Project Details
Description
PhD project plan (03.2025-2029)
Calls to use qualitative, ideographic data have grown more frequent as researchers move beyond focusing solely on the “average” patient, participant, or citizen in evaluating interventions. While quantitative methods have been on the forefront of evidence-based research, they aim to minimize contextual variation, yet the effectiveness of many interventions, particularly psychosocial ones, may often lay in contextual factors. The benefits of qualitative methods in enriching the evidentiary base are thus recognizable, however, it is currently unclear how to integrate or use qualitative data to determine the effectiveness of a particular intervention.
The overarching research question of the current project is: How to determine the effectiveness of a (psychosocial) intervention based on qualitative data (e.g., interviews, focus groups, policy documents)? The main objective of the project is to develop actionable guidelines applicable to a wide variety of stakeholders (researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, individual stakeholders) to determine effectiveness using qualitative methods and data. This is planned to be achieved through the following four projects:
1. Conducting a methodological review of existing guidance for conducting qualitative evaluation studies.
The first step of the project is thus to conduct a review of qualitative methodologies used for the purpose of evaluating interventions and compare their applications. This will serve as a theoretical basis of the project and guide its following steps by synthesizing existing knowledge and identifying the remaining gaps.
2. Performing case studies where the effectiveness of an intervention or a set of interventions is being evaluated.
By following the evaluation process and establishing contact with the stakeholders involved in a chosen evaluation study process, the current project strives to examine the needs for practical and policy guidance. This will ensure the relevance of the novel protocol and provide insight about the application of existing guidelines, knowledge, and procedures.
3. Running a Delphi study to attain consensus on relevant guidelines.
The guidelines for the novel protocol will be formulated through consultation with an international panel of experts. Participants in the Delphi study will contribute to the project through their participation and background in, among others, evaluating interventions, implementation research, or guidelines development. Expert consensus will be integrated with literature and practical insights collected in the previous stages.
4. Lastly, developing a novel set of guidelines for evaluating effectiveness using qualitative data.
This protocol will provide a broadly applicable step-by-step guide and standards for evaluating qualitative evidence. This will be shared via Open Science Framework to be easily and openly accessible for interested users. Accompanying research papers and (national and international) conference contributions are planned to facilitate the broad dissemination of this work.
The project concerns itself with a variety of issues, involving creating actionable guidance for stakeholders for interpreting and applying qualitative evidence; facilitating communication between guidance development and application to mend the gap between them; and redefining effectiveness to accommodate for qualitative insights. The overarching meta-question of “what is effectiveness” is therefore one of the underlying challenges and potential contributions of the project. Effectiveness, in the many ways it is defined across evaluative studies, does not always align with the ideographic, exploratory nature of qualitative research designs. In turn, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses approach effectiveness with a pre-defined, top-down logic, assessing a limited number of outcomes which may fail to identify wider benefits and harms of the intervention. Addressing the concept throughout the project with the aim of situating qualitative methods in the broader landscape of evaluative studies is thus one of the goals of the current project.
Calls to use qualitative, ideographic data have grown more frequent as researchers move beyond focusing solely on the “average” patient, participant, or citizen in evaluating interventions. While quantitative methods have been on the forefront of evidence-based research, they aim to minimize contextual variation, yet the effectiveness of many interventions, particularly psychosocial ones, may often lay in contextual factors. The benefits of qualitative methods in enriching the evidentiary base are thus recognizable, however, it is currently unclear how to integrate or use qualitative data to determine the effectiveness of a particular intervention.
The overarching research question of the current project is: How to determine the effectiveness of a (psychosocial) intervention based on qualitative data (e.g., interviews, focus groups, policy documents)? The main objective of the project is to develop actionable guidelines applicable to a wide variety of stakeholders (researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, individual stakeholders) to determine effectiveness using qualitative methods and data. This is planned to be achieved through the following four projects:
1. Conducting a methodological review of existing guidance for conducting qualitative evaluation studies.
The first step of the project is thus to conduct a review of qualitative methodologies used for the purpose of evaluating interventions and compare their applications. This will serve as a theoretical basis of the project and guide its following steps by synthesizing existing knowledge and identifying the remaining gaps.
2. Performing case studies where the effectiveness of an intervention or a set of interventions is being evaluated.
By following the evaluation process and establishing contact with the stakeholders involved in a chosen evaluation study process, the current project strives to examine the needs for practical and policy guidance. This will ensure the relevance of the novel protocol and provide insight about the application of existing guidelines, knowledge, and procedures.
3. Running a Delphi study to attain consensus on relevant guidelines.
The guidelines for the novel protocol will be formulated through consultation with an international panel of experts. Participants in the Delphi study will contribute to the project through their participation and background in, among others, evaluating interventions, implementation research, or guidelines development. Expert consensus will be integrated with literature and practical insights collected in the previous stages.
4. Lastly, developing a novel set of guidelines for evaluating effectiveness using qualitative data.
This protocol will provide a broadly applicable step-by-step guide and standards for evaluating qualitative evidence. This will be shared via Open Science Framework to be easily and openly accessible for interested users. Accompanying research papers and (national and international) conference contributions are planned to facilitate the broad dissemination of this work.
The project concerns itself with a variety of issues, involving creating actionable guidance for stakeholders for interpreting and applying qualitative evidence; facilitating communication between guidance development and application to mend the gap between them; and redefining effectiveness to accommodate for qualitative insights. The overarching meta-question of “what is effectiveness” is therefore one of the underlying challenges and potential contributions of the project. Effectiveness, in the many ways it is defined across evaluative studies, does not always align with the ideographic, exploratory nature of qualitative research designs. In turn, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses approach effectiveness with a pre-defined, top-down logic, assessing a limited number of outcomes which may fail to identify wider benefits and harms of the intervention. Addressing the concept throughout the project with the aim of situating qualitative methods in the broader landscape of evaluative studies is thus one of the goals of the current project.
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/04/25 → … |
Keywords
- effectiveness
- qualitative research
- evaluation methods
- evidentiary pluralism
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