nursing research simplified

5/20/2018 Nursing Research Simplified

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

1. Phenomenological Studiesa. Lived experience

b. Examines human experiences through descriptions provided by the people

involvedc. Bracketing

The researcher releases expectations and biases prior to doing the

research.d. End purpose

To determine themes and patterns of behavior, etc.

2. Ethnographic Studies

a. ollection and analysis of data about cultural groups.b. End purpose

To develop cultural theories.

c. !ethod

"articipant observation and intervie#s #ith key informants3. Grounded Theory Studies

a. $ata are collected and analy%ed and then a theory is developed that is

grounded on the data.

b. !ethod

"urposeful sampling, done in field or naturalistic setting.

c. oncerned #ith generation rather than testing the hypothesis.

4. Historical Studiesa. &dentification, location, evaluation, and synthesis of data of the past

b. End purpose

To relate the past to the present and the future.

c. 'ources of data for historical research(. $ocuments

a. )ral history, #ritten research, diaries, eye#itness

accounts, pictorial services.

*. +elics and artifactsa. "hysical evidence.

d. lassification of sources can be

(. "rimarya. -n account of the event from the person himself.

*. 'econdary

a. 'ummari%ed or retold by another.e. Evaluation or ritism of the data

(. External

a. -uthentically or genuineness of the source

*. &nternala. -ccuracy of the data in the source.

5. Case study

&ndepth examination of people.


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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

'teps

(. &dentify the problema. Broad topic, narro#ed do#n

b. !ay be the most difficult and #ill take the most amount of time

c. 'ources of study problemsi. "ersonal experiences

ii. Literature sources

iii. "revious researchiv. Testing of theories

d. haracteristics of a good problem statement

i. 'tated as a /uestionii. 'pecifies the population and the variables

(. )nevariable studies

-lso called 0nivariate.

Eg. 1hat is the primary motivation of student nurses inpreparing the Licensure examination2

*. T#ovariable studies

-lso Bivariate.

an be cause and effect in experimental studies. But in a

correlational study, the t#o variables are not cause and

effect but may be t#o variables that are compared or

contrasted.3. !ultiplevariable studies.

-lso called !ultivariate

Eg. 1hy do nursing students fail on 4LE2

iii. Emphirically testable

5earing, sight, taste, touch, smell.

(. Ethicai and value issues, right or #rong, are not empirically

testable but can be measured based on their effect to a sub6ect .

Eg. 'hould patients be allo#ed an unlimited number of

visitors during their stay in the hospital2 can be measuredif &s there a difference in the comfort level of hospitali%ed

patients #ho receive an unlimited number of visitors

compared to those limited to t#o visitors compared to thoselimited to t#o visitors per day2

*. -void #ords like cause and effect.e. &s there a significant difference in the average #eight of school age children#ho eat fast food t#ice a #eek than those #ho eat fast food once a #eek2

f. "roblem 'tatement 7ormat

i. orrelational statement &s there a correlation bet#een 8 and 9 inthe population2


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ii. omparative statement &s there a difference in 9 bet#een people

in the population #ith 8 characteristics and those #ho do not have

8 characteristics.iii. Experimental study &s there a difference in 9 bet#een group -

#ho received 8 treatment and group B #ho did not receive 8

treatment.g. +esearch problem considerations

i. Ethical issuesii. 'ignificance to nursing

iii. "ersonal motivation

iv. +esearcher /ualifications

v. 7easibility of the study(. Time

*. ost

3. E/uipment and 'upplies

:. -dministrative support;. "eer support

.

'een in 4ursing ?ournals.ii. 'econdary source

'ummary of the research as #ritten by someone other than the

researcher.c. +evie# of related literature must be done on a continuous basis so as to ensure

that researcher@s informations are up to date.

:. $evelop a TheoreticalAonceptual 7rame#ork.


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To assist in the selection of the study variables and in defining

them.

+esearch #ithout a theory provides a set of isolated facts.

$efinition of terms

i. Theory

'et of related statements that describes or explains phenomenain a systematic #ay.

Eg. 4e#ton@s Theories of motion, allista +oy -daptationTheory.

ii. oncept

a. - #ord picture or mental idea of phenomenon.

b. !aybe concrete or abstract.c. The building blocks of theory

d. Eg. Thermometer, 5ate, -nger

iii. onstruct

5ighly abstract, complex phenomenon.

annot be directly observed by, must be inferred by certainconcrete or less abstract indicators.

Eg. 1ellness, !ental health, 'elf esteem, -ssertiveness.iv. "roposition

'tatement of assertion of the relationship bet#een angerconcept.

Eg. Bacteria causes disease. There is a relationship bet#een

anger and increase in B".

v. Empirical enerali%ation

1hen a similar pattern of events is found in the empirical data of a number of

different studies. Eg. 1omen are likely to pass the board exams than men.

vi. 5ypothesis

+esearcher@s expectations about the study.

vii. !odel

'ymbolic representation of some phenomenon or phenomena.

Eg. 7lo#chart or diagram.

onceptual !odels C made of concepts and propositions thatstate the relationship bet#een the concepts.

d. Theoretical vs. onceptual frame#ork

i. Theoretical frame#ork

Broad, general explanation of the relationships bet#eenconcept of interest in a research study.

Based on the existing theory.

ii. onceptual frame#ork


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Explains relationship bet#een concept but links concepts

selected from several theories, from previous research results,

and from the researcher@s o#n experience.

Eg. !aslo#s 5ierarchy of 4eeds Theory and ?ob satisfaction

theory.

e. Theory eneration and $evelopmenti. $eductive reasoning

"roceeds form general to specific.

Eg. !aslo#@s 5ierarchy of needs C 6ob satisfaction scale.

Theory D "ropositional statement D 5ypothesis D Empirical

data.ii. &nductive reasoning

"roceeds from specific to general

Empirical date D Empirical enerali%ation D "ropositionalstatement D theory.

Eg. )bserved that #orkers #ho receive lo# salaries have poor#ork performance C 6ob satisfaction theory.

f. T#o types of theoriesi. rand theory

-ddress a broad range of phenomena in the environment or

humanity.ii. !iddlerange theory

oncerned only #ith a small area of the environment or human

experiences.

!iddle range theories have been found to be more valuable to

nursing research than grand theories.

;. &dentify the 'tudy -ssumption -ssumptions

o Beliefs that are held to be true but have not necessary

been proven.

o Eg. 7ast food makes you fat.

Three types of assumptions

i. 0niversal assumptions

Beliefs assumed to be true by a large percentage of society.

Eg. 7ast food makes you fat.

ii. -ssumptions based on theory or research findings

0sing another research finding assumptions as the basis of

one@s study.

Eg. -n existing research finding may have stated anassumption that children #ho eat fast food t#ice a #eek tend to

be t#ice more likely to become over#eight than children #ho

eat only once a #eek.iii. -ssumptions that are necessary to carry out the study

&n the mentioned research, the assumption that children #ho

study in elementary schools are of schoolage.


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a. +elationship bet#een one independent and one dependent variable.

omplex

+elationship bet#een t#o or more independent or dependent variables.

-n interaction effect #ould concern the action of t#o variables in

con6unction #ith each other.

ii. 4ull vs. +esearch

4ull

i. 4o relationship exists bet#een t#o variables.

+esearch

ii. There is a relationship, states the expected relationship.

iii. 4ondirectional vs. $irectional

4ondirectional

iii. !ere prediction that a relationship exists.

$irectionaliv. +esearcher further predicts the type of relationship.

1hich types of research re/uire hypothesis2

i. Experimental, correlationa, comparative studies, re/uire hypothesis.

(. Eg. hildren #ho eat fast sood t#ice a #eek are morelikely to be

over#eight that those #ho eat fast food only once a month.

ii. $escriptive studies, exploratory studies

(. $o not necessarily re/uire hypothesis.

*. Eg. - description of the lifestyles, customs and practices of indigent!anobos from entral !indanao.

G. $efine 'tudy ariables and terms

&mportance

o To make the meaning of terminologies and variables clearer

to the researcher and the reader.

o To allo# for replication of the study.

Types of +esearch $efinitions

)perational definitions

o &ndicates hoo# a variable #ill be observed or measured.


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o Eg. 1eight C can be measured in kilograms or pounds.

$ictionary definitions or Theoretical definitions

)btained from literature sources

Eg. 'choolagechild C any child from age F to (*. 7ast food C any

food that is consumed in eating establishments that are served#ithin a considerably short period of time.

H. 'elect the +esearch $esign

a. +esearch designi. The "L-4 for ho# the study #ill be conducted.

b.1ill it examine causeandeffect or #ill it only describe existing situations.

T#o ma6or types

i. Iualitative

ii. Iuantitative

a. an be Experimental and nonexperimental

Experimental vs. 4onexperimental studies

a. Experimental

oncerned #ith cause and effect relationships.

5ighly respected in the scientific #orld.

!ust have !anipulation or control of independent variable, randomselection of sub6ects, measurement of independent and dependent

variable.

!ore control can be exercised over extraneous variables.

&n nursing experimental, a nursing intervention is usually introduced.

i. alidity of Experimental $esign. Extraneous variables =confounding

or intervening or study limitations>.

Those #hich the researcher cannot control or chooses not to

control.

&nternal validity

o

$egree to #hich changes in dependent variable can bedirectly attributed to the independent variable.

o an have the follo#ing as threats to validity

'election Bias

o +esults are due to sub6ect differences before the independent

variables #as manipulated.


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5istory

o 'ome event other than the experimental treatment occurs

during the study that influenced the dependent variable.

!aturation

o hanges that occur #ithin the sub6ects during an experimentstudy influences the study results.

&nstrumentation hange

o $ifference bet#een the pretest and the post test measurement

caused by a change in the accuracy of the instrument of the

6udge@s ratings.

o -voided by trial runs, or training sessions for 6udges prior to

rating.

!ortality

o 'ub6ect dropout rate is different bet#een the experimental and

comprison group.

External alidity

i. $egree to #hich the study results can be generali%ed to other peopleand other settings. Threats include

i. 5a#throne effect(. 'tudy participants respond in a certain manner

because there are a#are that they are being

observed.

ii. Experimenter effect

i. +esearcher characteristics or behavior influence sub6ect behavior.

ii. &n nonexperimental research, this is called the +osenthal Effect.

iii. +eactive effects of the pretest =measurement effect>

(. 'ub6ects have already been sensiti%ed by the pretest and may affectposttest results.

Types of Experimental $esigns

a. True Experimental

+esearcher has great deal of control over the research

situation.

3 criteria !anipulation of variablesJ )ne experimental

and one comparison group =control group>.

'ub6ects are randomly assigned


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i. "retest"osttest ontrol roup $esign

+ )( 8 )* =experimental group>

+ )( )* =control group>

i. 'ub6ects are randomly assigned to groups

ii. "retest given to both groupsiii. Experimental groups receives treatment, control

group the usual or no treatment

iv. "osttest given to both groups.

ii. "osttest only ontrol roup $esign

+ 8 )( =Experimental roup>+ )( =ontrol roup>

a. 'ub6ects are randomly assigned to groups

b. Experimental group receives treatment, control group the usual orno treatment.

c. "osttest given to both groups.

b. Iuasiexperimental

!issing one criteria for true experimental design.

4one/uivalent control group design

o 'imilar to pretest posttest control group

design but there is no random assignments

of sub6ects.

o Biggest threat 'election bias.

Timeseries designs

+esearchers periodically observes measures thesub6ects. Experimental treatment is administered

bet#een t#o of the observations. K( K* K3 8 K:

K; K


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"rovides a comparison bet#een a group of sub6ects before and

after the experimental treatment.

K( 8 K*

g. Types of 4onexperimental +esearch design

i. orrelational 'tudies

+esearcher extent to #hich one variable =8> is related to anothervariable.

(. orrelation oefficient

+esearcher extent to #hich one variable =8> is related to

another variable.

a. +elationship

-lso called $irect

-s the value of one variable increases, the value ofthe other variable also increases.

b. C +elationship

-lso called &nverse

-s the variable of one value increase, the value of theother variable decreases.

ii. 'urvey studies

'elf report data are collected from samples #ith purpose of

describing populations on some variables of interest.

iii. omparative studies

Examine the differences bet#een intact groups on some dependent

variable of interest.

-lmost similar to experimental but has no manipulation of

variables.

Experiemental studies are rarely done in nursing research since this#ill usually involve experimentation #ith human beings, and are

thus perceived as having ethical issues.

Eg. &n the case of making the research on the #eight gain of schoolage children #ho fre/uently eat fast food, #e cannot conduct

experimental study since doing so can endanger the health of the

sub6ects.

(. +etrospective studies


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$ependent variable identified in the present, and the

independent variable that occurred in the past isdetermined.

*. "rospective studies

&ndependent variable is identified at the present time, andthe sub6ects are follo#ed in the future to observe the

dependent variable

Eg. 7ast food and #eight gain.

3. Ex post facto studies

$ata are collected after the fact variations in theindependent study are studied after the variations have

occurred, rather than at the time of the occurrence.

iv. !ethodological 'tudies

oncerned #ith the development, testing, and evaluation ofresearch instruments and methods.

Eg. "ost partum depression screening scale.

(K. &dentify the population

a. "opulation

omplete set of individuals or ob6ects the posses some common

characteristics that is of interest to the researcher.

i. Target population

-lso called 0niverse.

The group of people or ob6ects to #hich the researcher

#ishes to generali%e the findings of the study.

ii.-ccessible population

That group #hich is actually available for the study.

iii. The accessible population must posses the characteristics similar to thetarget population, and vice versa.

((. 'elect the sample

a. 'ample

- subgroup chosen to represent the population and used to makegenerali%ations about the population.

b. T#o ma6or types of sampling

i. "robability


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Everyone in the population has the chance of being selected.

(. 'ample +andom 'ampling

Ensures that each element of the population has an e/ual and

independent chance of being chosesn.

&dentify the sample population and list all the elements of the

population =sampling frame>.

Table of random numbers.

*.'tratified +andom 'ampling

"opulation is divided into subgroups or strata, according to somevariableAs of importance. -fter this, a simple random sample is

taken from each of the subgroups.

a. "roportional stratified

b. $isproportional stratified

3. luster +andom 'ampling

Large groups or samples become the sampling units.

Eg. eographical area, school, etc.

:. 'ystematic +andom 'ampling

a. 'ample is taken from every kth element of the population.

b. Eg. (,KKK population and researcher needs (KK samples, then=k interval M 4An> (,KKKA(KK M (K. Every (Kthperson in the list

#ill be taken as sample.

ii. 4onprobability 'ampling !ethods

'ample elements are chosen from the population by nonrandom

methods. !ore likely to produce biased samples.

(. onvenience sampling

-ccidental or incidental.

hoosing readily available people or ob6ects for a study.

'no#ball sampling

o 'tudy sub6ects help refer additional sub6ects.

*. Iuota 'ampling

'imilar to stratified random but selection not random.

Basis of stratification is determined by the researcher.

Eg. ;KN females, ;KN male.

3. "urposive sampling


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a. ?udgmental sampling

b. 5andpicking of sub6ects.

c. Time frame for studying the sample

i. Longitudinal study

7ollo#s the sub6ect over a period of time =< months or more>.

!ore accurate study of changes that occur over time

(. ohort study

"ersons are studied #ho have been born during a particular

time period.

ii. rosssectional study

Examines the sub6ects at one point in time.

Less expensive and easier to conduct

Eg. 0se of mari6uana in high school freshmen vs. seniors, etc.

(*. onduct a pilot study

!aniature, trial version of the planned study. an prevent a

researcher from conducting a largescale study that might be an

expensive disaster.

)b6ectives

To examine issues related to the design, sample si%e, data

collection procedures and data analysis approaches.

an be used to test an instrument, evaluate the study

phenomenon. Etc.

(3. ollect the data

a. $ata

"ieces of information or facts that are collected in scientific

investigations.

b. 1hat data #ill be collected2 1ho #ill collect the data2 1here #ill the

data be collected2 1hen #ill the data be collected2 5o# #ill the data be

collected2 =1hy, is ans#ered by the purpose of the study or the researchdesign, and is not part of this>.

c. The choice of data collection method is determined by the studyhypothesis or research /uestion of the study.

d. riteria for selection of data collection instrument


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"racticality of the instrument

+eliability of the instrument

onsistency and stability

alidity of the instrument

-bility to gather data that is intended to gather. oncerns that

content of the instrument. 1ill the instrument gather data that isneeded in the research.

e. $ata collection methods

i. Iuestionnaires

"aper and pencil, selfreport instrument.

ontains /uestions the respondents are asked to ans#er in #riting.

(. uidelines in #ording /uestions

i. -ffirmative rather than negative =never say never>.ii. -void ambiguous /uestions =many, generally, fe#, often>

iii. -void double negative /uestionsiv. 4eutral #ording

v. $oublebarreled /uestions

*. Types of /uestions

a. $emographic

$ata on the characteristics of the sub6ects.

$emographic or attribute variables.

-ge, educational background, religion.

b. )penended /uestions

Essay, fillintheblank

c. losedended /uestions

+espondent is asked to choose from given alternatives.

!ust be collectively exhaustive =all possible ans#er provided> and mutuallyexclusive = no overlap bet#een categories>

d. ontingency /uestions &tems that is relevant for some respondents and not for

others.

Eg. &f yes..

e. 7iller /uestions


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a. &tems in #hich the researcher has no direct interest but are

included in a /uestionnaire to reduce the emphasis on the

specific purpose of other /uestions.

ii. &ntervie#sb. &ntervie#er obtains responses from a sub6ect in a facetoface

encounter or through a telephone call.

(. 0nstructured intervie#

c. &ntervie#er given a great deal of freedom to direct the course

of the intervie#.

d. onducted more like a normal conversation.

"robes

o -dditional prompting /uestions that encourage the

respondent to elaborate on the topic.

*. 'tructured intervie#s

-sking the same /uestions in the same order and in thesame manner of all respondents in the study.

Even subtle changes in the #ording of the intervie# may

not be permitted.

3. 'emistructured intervie#

&ntervie#ers are generally re/uired to ask a certain

number of specific /uestions but additional probing/uestions are allo#ed or even encouraged.

iii. )bservation method

athering data through visual observations.

an be psychomotor skills, habits, nonverbal communication.

(. 'tructured vs. 0nstructured )bservations

a. 'tructured

arried out #hen the researcher has prior kno#ledge about

the phenomenon of interest.

0ses a checklist.

b. 0nstructured

+esearcher attempts to describe events or behaviors as they

occur, #ith no preconceived idea of #hat #ill be seen.

*. Event sampling vs. Time sampling


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a. Event

)bservation of an entire event.

Eg. Bed making techni/ues of student nurses.

b. Time )bservation of events or behaviors during specified times.

Eg. -ppetite of patients during scheduled meals.

3. +elationship bet#een observer and sub6ects

a. 4onparticipant observerovert

)bserver openly identifies himself and provides sub6ects#ith information about the types of data that #ill be

collected.

b. 4onparticipant observercovert

enerally not ethical. )bserver does not let participant kno# of his activity.

Eg. "ublic behavior =can be ethical>

c. "articipant observerovert

&nvolved #ith the sub6ects openly and sub6ects kno# that

they are being observed by the same.

Eg. &mmersion #ith families #hile observing their dayto

day lifestyle.

d. "articipant observercovert

"lant, 'py

)bserver interacts #ith the sub6ects and observes their

behavior #ithout their kno#ledge. +arely ethical.

iv. "hysiological !easures

&nvolve in the collection of physical data from the sub6ects.

enerally more ob6ective and accurate than many of the other datacollection methods.

v. -ttitude scales

'elfreport, data collection instruments that ask respondents to report theirattitudes or feelings on a continuum.

(. Likert 'cale

0ses five or seven responses for each item ranging from

'trongly -gree =;> to strongly disagree =(>.

4egatively #orded /uestions are rated scored reverse.


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*. 'emantic $ifferential 'cales

-sks sub6ects to indicate their position or attitude about someconcept along a continuum bet#een t#o ad6ectives.

vi. "sychological Tests

(. "ersonality &nventories

'elfreport measures used to assess the differences in

personality traits, needs, or values of people.

*. "ro6ective Techni/ues

'ub6ect is presented #ith an ambiguous stimuli, sub6ectdescribes #hat the stimuli appear to represent.

Eg. +orschach &nkblot Test.

vii. $elphi Techni/ue

0ses several rounds of /uestions to seek a consensus on a particular topicfrom a group of experts.

To obtain group consensus #ithout a facetoface meeting.

viii. isual -nalogue 'cale

ix. "reexisting $ata

0se of existing information that has not been collected for research

purposes.

Eg. "atient@s chart

(:. )rgani%e the $ata for -nalysis

a. Tabulation and evaluation

b. "lans for organi%ing the data should be made prior to data collection. "lans for

analy%ing the data should be made prior to data collection.

c. $etermine if /uestionnaires have been completed correctly. 1hat to do #ithmissing data. -udio tapes transcribed.

(;. -naly%e the data C statistical concepts

i. 7re/uency distribution

'imply counting the occurrence of values or scores represented in thedata.

-ppropriate for tabulating all types of data =nominal, ordinal, interval,

ratio>.

&f range of score is less than *K, each score can be listed individually,

#hen the range is large you can group them into class intervals

ii. raphic "resentations


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5ave visual appeal that may cause readers to analy%e the data more

closely.

(. Bar graph

0sed to represent fre/uency distribution #ith nominal data or

some type of ordinal data. !ay be hori%ontal or vertical.

*. 5istogram

0ses bars to represent the fre/uency distribution of a variable

that is measured at the ordinal, interval, or ratio level.

5as 8 and 9 axis.

3. 7re/uency polygon

raph that uses dots connected #ith straight lines to representthe fre/uency distribution or ordinal, interval, or ratio data.

The class intervals are on the hori%ontal axis, the fre/uency onthe vertical axis.

iii. "ercentages

+epresents the proportion of a subgroup to a total group.

!inimum number for the computation of percentages should be atleast

*K.

b. !easures of entral Tendency

'tatistics that describe the average, typical, or most common value for

a group of data.

i. !ode

ategory or value that occurs most often in a set of data under

consideration.

&f the data gathered are nominal this is referred to as nominal

class.

!aybe unimodal, bimodal, multimodal.

ii. !edian

!iddle score or value in a group of data.

&f number of values is even, the midpoint bet#een the t#omiddle values is the median. &f the number of values is uneven,

then the median is the middle value.

iii. !ean

The average sum of a set of values found by adding all values

and dividing by the total number of values.

8 M Total of all values or number of values.


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c. !easures of ariability

!easures ho# spread out values are in a distribution of values.

i. +ange

$istance bet#een the highest and lo#est value in a group ofvalues or scores.

Eg. 5ighest


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a. The final step in the research process and yet the most important one for

nursing. 4o matter ho# significant the findings may be, they are of little value

to the nursing profession if not communicated to other collegues.

b. Best method to reach a large number of nurses is the publication in research

6ournals.

c. !ay also be done through oral presentations. "oster sessions. Books.

+esearch seminars.

nursing research simplified

Documents

ources of data

synthesis of data

analysis of data

historical research

o variables

fast food t

measuredif s

ritten research