Qualitative research methodologies: Rigorous, robust and systematic in the exploration of burns trauma

Researchers have been utilising qualitative research methodologies since the 1960s. However, there has been a longstanding and wide-ranging debate concerning the relative merits of qualitative research within the health care literature. Primarily utilised by those in nursing and the social sciences, qualitative research presents methodologies that allows one to challenge assumptions about health and illness; contributes to the development of theory for practice, offers a way to change how issues are conceptualised and enables one to see the world from another’s point of view that focuses on meaning, interpretation and understanding.

The proliferation of qualitative research over the past decades has advanced the science of nursing and contributed to the collective understanding of the experiences of health and illness. In recent years, qualitative research has gained considerable momentum with a noticeable shift towards the use of qualitative research methodologies that is evident in the number of qualitative peer reviewed publications globally. Subsequently, this trend is clearly notable within the burns literature over the last decade. Despite this, a scoping search of burns research found that since 1998, there has been less than 100 published qualitative peer reviewed research papers exploring burn injury with approximately 40 of these publish since 2010 alone. Among then, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded-theory and action research were methodologies utilised to explore and emphasise critical issues in burn care. Therefore the authors wish to highlight the validity of qualitative research as a rigorous, robust and systematic approach for health professionals wanting to conduct research that explores key issues in burns trauma.