Qualitative research and outcomes in health, social work and education

The purpose of this article is to outline ways in which qualitative research has a contribution to make to research on outcomes in health, social work and education. The main questions are contextualized through a general consideration of the relationship between quantitative and qualitative methods, especially in relation to evaluative research. In the main part of the article, I draw some conclusions regarding the contribution that qualitative methodology can make to outcomes research. I illustrate how qualitative research can contribute indispensably to outcomes research in four ways: design solutions; sensitivity to the micro-processes of practice and programmes; applications of symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology; and qualitative data analysis.