Qualitative research methods are used to collect and analyse data that cannot be represented by numbers. This paper aims to explain the different practices of data collection and analysis found in qualitative research and to outline when it is appropriate to use these methods. We hope that the reader will gain confidence in the critical appraisal of published research that uses qualitative meth...

Mental illnesses differ from medical conditions in their lack of objectively assessable biological markers for the establishment of a diagnosis. In the absence of clear external validators such as laboratory tests or radiological examinations, accurate assessment of the clinical picture and phenomenology becomes crucial. Common diseases with successful genetic mapping studies are generally char...

this paper describes and discusses the psychopathology and demographic data of 922 schizophernic inpatients (aged 15-66) who had been diagnosed according to dsm-iii criteria in state mental hospitals of iran. data were collected via semistructured interviews (during 1985-91) by psychologists and trained research assistants from the tehran psychiatric institute. in this research depressed mood, ...