Implementation and assessment of a qualitative research support program: a case study

<ns3:p>While it is generally recognized that qualitative methods are vital to clinical research, anecdotal evidence suggested that institutional support for qualitative and mixed methods research was lacking at our large New England hospital. To better understand research community needs in a structured way, we implemented a case study to quantify the importance and utilization of this research design, to evaluate institutional support and training needs, and develop project and community level supports. A survey of research directors found that 65% indicated that qualitative and mixed methods research is important to their departments’ research goals, and that monetary support is necessary (78%). An open call for research projects resulted in 11 enrolled, representing 10 departments. We found that 70% of these researchers had little experience and that education was needed across several areas: study design (73%), data collection methods (73%), coding methods (91%), “hands-on” coding support (27%), analysis (100%), and write-up (100%). To address these issues, educational and community-level support was developed including training webinars, project level consulting support, a researcher support forum and a SharePoint site (to house training and reference materials in a central location). With this support, researchers were able to successfully apply qualitative and mixed methods across a range of specialties, and, at the time of this writing, resulted in grant support for 4 projects, 3 publications and 5 posters at national meetings. A post-case study survey found that most researchers (&gt;90%) felt that qualitative methods are important to their career. Results from the case study demonstrate that implementation of effective qualitative and mixed methods research support at a large research hospital is feasible, well received, and academically productive, and requires a mix of education, project specific and community-level support.</ns3:p>