Conceptual models or theories

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Chapter 8

Planning a Nursing Study

Question

Tell whether the following statement is true or false:

The major methodologic challenge in designing a qualitative study is that it is reliable and valid.

Answer

False

Researchers face numerous conceptual, practical, ethical, and methodologic challenges in planning a study. The major methodologic challenge is designing a study that is reliable and valid (quantitative studies) or trustworthy (qualitative studies).

Question

Tell whether the following statement is true or false:

Validity refers to the accuracy and consistency of information obtained in a study.

Answer

False

Reliability refers to the accuracy and consistency of information obtained in a study. Validity is a more complex concept that broadly concerns the soundness of the study’s evidence.

Key Challenges of Doing Research

Conceptual
Financial
Administrative
Practical
Ethical

Clinical
Methodologic

Major Methodologic Challenge

Designing studies that are:

Reliable and valid (quantitative studies)
Trustworthy (qualitative studies)

Criteria for Evaluating Quantitative Research

Reliability

The accuracy and consistency of obtained information

Validity

The soundness of the evidence—whether findings are convincing, well-grounded

Question

Tell whether the following statement is true or false:

Confirmability refers to evidence of the researcher’s objectivity.

Answer

True

Confirmability refers to evidence of the researcher’s objectivity.

Dimensions of Trustworthiness in Qualitative Studies

Credibility
Confirmability
Dependability
Transferability
Authenticity

Triangulation

Multiple sources
Draw conclusions
One approach to establish credibility

Bias

An influence producing a distortion in study results

Examples of factors creating bias:

Lack of participants’ candor
Faulty methods of data collection
Researcher’s preconceptions
Faulty study design

Research Control in Quantitative Studies

Achieved by holding constant factors (extraneous variables) that influence the dependent variable in order to better understand its relationship with the independent variable

Randomness: an important tool for achieving control over extraneous variables

Randomness

Having certain features of the study established by chance rather than by design or personal preference

Reflexivity

Process of reflecting critically on the self and of scrutinizing personal values that could affect data collection and interpretation

Generalizability and Transferability

Generalizability (quantitative research): the extent to which study findings are valid for other groups not in the study

Transferability (qualitative research): the extent to which qualitative findings can be transferred to other settings

Overview of Research Design Features

Comparisons:

Comparison among two or more groups

Comparison of one group’s status at two or more points in time

Comparison of one group’s status under different circumstances

Comparison based on relative rankings

Comparison with other studies

Research Location

Site selections
Site visits

Design

Cross-sectional: involves data collection at one point in time
Longitudinal: involves data collection at two or more points over an extended period

– Trend studies

– Panel studies

– Follow-up studies

Retrospective Design versus
Prospective Design

Retrospective design: involves the collection of data about an outcome in the present and about possible causes or antecedents in the past
Prospective design: involves having information about a cause or antecedent first and then the subsequent collection of information about outcomes

Self-Report

Direct questioning of people about phenomena of interest
Versatile
Powerful
Respondents’ deliberate or inadvertent misrepresentations

Biophysiologic Measures

High-quality data
Objective
Valid
Cost-efficient

Records

Economical source
Bias:
Selective deposit
Selective survival

Pilot Study (Feasibility Study)

Small-scale version or trial run designed to test methods to be used in a larger, more rigorous study (the parent study)