To boldly go: discovering new nursing knowledge through Exploratory-Descriptive Qualitative (EDQ) research

Qualitative research findings have been shown to be necessary to the advancement of health research” (Sandelowski, 2004, p. 1374). There are various qualitative approaches available for researchers to choose from (Sandelowski, 2000). These include phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and action research. However, this is not an exhaustive list. Other qualitative methodologies exist, which a researcher may choose to use if they can describe and justify their rationale for using it (Holloway & Wheeler, 2010). Ultimately, the researcher has to defend their choice of methodology by demonstrating how it meets the aims of their research (Thomas, 2013). A review of the literature identified a number of published research articles which claim to have used an “exploratory-descriptive qualitative” (EDQ) design. However, closer inspection revealed a lack of theoretical underpinning. As a result, the authors created a conceptual framework, underpinned by appropriate theory, to support the use of an exploratory descriptive qualitative approach, called EDQ. We argue, in this poster, that there is a place in nursing research to use such an approach as long as it is the most appropriate to answer the aims of the study. As a result, EDQ has emerged as a relevant research methodology to allow nurse researchers to explore and describe phenomena which have previously been overlooked, or received little attention, in the literature.