QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON HEALTH AT THE UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE COLOMBIA

Abstract

This study was developed during 2006 and the first semester of 2007 at the Health Sciences Faculty, by checking all Qualitative Researches carried out in the nursery, medicine, psychology and postgrade programs. Objectives: the projects were analyzed in terms of their methodological rigorousity from epistemological approaches which underpin the proposal, the visions and perspectives with regard to participants, types of research, data collection techniques, units of analysis and analytical procedures. Methodology: starting from the literature revision, qualitative techniques were articulated from the analysis of discourses and quantitative-statistical in the distribution of frequencies; the analytical procedure was brought about by psychology students in the Research Training course IV of the Health Sciences Faculty. Findings: the outcomes resulting from this study offer a wide overview in the conception of qualitative research and its methodological procedures as well; the discussion about the subjective and inter-subjective realities, as legitimate objects of knowledge, is reinforced. From a comprehensive and interpretative perspective, the descriptive, ethnographical, hermeneutical, grounded theory and historical researches are the most predominant. From a critical perspective the mostpredominant researches are: participative, action and social research with a more performing approach. Conclusions: it becomes necessary to worry about problems such as the significance of human acts in a discussion process and interdisciplinary analysis on the basis of foundations and procedures with which the historical and socio-cultural reality of health is built in Boyacá.