An important and sometimes missed component of qualitative research design are the well-defined constructs the researcher will explore. In fact, the Total Quality Framework, and its emphasis on generating quality data, “requires that the researcher place a high priority on identifying the constructs that need to be measured” (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015, p. 30). These constructs — that provide a guiding light throughout data collection, analysis, and reporting — are defined by the research objectives which should have been explicitly articulated at the onset of the study.

For example, if a study is trying to understand health care problems within lower-income groups, then choosing to gather data on constructs such as a family’s health status and past history, heath care attitudes, health care access, and financial resources that can be devoted to health care would match the research objectives. (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015, p. 30)

Söderberg and Lundman (2001) conducted interviews with women afflicted with fibromyalgia with the specific objective of investigating what it means to “transition from being a healthy woman to being a woman living with [this disorder]” (p. 619). This objective clearly set the course for their [analysis] of the IDI transcripts, which focused on the construct of transition and led them to identify various types of transitions experienced by these women (e.g., related to family life). (Roller & Lavrakas, 2015, p. 259)

Just as constructs tied to the research objectives provide a guiding light throughout the Credibility phase of the research design, they also help to steer Analyzability by enabling the researcher to derive new constructs during data analysis. These new constructs are then used to develop categories of meaning from the data. This idea has been discussed often in Research Design Review, including in articles such as “The Important Role of Buckets in Qualitative Data Analysis,” “Actively Conducting an Analysis to Construct an Interpretation,” and “Qualitative Analysis: A Reflexive Exercise for Category Development.”

The integrity and ultimate Usefulness of our qualitative research hinges on maintaining a focus on the core research objectives along with the constructs that guide the research process.

 

Roller, M. R., & Lavrakas, P. J. (2015). Applied qualitative research design: A total quality framework approach. New York: Guilford Press.

Söderberg, S., & Lundman, B. (2001). Transitions experienced by women with fibromyalgia. Health Care for Women International, 22(7), 617–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399330127169