Qualitative Research Resources: Help at UNC

Why is this information important?

• Qualitative research has many aliases! It can be difficult to find support for qualitative research if you don't know where to look.
• There is a good amount of support available for qualitative researchers on UNC campus. Knowing about it will make your life as a researcher much easier.

If you need some assistance designing your project or using specific qualitative methods or software, people at these centers/institutes on UNC's campus may be able to help.

The Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science

Services for Qualitative Researchers:

• data management and archiving
• statistical analysis and tools (including qualitative)
• survey development and data collection
• grant services
• computing services and software training

Contact:

• Paul Mihas consults on the following topics: qualitative research design, mixed methods research design, developing an interview (or focus group) guide, qualitative data collection, qualitative traditions (grounded theory, case study, narrative analysis, etc.), qualitative, software, qualitative analysis, and intercoder reliability.

Consult the Odum Institute website for survey research services:

Connected Health Applications and Interventions (CHAI) Core

Services

Services for Qualitative Researchers in the Health Sciences:

• CHAI Qualitative Services include:
• Qualitative Methodology Consulting and Training
• Concept and Proposal Development
• Interview Guide Development
• Facilitation of Qualitative Research Methods
  • Usability Testing and Cognitive Testing, Telephone and In-Person Interviews, Focus Groups, Observational Studies
• Data Analysis and Interpretation
  • Key Summary and In-Depth Reports
  • Peer-Reviewed Scientific Manuscript Preparation Support

Design Services: CHAI offers high quality graphic design for web-based, mobile, and print interventions. Researchers choose from a range of custom developed designs to best meet their study goals. Products include cohesive intervention materials such as:

• Logos
• Project Branding Toolkit
• Recruitment and Presentation Materials
• Graphics enhancing site navigation and educational messaging

Development Services: CHAI's development team specializes in website and application development for intervention research using the latest technology in mobile, computer, wearable, and multimedia applications. CHAI maintains data security requirements commensurate with UNC School of Medicine while providing

• Interactive Data Collection
• Dissemination
• Responsive Design
• iPhone and Android apps
• 3rd Party API integration
• Usage Tracking
• Client-controlled Content Management Features

More:  Grant Submissions, Intervention Development, Survey Programming and Integration, Concierge (help connecting researchers with outside vendors who offer a range of complementary services).

Contact:

• Email: chaicore@unc.edu
• Phone: (919) 843-7830

Social and Behavioral Science Core - UNC CFAR

The UNC CFAR Social and Behavioral Science Research Core seeks to facilitate and support new collaborative HIV-related research that is interdisciplinary and inter-institutional. We provide services and resources to support biomedical and social science researchers interested in exploring social, psychological, and structural factors affecting the HIV epidemic, and scientific leadership, mentorship, and networking opportunities to junior faculty, international investigators, and scholars new to HIV research or from traditionally minority institutions.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Qualitative study design and sample size consultation
• Qualitative guide development support
• Qualitative data collection training (Focus Group Discussions, In-depth interviews)
• Qualitative Data Collection (virtual and in-person)
  • Semi-structured/In-depth interviews,
  • Cognitive Interviewing, and
  • Focus Group Discussions
  • Usability testing
• Qualitative Interview Audio Transcription
• Data Analysis (Coding only)
• Data Analysis and results interpretation
• Results dissemination
  • Summary report writing
  • Conference abstract preparation and support
  • Peer-reviewed manuscript preparation and support

For additional information about our services related to qualitative research, please see our menu.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Research Proposal Assistance
• Quantitative Research Services
• Intervention Development and Process Evaluation
• Mentoring And Networking
• Content Area Expert Consultation/Services Including:
• Criminal Justice
• Ethics and/or Regulatory
• Motivational Interviewing
• Implementation Science

Contact: Eunice Okumu, Core Manager via email or at (919) 843-2532.

UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Services for Qualitative Researchers in the Health Sciences:  The mission of the QRU is to provide support to investigators from the Center, all five UNC health affair schools, and the North Carolina public health community in the planning, conducting, evaluating, reporting and disseminating of their qualitative research projects.  Services include these:

• refining study objectives, research questions and identifying key variables,
• choosing the data collection methods and instruments that will best accomplish the investigator’s objectives,
• designing interview and focus group guides that are appropriate for the study design,
• developing formative and process evaluation data collection forms
• training interview moderator and assistants
• conducting interviews and focus groups
• preparing the qualitative analysis section of a grant proposal and/or study protocol,
• managing and preparing qualitative data for analysis,
• conducting and interpreting qualitative analyses of research data, and
• reporting research results, including development of abstracts, presentations for professional meetings, and manuscripts submitted to professional journals.

Additional Services:  HPDP’s Cores and Units work together to provide comprehensive support to all our research projects. 

• Biostatistical Services
• Business and Finance Management
• Community Engagement, Partnerships and Technical Assistance Core
• Communications and Dissemination Core
• Data Capture Unit
• Evaluation Core
• Human Resources
• Qualitative Research Unit
• Training Core

Contact:

Dr. Maihan B Vu, QRU Director
Director or Formative Research and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education
Email: mvu@email.unc.edu
Phone: 919-966-9793

North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute

The NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute is UNC's CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Awards) program. In addition to providing broad support to clinical and translational research, the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Program (formerly CARES) offers expertise, guidance, and support related specifically to community-engaged qualitative research. Services include:

• Guidance on concept and proposal development
• Guidance on qualitative data collection methods
• Review of grant proposals
• Training and assistance with identifying potential research stakeholders and participants
• Qualitative Research Services webpage

General TraCS Contact:

• General Email: nctracs@unc.edu
• General Phone: 919.966.6022
• Community and Stakeholder Engagement Program: engagement.nctracs@unc.edu
•  request a consultation, click here: https://tracs.unc.edu/index.php/consultation

Laboratory Capabilities: The Carolina Survey Research Laboratory (CSRL), originally the Survey Research Unit (SRU), provides expertise in the areas of survey and questionnaire design as well as data collection.  Works under grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to offer the following services:

• Sampling
• Questionnaire Development
• Data Collection (by Telephone, Internet, and/or Mail)
• Survey Data Preparation
• Sample Weighting
• Statistical Analysis
• Report Writing

Website:

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

Library and Information Services for Health Services Researchers:

The Sheps Center Library houses some pertinent reference materials, including basic statistical and demographic reference works; classic health services texts, North Carolina, AMA, and AHA guides; directories; and the Sage series on research. The Library also contains a special grey literature file compiled over the lifetime of the Center, the Rural/Policy Literature file, a file that held classic and ephemeral materials pertaining to rural health and health policy. 

Librarians support the activities of the Sheps Center. and are generally available for quick consultation and routine requests, such as help with finding full-text articles, especially those related to health services research. The librarians are key staff for RTI-UNC Evidence-based Practice Center research contracts (from topic refinements and white papers to full systematic reviews) and similar research projects. If your group would like Library and Information Services staff to work on a systematic review-level project, please consult with Christiane Voisin and with an appropriate Sheps Center Business Office contact to request staff time.

Librarians also send monthly emails listing health services research and public health funding opportunities culled from Grants.gov (grants.gov) and InfoEd SPIN (https://spin.infoedglobal.com/Home/SOLRSearch) to the Sheps Center and its collaborators. Please contact librarians if you would like assistance with setting up personalized funding email alerts.

Contact:

• Christiane Voisin, Acting Associate Director for Information Services, phone: (919) 843-2298

Services

An important aspect of Carter Thought Lab is the services our personnel can provide for scholars who are engaged in educational or other social science research. Support and consultation is available for qualitative research projects (or the qualitative dimensions of those projects utilizing mixed methods) at all stages of development in the following areas:

• refining aspects of the study proposal: objectives, research questions, data collection methods and instruments, etc.
• designing protocols for interviews and focus groups of all types that align with the proposal
• training interviewers and focus group moderators
• managing and preparing qualitative data for analysis (including transcription of interviews)
• assisting with the coding, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative data
• preparing reports on the results of the research project
• preparing grant proposals involving qualitative research

If you are interested in discussing the specific aspects and needs of your own qualitative research project, or if you have general questions about the services provided as part of the Carter Thought Lab, please contact Director Dr. Sherick Hughes.