A practical guide for conducting qualitative research in medical education: Part 1—How to interview

摘要

Qualitative research plays an important role in advancing practice and policy in education both inside and out of the field of medicine.1,2 Qualitative methods allow for in-depth understanding of human behavior and social context to provide clues as to "how" and "why" certain phenomena are occurring.3 This can help inform understanding of teacher or learner behavior, the development of theoretical models to explain learning events, and creation of best practices for instruction.4 There are many options for collecting qualitative data and the source of data will be dependent on the research question and aim of the study. Examples include, but are not limited to, interviews, focus groups, observations, or artifact/document analysis.