Quantitative and Qualitative Research

1- Limit the search to Clinical Queries by selecting within the drop-down Clinical Queries menu: Qualitative-High Sensitivity; Qualitative-High Specificity; Qualitative-Best Balance.

High Sensitivity is a broad search that retrieves ALL relevant material but may also retrieve less relevant materials. High Specificity is a targeted search that retrieves only the most relevant result set but may miss some relevant materials. Best Balance retrieves the best balance between Sensitivity and Specificity.

(Close up view):

2- ‘Qualitative studies’ is a subject heading in CINAHL. Enter ‘qualitative studies’ into the search box, along with your topic keywords, and change the drop-down menu to ‘MH Exact Subject Heading.’

Also, experiment with related CINAHL subject headings such as Focus Groups, Narratives, Interviews, Descriptive Research, Descriptive Statistics, Audiorecording, Videorecording, Diaries, Observational Methods, Vignettes, etc.

This may not retrieve all of the quantitative studies available, but it is one strategy to use.