Development Of Evidence-Based Practice Change Proposal I

DQ2 Patrick Queisner

Research is an essential component of advancing the care provided within the profession.  Research helps to advance the profession and can be grouped into either qualitative or quantitative research. Although the methods are very different, they both play an important role in contributing to the validity of studies. Qualitative data is an interesting component of research as it is the research of words, emotions, meaning, experience, and theory (Vinson, 2020).  This allows for the researcher to look at perceptions, values, and opinions.  However, subjective data can provide vast amounts of information to that the researcher may need to decipher to answer their specific researcher question.  This may become somewhat overwhelming and take valuable time during the research process. This speaks to the importance of the nurse researcher taking steps to manage the amount of information that is obtained through the course of the study. 

In contrast, quantitative research uses the research to show change, correlation, and effect with the use of numerical data and statistical analysis (Vinson, 2020). Numerical data can be beneficial the researcher to identify changes within the study. This allows quantitative studies to have a smaller sample size than is required for a quantitative study to yield statistical probability. This can be beneficial for the researcher as research quantitative data may present. Regardless of the approach the nurse researcher, the ability to manage the data to be collected in a manner that provides usable data is an important to the success of the study. 

References

Vinson, J. (2019). Be the Change: Understanding Quantitative, Qualitative, & Mixed Methods in Holistic Nursing Research. Beginnings, 39(5), 14–16.

DQ2

Virginia Gallardo

With a vast amount of research available, it can be quite a challenge for the nursing community to evaluate evidence. Some studies can be prone to bias. However, one method of evaluating evidence is by using the nursing research pyramid. This hierarchy of evidence provides a visual and systematic depiction of forms of research; those that are the least reliable will be at the bottom of the pyramid, while those that are more reliable are at the top (Ingham-Broomfield, 2016). Those at the top of the pyramid are systematic reviews. This is considered the most reliable source of evidence because the likelihood of bias is minimal. Thus, if nurses would like to incorporate changes into their practice based on findings from these studies, they are more likely to produce the same effects. Meta-analyses are also at the top of the pyramid because it is a pooled analysis of several randomized controlled trials (Ingham-Broomfield, 2016). The least reliable evidence can be found at the bottom of the pyramid, and this includes ideas and opinions. Nurses can use this pyramid to help them understand which levels of research are more reliable. Another strategy is to consider the online article bibliometric indices since it can estimate the impact of the research and the interest of the scientific community has on it (Antonelli & Donelli, 2020). 

Reference

Antonelli, M., Donelli, D. (2020). Reading and understanding scientific articles. Clinical Teacher, 17(6), 612. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/tct.13159

Ingham-Bloomfield, R. B. (2016). A nurses’ guide to the hierarchy of research designs and evidence. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(3), 38-43