ATTITUDES OF PhD STUDENTS TOWARDS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS IN MEDICINE
Abstract
Although qualitative research methods are increasingly used in medicine, PhD students in biomedical fields rarely choose these methods for their theses. In a two-session, unstructured meeting of professor and his 2nd year PhD students in the field of medicine the issue of using qualitative research methods for PhD thesis was openly discussed, and notes from the discussion were semantically analyzed. The students all agreed that they would not choose a qualitative research method for their PhD thesis, because they believed that qualitative research is more prone to bias, less reliable than quantitative research and with fewer chances to be accepted by the scientific community. If qualitative research methods are to be more utilized by PhD students of medicine in the future, much should be done on education of PhD students and on promotion of these methods among the academic staff.
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