health employees with an Office 365 account. It can be used to easily and quickly generate forms, surveys, and polls. View results as they are submitted via built-in analytics, and export data to Excel for additional analysis.

Microsoft Forms is encrypted both at rest and in transit, however, Microsoft Forms may be not be a suitable tool for all research. Although Microsoft Forms is advertised as HIPAA compliant, this is a United States act and researchers should consult with their relevant human ethics board or policies to determine if Forms is compliant and appropriate.

Access

Click here to access Forms and log in using your Monash Health email address.
Lodge an IT support ticket if you cannot access Microsoft Forms.

Resources