nursing research

Category of article

Type of Articles

Article reporting on Original Research

These types of articles are primary research and will report on 3 major types of research which also have subcategories which I have given you some examples

· Quantitative

· Quantitative research uses numbers to provides objective measurements using statistics and mathematics to analyze data. There are 4 basic types of quantitative research methods.

· Experimental

· Experimental studies are the gold standard of research, investigator controls the independent variable and randomly assigns subjects to different conditions.

· Quasi-experimental

· This type of research involves the manipulation of a variable but does not randomize subjects

· Correlational

· Usually these studies will use a survey or questionnaire and use statistics to show interrelationships among variable, but do not suggest causality.

· Descriptive

· These studies just offer information without suggesting any relationships of any kind. For example just gathering data and stating the mean (average) age of a population

· Qualitative

· Qualitative research is an inductive process using a narrative descriptive approach to organize data into categories and identify patterns among the categories.

· Phenomenological

· This method allow a way to understand an event, situation, experience, or concept

· Grounded theory

· This research follows a systematic flexible way for theories to emerge

· Ethnographic

· Describes cultures and peoples

· Case studies

· These explanatory or descriptive studies are an analysis of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems.

· Mixed Method

· Mixed method research uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to conduct research

· Usually these types of studies will use a quantitative data instrument to collect data and conduct interviews to explore how individuals feel about a particular topic.

· Example: The research may be planning to use quanititative methods to assess the impact of a particular treatment plan. Then conduct interviews to better understand a problem that was identified.

· Another example: Conduct focus groups which lead to discovery or a trend of a problem, then do a quantitative survey to learn if this a problem in the population.

Articles reporting on secondary research or also called Review Article

These types of articles are secondary literature because on other published work. There are basically 3 types of review articles, systematic reviews, literature reviews, or narrative reviews

· Systematic review

· From https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/healthevidence/evidencepyramid

· “Authors of a systematic review ask a specific clinical question, perform a comprehensive literature review, eliminate the poorly done studies, and attempt to make practice recommendations based on the well-done studies. Systematic reviews include only experimental, or quantitative, studies, and often include only randomized controlled trials.”

· Literature reviews

· Form https://guides.library.bloomu.edu/litreview

· A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research.  It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research.  The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that your work has been well conceived.  It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and assimiliated that work into the work at hand.

· Narrative Review

· This is from https://www.editage.com/insights/secondary-research-the-basics-of-narrative-reviews-systematic-reviews-and-meta-analysis

· These reviews typically provide an overview of the current knowledge in a given field or topic. They are written with the idea of summarizing what is known and highlighting either new perspectives in the field, or drawing out pending questions that are yet to be unanswered. There is no new analysis in these reviews and depending on the topic, may be quite exhaustive, with a long list of references. Most journals allow for longer review articles – even longer than original primary research articles–often ranging from 5000-10000 words.

Report on Clinical Case Study

This is from https://www.editage.com/insights/a-young-researchers-guide-to-writing-a-clinical-case-report

Clinical case reports have been the earliest form of medical communication. A clinical case report or case study is a means of disseminating new knowledge gained from clinical practice. Medical practitioners often come across patient cases that are different or unusual such as a previously unknown condition, a complication of a known disease, an unusual side effect or adverse response to a mode of treatment, or a new approach to a common medical condition. Thus, a clinical case report is expected to discuss the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of a disease.

Clinical case reports are the first-line evidence in medical literature as they present original observations and can be an excellent way for medical students and practitioners to get started with academic writing. Additionally, a published case report is definitely a contribution to medical science and a great addition to a CV.

Validity and Reliability

· Validity- the extent researchers can be confident that the cause and effect they identify in their research are in fact causal relationships:

So what is validity, really ?

It is the extent to which a concept is accurately measured in a quantitative study.  For example, if a study is designed to evaluate depression yet it actually measures insomnia, it’s not considered valid.  It’s that simple.  And this “thing” called reliability?  Well, let’s say your alarm clock rings at 6am each day, yet it’s set for 5:30am.  It’s reliable (it rings every day, right?), yet is not valid (it’s not ringing at the desired time).

It's vital to consider validity and reliability of the data collection tools (instruments, measures) when either conducting or critiquing research.  A researcher should always include a discussion of the tools they have utilized and the associated testing those tools have undergone. 

There are three major types of validity:

· Construct validity— do the study and tests or instruments used measure what they purport to measure?

· External validity— can the causal relationships be generalized to different measures, persons, settings, and times?

· Internal validity— is there is evidence that what you did in your study caused what you observed to happen?  Was there another possible cause of the study outcome?

While internal validity has historically been a priority in study design, external validity is equally important to improving the health of the public. For instance, if your study is performed at an urban academic center where 90% of the participants in the study is Caucasian, how is that work generalizable to the public at large?  To other populations or settings?  It isn't! 

Resources on Reliability and Validity are found at the Walden Library: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/testsmeasures/reliability