Quantitative and Qualitative Research Design Appraissals
QUESTION
Select one nursing research report with a qualitative design and one with a quantitative design and answer the following questions regarding the following categories:
A. Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research
1. Briefly, describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach.
2. Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies.
3. Briefly, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice.
4. Communicate how this research design is used in research.
B. Discuss the qualitative study, sampling, data collection, analysis, rigor, findings, and limitations
1. Identify the purpose of the study.
2. Briefly, describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose.
3. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.
4. Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
5. Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research.
6. Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
7. Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
8. Identify four (4) criteria by which the rigor of a qualitative project can be judged.
9. Discuss the rigor of this study using the four criteria.
10. Briefly, describe the findings of the study and identify any limitations.
11. Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion any implications for the discipline of nursing.
C. Discuss what you understand by the term Quantitative Research – Use the following dot points to guide your discussion (give reasons for your argument and support with references):
1. Describe the characteristics of quantitative research.
2. Identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a quantitative research approach
3. Differentiate between observational and interventional research designs and also between experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
4. Briefly, outline the difference between inferential and descriptive statistics and their relationship to levels of measurement.
5. Communicate how this research design is used in research.
D. Critique the Quantitative Research Report – Use the following headings to guide your critique (in all discussions and explanations give reasons for your argument and support with references):
The study:
1. Identify the purpose and design of the study.
2. Explain what is meant by ‘blinding’ and ‘randomization’ and discuss how these were addressed in the design of the study.
3. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.
Sampling:
4. Explain the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
5. Discuss how the sample size was determined – include in your discussion an explanation of the terms used.
Data collection:
6. Briefly, outline how the data was collected and identify any data collection instrument(s).
7. Define the terms validity and reliability and discuss how the validity & reliability of the instruments were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important.
Data analysis
8. Outline how the data were analyzed.
9. Identify the statistics used and the level of measurement of the data described by each statistical test – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used.
Findings and limitations
10. Briefly, outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study
11. Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to briefly discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion an explanation of the term statistical significance and name the tests of statistical significance used in this study.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Design Appraissals
ANSWER
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Design Appraisals
This critical research appraisal paper focuses on two peer-reviewed medical articles of qualitative and quantitative types of research design. The qualitative study by Crijns et al. (2020) is an ideal selection because of its focus on the relations between medical errors and burnout symptoms among surgeons. The article also utilizes quantitative research; the cross-sectional investigation by Jember et al. (2018) also provides ideal insights based on its investigation of the proportionality of medical error reports among nurses. Since medical errors continue to claim more lives, several studies have recently attempted to address the issue and provide a solution using different forms of qualitative and quantitative design.
Qualitative Research
A qualitative study is a research approach that seeks a more thorough knowledge of social portents in their natural habitats. It focuses on “why?” rather than “what?” questions concerning social portents. Qualitative studies do not rely on statistical procedures and data to guide the research tools and indicators they utilize (Johnson et al., 2019). Furthermore, the research on the issue is not based on any quantifiable metrics. On the other hand, the qualitative research method uses words as the unit of analysis and always employs an in-depth and comprehensive approach to grasping situations, themes, and occurrences. In this regard, qualitative research is dynamic and adaptive and employs various data collection methods. In nursing practice, nurses employ qualitative research to decide which therapies are most beneficial for each patient. Furthermore, nurses undertake qualitative research to collect evidence, which is then used to aid in the decision-making process about care delivery.
Different Qualitative Research Methodologies
There are six different qualitative research approaches; however, for the sake of this exercise, only three will be studied. The phenomenological methodology integrates a variety of data collection methodologies to reveal how a person experiences a particular event or situation in their life Urcia, (2021). In contrast to the phenomenological technique, grounded theory methodology aims to explain why a particular action route arose in the way it did. The technique emphasizes a wide range of disciplines. It usually uses previously compiled documents and interviews to generate hypotheses based on the information acquired. The ethnographic model, like anthropologists, seeks to investigate and comprehend the distinguishing characteristics of diverse cultural groups. In most circumstances, the investigator must function as the responder for a lengthy time. The presence of geographical limits may be a source of concern throughout the data collection phase of this technique.
Once done correctly, the qualitative research methodologies have a lot of advantages. Its application allows for in-depth investigation of issues, and the road ahead and framework may be rapidly revised as new information is available. In addition, there are few restrictions on the interviews in terms of specific questions, and those questions can be evaluated at any moment. However, the study has a few shortcomings, the most noteworthy of which are that its quality is greatly dependent on the personal attributes of the researcher and that its rigor is challenging to maintain, assess, and demonstrate. Researchers and scientists extensively use design to examine themes such as views, reasons, topics, and behavioral science.
Qualitative Report Critical Appraisal
The purpose of this study by Crijns et al. (2020) was to investigate how burnout in surgeons is related to the incidences of medical errors that are perceived in the environment where they work. The qualitative study employed a simple narrative design that involved the research in conducting a cross-section; surveys and members of different groups were invited to participate between December and January 2018/2019. The involved study surgeons in filling the Abbreviated Maslach burnout inventory with a two-item PHQ-2 health questionnaire, plus they also provided information about practice characteristics and demographics (Crijns et al., 2020). Since the research was approved and published, there were no ethical issues; the research must have applied all the possible cautions and sought consent from participants while carrying out the research.
Members of different science of variation groups were invited to participate in the study. A purposive type of sampling was used in the experiment to select the participant surgeons to participate in the study. The purposive sampling method was practical in electing surgeons who interacted with burnouts and medical errors within their working designation. The sampling technique is essential and suitable for investigations since the study’s core inters were to establish the prevalence and relation between burnouts and medical errors from the perspectives of the surgeons. The method can also be deemed a focus group study that only took information from the perspectives of the surgeons. Accurate responses were facilitated by collecting information about practice characteristics and demographics, filling out a two-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and filling out the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory.
Data analysis applied in this study was through a qualitative analysis of the information obtained. The study focused on feedback from the surgeons and created negative binomial and multivariable models of linear regression to ensure that the factors associated with the perceived medical errors were sought correctly, in addition to the insights about burnout provided. The experience of burnout in surgeons and the prevalence of medical errors during their practice provided accurate information essential in avoiding future medical errors. Every possible burnout and medical error cause was eventually listed.
According to McGinley et al., (2020), the most applicable criteria in assessing qualitative research are checking the dependability, credibility, how information obtained conforms to studies, and the transferability of the information. The study’s credibility was achieved through consistent observations and accurate engagements with the research participants. Surveys and interviews were applied to collect data to ensure research conformity beside the recommendation, findings, and study interpretations, all dependent on respondents’ research data. To achieve its objectives, appropriate research instruments have been successfully applied, and the data collection methods and tools produced the most appropriate information for precise analysis. The applied study tools were sure to define the study phenomenon comprehensively. Consequently, the study can be regarded as credible, transferable, dependable, and conformable, making it applicable in nursing practice and for use in further research that seeks to prevent the prevalence of medication errors in nursing practice.
Quantitative Research by Jember et al., 2018)
The process of learning a given group of people or a sample population through scientific inquiries while relying on observed or measured data to examine a set of questions about the groups is quantitative research. Logical information about a study group is established through a collection of quantifiable information by applying statistical and mathematical data analysis techniques (Mohajan,2020). Data collected for quantitative research uses different study instruments, and the insights gathered from outcomes represent the large samples of the population studied. To ensure that the study is replicated correctly, the aspects applicable are properly designed before data collection. The participating researchers sufficiently describe the research questions that enquire answers for the research objectives. For example, the nurses may be interviewed to learn about the general practices about providing adequate patient education, which can consequently lead to the establishment of the resources required to be shared by the patient for their education. Information obtained can then be quantified and verified to apply in future practice.
Within the primary research area, two unique research designs may be distinguished: observational versus interventional. When investigating with an observational approach, the researcher observes the natural links between various parts of the study and the findings, with no impact on the participants in the study. Under the conventional architecture of the study research, the researcher functions as a middleman between the respondents (Mohajan, 1970). Furthermore, there are two sorts of research designs: experimental research design and quasi-experimental research designs. Every relevant variable that might influence the phenomenon under examination is managed in experimental design. Throughout the quasi-experimental investigation, treatments and control groups are distinguished from one another in various aspects, including the applied experimental treatment.
Statistics may be classified into two types: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics provide information that characterizes the data in some way. Inferential statistics, on either hand, draw inferences from data acquired from within populations. The researcher’s goal while performing a study using a quantitative research methodology is to know how a group of people act, behave, or reason in a certain way as applied in different types of quantitative research.
Quantitative Research Appraisal
The study’s goal was to look at the percentage of professional nurses who admitted committing medication errors and the associated variables to convey information to program implementers and care provider staff to enhance the quality outcome of healthcare. To design the study, descriptive and correlational research methodologies were used. The descriptive technique is used to analyze the proportions of reported pharmaceutical mistakes, while the correlational design establishes the relationship between the connected elements. Blinding in research studies is a condition in which the subjects and the researcher are kept in the dark about the basis of the medication being provided to the patient. Randomization, on either part, is the process of assigning individuals in a clinical trial to intervention subcategories in such a way that each subject has an equal chance of receiving any of the potential interventions. It thus guarantees that the experiment’s outcomes are as accurate as possible. The study was done blindly since it was estimated that the prevalence of reporting medication mistakes in Ethiopia was approximately 50%, as demonstrated in (Jember et al., 2018). The study’s involvement of 397 nurses was also chosen through random selection, making the research a randomized experiment.
The researchers used a method known as stratified sampling to choose participants for the study. The sample size was determined using a single computation considering population proportions. The algorithm generated 385 participants based on the premise that the proportion of medication mistakes reported in Ethiopia is 50%; this figure was then increased by 10% to allow for the risk of non-response, bringing the total to 432 participants. Three registered nurses conducted the data gathering method, which included the use of standardized self-completion questionnaires. The validity (the extent to which a tool achieves its intended aim) and reliability of the questionnaire, which refers to a tool’s consistency in assessing whatever it measures, were also reviewed. Pilot research with 5% of the respondents at Zewditu hospital was undertaken to establish the data’s dependability (Jember et al., 2018). The pilot research data were examined, and the required changes to the study were made. Upon obtaining the assessments, the researchers did quality checks to verify that they were clean and complete before importing the information from the questionnaires onto EPI Info-7 and then moving it to Spss program 20.0 for analysis.
The study applied cross-tabulations with frequency distribution to generate a brief overview of the descriptive data presented in the figures. They employed a method known as binary logistic regression to identify characteristics related to medical error reporting, allowing them to test for variables and assess the validity of their connection using the odd ratio, overall confidence interval assuming 95 percent, and the p-value. The number of patients who reported having Medical Errors was 57.4 percent. Furthermore, the study revealed that medical error exposure, relationship status, area of occupation, and gender all had a link to the act of disclosing committed medical errors. Notwithstanding this, the study did not look into the variables that contribute to medical errors, nor did it seek to lessen the impact of recall and reaction biases.
The internal validity of the quantitative report is known as the study’s dependability, and the study’s applicability is known as the report’s external validity. As a consequence, considering the research included randomized, binding, random sampling, controlled manipulation, and a specific technique, the results were considered credible. The study’s conclusions are also reliable since they may be used in various medical error circumstances. The demography researched was quite particular, and the volunteers were instructed to play out the events that transpired throughout the research as if they genuinely happened; hence the study provided ideal and accurate information applicable to preventing medical errors.