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Systematic reviews of qualitative studies: Heresy or necessity |
Description: Qualitative research provides insights into emotional and experiential phenomena to determine the perspectives of those being studied. By doing so, qualitative studies generate valuable information to inform clinical decision-making or development of policy at a local level. However, the generalizability of the findings of these studies to broader populations is often limited by small sample sizes, the unique characteristics of the population being studied and the researchers’ subjective interpretation of the populations’ responses. A broader use of the results of qualitative studies could be made possible if a systematic analysis of several studies examining the same question consistently identified similar themes.