Design of the thesis
In this thesis an inductive qualitative design was used in studies I and II and a
deductive cross-sectional design in studies III and IV. The overall design
comprises five steps. First, an exploration of female patients‟ experiences of
patient-radiographer encounters by means of individual interviews. Second, an
investigation of radiographers‟ areas of professional competence related to
good nursing care was undertaken using individual interviews. Third, a
questionnaire was designed and a pilot test carried out, after which validity was
tested. Fourth, a web-based questionnaire aimed at measuring radiographers‟
professional competence was developed. In the fifth and final step, a selfassessment
of professional competence in terms of level and frequency of use
took place. An overview of the study design, samples, data collection and
analysis employed in the studies included in this thesis is presented in Table 2
below.