A Framework for Selecting Data Generation Strategies in Qualitative Health Research Studies.

Qualitative health research has the potential to answer important applied health research questions to inform nutrition and dietetic practice, education, and policy. Qualitative health research is a distinct subdiscipline of qualitative inquiry that purposefully draws upon the context of healthcare and emphasizes health and wellness. Qualitative health research is defined by two parameters: 1) the focus of the study and 2) the methods used. When considering the methods to be used, decisions are required about the type of data to be generated (e.g., transcripts, images, notes) and the process involved in data generation (e.g., interviews, elicitation strategies, observations) to answer the research question(s). Drawing upon examples from nutrition and dietetic literature, this paper provides a framework to support decision-making for nutrition and dietetics researchers and clinician researchers designing and conducting qualitative health research. The guiding questions of the framework include: What types of data will be generated? Who is involved in data generation? Where will data generation occur? When will data generation occur? How will participants' and researchers' emotional safety be promoted? This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.