Research proposal

Research Design: This study is set to study and explore the quality of education that students are given and that faculty provide. The study is designed to explore whether the quality of education is increased, diminished, or stays the same based on the number of students that a teacher is required to teach each semester. This study will interview both students and faculty to understand what the definition of quality of education means to them. It will also explore how the students felt that their quality of education was affected by the teacher’s class load. The faculty will discuss how the quality of education that they provided was affected based on their class load. It will also discuss how the quality of education was affected when the teachers were also required to teach non-baccalaureate nursing courses. The participants will not receive any compensation for this study.

Study Population/Sample Population: The study population of this project and or study will be all the baccalaureate nursing faculty and students in the United States. The sample population will be drawn from one state in the east coast. In that state, the population will be drawn from three different colleges or universities. The colleges or universities will all be within the same geographical location but not in the same city.

Measures to Protect Human Rights: The students and faculty who choose to participate in this study will be interviewed one on one as well as in a group discussion. All interviews will be video recorded as well as audio recorded. The study will be explained to the students and faculty where a consent form will be offered and signed. The participants will have a chance at the beginning and end of each interview to ask any questions that they may like. The interviewees name will not be disclosed. If video of the interview is shown to others, in the process of data analysis, the participants faces will be blurred and the names will be withheld. There will be no coercion or intimidation of the students or faculty who participate in this study. Students will not be subject to any intimidation or malice intent from faculty for participating in this study. Faculty will not be subject to any intimidation or malice intent from students for participating in this study. This study will be submitted to the internal review board at each of the three universities.

Data Collection Instrument: The collection of data for this study will be a semi-structured interview. The data collection instrument for this for study will be a questionnaire of open ended questions used by the interviewer. Data collection will happen in five different stages:

1) One on one interview with faculty and students

2) Group discussion with faculty who only teach traditional baccalaureate nursing courses at their college or university.

3) Group discussion with faculty who teach traditional baccalaureate nursing courses as well as non- traditional baccalaureate nursing courses at their college or university.

4) Group discussion with students who are currently enrolled into their college or university traditional baccalaureate nursing program.

5) Group discussion with faculty who participated in the previous group discussions as well as the students.

All interviews as well as group discussions will be video recorded as well as audio recorded.

Data Analysis Method: The data analysis method for this study will follow the ethnographic nursing research method. It will be broken down into four different parts to analyze this data. “The first phase of this will be the collection, description, and recording of data. The second phase will consist of identifying and categorizing descriptors. The third phase will recognize repetitive patterns. The fourth and final phase will consist of abstracting major themes and presenting findings.” ( Polit, 2018)