Are we ready to accept the challenge? Addressing the shortcomings of contemporary qualitative health research

Ph.d.-student Sofie Rosenlund Lau and Anthony Stavrianakis have co-authored the article 'Are we ready to accept the challenge? Addressing the shortcomings of contemporary qualitative health research'. It's been published in the journal Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 

Qualitative approaches represent an important contributor to health care research. However, several researchers argue that contemporary qualitative research does not live up to its full potential. By presenting a snapshot of contemporary qualitative research in the field of social and administrative pharmacy, this study challenges contributors to the field by asking: Are we ready to accept the challenge and take qualitative research one step further?

The purpose of the study was to initiate a constructive dialogue on the need for increased transparency in qualitative data analysis, including explicitly reflecting upon theoretical perspectives affecting the research process. The study of Sofie Rosenlund Lau and Anthony Stavrianakis takes the standpoint that theory and high-quality analysis go hand-in-hand. Based on the content analysis, articles that were deemed to be high in quality were explicit about the theoretical framework of their study and transparent in how they analyzed their data. It was found that theory contributed to the transparency of how the data were analyzed and interpreted. Two ways of improving contemporary qualitative research in the field of social and administrative pharmacy are discussed: engaging with social theory and establishing close collaboration with social scientists.

Sofie Rosenlund Lau, Are we ready to accept the challenge? Addressing the shortcomings of contemporary qualitative health research, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, vol. 13, 2017.