Qualitative Research an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem based on building a complex, holistic picture formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants conducted in a natural setting (Creswell, 2002)

Assumptions Qualitative researchers are concerned primarily with process, rather than outcomes or products interested in meaning - how people make sense of their lives, experiences, and their structures of the world. the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. Data are mediated through this human instrument, rather than through inventories, questionnaires, or machines.

Assumptions Qualitative research involves fieldwork. observe or record behavior in its natural setting is descriptive the researcher is interested in process, meaning, and understanding gained through words or pictures. is an inductive process the researcher builds abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and theories from details. (Merriam, 1988)

Data Collection Procedures Setting the boundaries for the study Collecting information through observations, interviews, documents, and visual materials Establishing the protocol for recording information (Creswell, 2002)

Parameters for data collection the setting - where the research will take place the actors - who will be observed or interviewed the events - what the actors will be observed doing or interviewed about the process - the evolving nature of events undertaken by the actors within the setting (Miles and Huberman, 1984)

Types of data to be collected Gather observational notes by conducting an observation as a participant an observer Conduct an unstructured, open-ended interview and take interview notes audiotape the interview

Types of data to be collected Keep a journal during the research study Have an informant keep a journal during the search study Collect personal letters from informants Analyze public documents (e.g., official memos, minutes, archival material) Examine physical trace evidence (e.g., foot prints in the snow)

Types of data to be collected Videotape a social situation or an individual/group Examine photographs or videotapes Have informants take photographs or videotapes Collect sounds (e.g., musical sounds, a child's laughter, car horns honking) (Creswell, 2002)

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS “For HIV/AIDS, the benefits of qualitative research are clear: it facilitates collection of timely and focused information about risk behaviors in different cultures and circumstances and permits the rapid translation of that information into public health prevention.” (O’Reilly, 1995)

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS Qualitative studies will advance the knowledge of the impact of HIV/AIDS on people's lives, their families, and communities in underdeveloped countries. The qualitative information will improve researchers’ understanding of the underlying causes of the HIV/AIDS pandemic by elucidating the factors that influence human behaviors

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS Face-to-face interview researchers to obtain valuable information from HIV positive or AIDS patients who would otherwise not release such information during any standard quantitative data collection procedures such as surveys or hospital records.

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS Focus group interview allows researchers to observe a large degree of interaction on a topic in a limited period of time to explore issues and generate hypotheses, and provides an opportunity to collect data from group interaction (Morgan, 1988). Enable members of a target population to express their ideas in a spontaneous, unstructured manner (Bertrand, Brown, & Ward, 1992).

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS Case study approach allows researchers to view the social reality understand the dynamics of relationships and other important variables that lead to decisions, attitudes, and behaviors by examining a social unit (i.e., a person, a family or household, a community, or an organization) (McDermott and Sarvela, 1999).

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS The content analyses of the existing HIV/AIDS related publications and records from various local media sources will be conducted to reveal the focus and the trend of attention and to discover the patterns (Johnson and Kittleson, 2000) of attitudes, perceptions, and practices of risky HIV/AIDS behaviors.

Qualitative Research and HIV/AIDS Unobtrusive observations play an important corroborative role by providing the triangulation evidence allows researchers to construct a more complete descriptive or predictive picture of HIV/AIDS crisis design effective programs to educate, prevent, and care for the affected individuals, families, and communities.