While we often like to talk about research findings that shows us statistical significance in data and solid numbers we can lean on for treatment approaches… What about the kind of data that ISN’T objectively measured? The kind that shows us what patients or other clinicians experience think, or believe. I’m talking about qualitative research! Is qualitative research viewed as “less reputable” than quantitative research? What kind of valuable information can we pull from patient experiences, opinions, and views? Beatrice Manduchi PhD, MSc, BSc (SLP) is here to talk all about it in today’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride podcast! Beatrice is a speech-language pathologist who went from clinician to researcher and is currently working as a postdoc fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Beatrice specializes in dysphagia, particularly in head and neck cancer. Tune into this episode to take a break from numerical data and explore the world of qualitative research and its impact on dysphagia! Link to show notes: https://syppodcast.com/340 TIMESTAMPS: Qualitative Research Interest (00:03:20) Importance of Qualitative Methods (00:05:17) Qualitative Research vs. Quantitative Research (00:06:07) Impact of Qualitative Research on Dysphagia (00:09:37) Patient Perspectives in Research (00:10:51) Integrating Qualitative Research with Clinical Practice (00:12:14) Conducting Qualitative Research (00:15:02) Data Saturation in Qualitative Research (00:17:22) The Role of Frameworks in Qualitative Research (00:20:18) Passion for Patient-Centered Research (00:22:18) Understanding Bias in Interviews (00:23:16) Nuances of Interview Guides (00:24:18) Proactive vs. Reactive Therapies (00:26:11) Patient Comfort with Therapies (00:29:00) Streamlined Processes in Therapy (00:30:22) Patient Education Importance (00:32:52) Setting Diet Goals (00:33:56) Shared Decision-Making Challenges (00:38:01) Surprising Findings from the Study (00:39:17) Next Steps in Research (00:41:22)