Kyoko Oyamada, Ph.D., R.N.
Graduate School of Nursing Science St. Luke’s International University
I am in awe that I am being asked to write a narrative following in the footsteps of eminent leading experts in qualitative research, but I am writing this in the belief that what I have to say may be useful in some way, even if I am still in the midst of learning about qualitative research.
I participated in research activities using narratives as data. When I was a doctoral student, one professor asked us “How long will you continue to DESCRIBE phenomena? We need intervention studies to use those data for medical progress.” This led me to believe that all roads must lead to intervention research. This belief was reinforced when I became an administrator of government services, as I realized that narratives move people but that generalizable quantitative information is essential to moving policy forward.
This belief had created a strict attitude toward qualitative research. In particular, when it came to qualitative research on career development for midcareer nurses (my area of interest), I asked myself, “Why do we need to explore this qualitatively now? There are so many similar studies or even scales that were developed on this topic.” I think I had many preconceptions while reviewing such research before doing a pure critique. Even in my graduate student consultation, I stated, “If you want to do qualitative research, I will not accept your plan unless you can explain the logic behind its necessity and validity. Otherwise, I don’t think your research will contribute to the advancement of nursing.” In response, some students changed their research plan from qualitative descriptive to quantitative studies.
Then, during a peer review, I had an experience that made me realize the error of my preconceptions. From the title of the article, I knew that it was a study that used certain qualitative research methods to describe the early experiences of new nurses entering the workforce. My first reflex was to think, “Why a qualitative study on this topic now?” I read the article from a somewhat cynical point of view and wondered, “What in the world did it reveal?” The described phenomena were not necessarily new to me. However, I was impressed by the richness of the data and the vividness of the concepts and stories extracted. There was no doubt that new light was shed on the phenomenon in the context of previous research and that specific findings were presented that could be useful in assisting newcomers.
That paper was based on a master’s thesis. It was an experience that made me feel some regret, thinking that if I had not been overly preoccupied with preconceptions and with the help of good research guidance, my graduate students could have done their research using an approach they liked better, and could have written papers that were more satisfying and contributed to the accumulation of knowledge.
Now, although my doctoral students still need to explain the logic behind the necessity and validity of their qualitative research proposals, I have changed my teaching policy to allow master’s students to choose their research methods more freely. Furthermore, to dispel my biased values and assumptions, I always speak to myself when going through the peer review process, and say “All research is precious, thank you for allowing me to read it.”