NURS 225
NURS 225 - Test 2: Quantitative Methodology
Quantitative Method
●Most research happens in healthcare environments and academic/university settings
●Is “etic” in nature; an outsider’s view, objective
●Deductive in approach (top down)
●Institutional Review Board (IRB)
○Every academic setting and most healthcare settings will have an IRD
○Main purpose is the protection of human subjects/study participants
○Avoid vulnerable populations (elderly, children, mentally/physically disabled, etc.)
○Avoid controversial topics for study
●Department of Health and Human Services
●Feasibility
○Do you have all the resources?
○Are the stakeholders interested/supportive?
○Are the necessary partnerships in place?
●Steps in Developing a Quantitative Study
○Starts with a researchable question and possibly a hypothesis
○Literature review (LOE--develop a literature matrix)
○Background (why is this topic relevant for practice?)
○Purpose (Why is the researcher doing this?)
○Decided whether a theory/model would be needed to help support the research project
●Research Question / Hypothesis
○A researchable question; able to collect and analyze data
○5 variables
■Demographic
●Characteristics of the study participants (age, gender, etc.)
■Extraneous
●A variable that confuses the association between the independent and
dependent variables; for this reason, it needs to be restricted either within
research design or through statistical procedures
●Confounding
○A type of extraneous variable that is not controlled for; it regularly
fluctuates with the independent variable and affects the dependent
variable
■Independent
●Can be manipulated
●Cause, intervention
■Dependent
●Effect, outcome
●Lit. Review
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○A rigorous examination of research related to a topic of interest that is documented to
categorize a research problem or as the beginning of a research use project
○Look for gap
●Theory
○Vocab
■Concept
●An idea; gives a name to an abstract idea
■Construct
●Slightly more complex than a concept, may b deliberately invented (or
constructed); often used interchangeably with concept
■Model
●Can serve as a framework
●Example: Iowa Model of EBP
■Theory
●An explanation for some aspect of reality
●Explain and organize your findings
●Provides structure
●Similar to a framework
○Both are abstract
○Both guide development of research
○Both are tested through quantitative research
■Framework
●The conceptual foundation of a study; sometimes classified as a theoretic
framework, for projects centered on a theory, and as a conceptual framework,
for projects with a connection to a definite conceptual model
■Relational statement
●The explanation of the connection between concepts
●Example: fatigue can impair performance
○Fatigue and performance are concepts
○Can impair: relational term that explains the connection between these
concepts
○Theories mentioned
■Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory
●Florence Nightingale's environmental theory is based on five points, which she
believed to be essential to obtain a healthy home, such as clean water and air,
basic sanitation, cleanliness and light, as she believed that a healthy
environment was fundamental for healing.
■Orem’s Self Care Theory
●The theory identifies five methods of helping: acting for and doing for others;
guiding others; supporting another; providing an environment promoting
personal development in relation to meet future demands; and teaching
another.
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■Patricia Benner’s “From Novice to Expert”
●The five identified levels are novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient,
and expert. As a learner moves through these five skill levels, changes occur
in three specific areas of performance (Benner, 1984).
■Lewin’s Change Theory
●The Change Model
○
●Lewin's theory proposes that individuals and groups of individuals are
influenced by restraining forces, or obstacles that counter driving forces
aimed at keeping the status quo, and driving forces, or positive forces for
change that push in the direction that causes change to happen.
■Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition
●
●Sampling
○Target Population
■The total population to whom the research outcomes are going to be generalized
○Accessible Population
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■Individuals and/or groups accessible for a specific participation study, frequently a
nonrandom division of a target population
○Sample
■A division of a population chosen to participate in a study
○Participants
■Inclusion (eligibility) criteria
●Characteristics that must be met to b considered for participation in a study
■Exclusion criteria
●Characteristics that, if present, would make person ineligible for participation
in a study even if they met all of the other inclusion criteria
■Representative sample
●A sample that bears a resemblance to the target population
■Informed Consent
●The decision of an individual to participate in a research stuffy based on an
understanding of the project;s purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, alternative
procedures, and limits of confidentiality
○Non-Probability/Non-Random Sampling
■Convenience sampling
●Most common approach in nursing research studies
■Cohort/Quota sampling
●a non-probability sampling method in which researchers create a sample
involving individuals that represent a population. Researchers choose these
individuals according to specific traits or qualities.
○Probability/Random Sampling
■Simple Random
●a subset of a statistical population in which each member of the subset has
an equal probability of being chosen
■Stratified Random
●a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller
sub-groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, or stratification,
the strata are formed based on members' shared attributes or characteristics
such as income or educational attainment.
■Systematic Random
●the random sampling method that requires selecting samples based on a
system of intervals in a numbered population.
○For example, Lucas can give a survey to every fourth customer that
comes into the movie theater.
■Cluster Sampling
●researchers divide a population into smaller groups known as clusters. They
then randomly select among these clusters to form a sample. Cluster
sampling is a method of probability sampling that is often used to study large
populations, particularly those that are widely geographically dispersed
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○Rule of 30
■Respectable number for research/sample size
○Sampling Error
■error in a statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample
taken
●Data Collection
○Approaches
■Observation
●Researchers use all of their senses to examine people in natural settings or
naturally occurring situations
■Survey
●a research method used for collecting data from a predefined group of
respondents to gain information and insights into various topics of interest
■Questionnaire
●a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of
gathering information from respondents
■Access existing data
●Large data bases: CDC, NIH, CMS, etc.
■Novel data
●Data collected in current research study
○Tools
■BP cuff, pulse ox., thermometer, diagnostic tests, surveys, etc.
■Validity
●the extent to which a concept is accurately measured in a quantitative study
○For example, a survey designed to explore depression but which
actually measures anxiety would not be considered valid.
■Reliability
●how consistently a method measures something
○Cronbach’s Alpha (number between 0.0-1.0--0.8-1.0 strong)
■a measure of internal consistency, that is, how closely related a
set of items are as a group. It is considered to be a measure of
scale reliability.
■Examples of validity and reliability
●an alarm clock that rings at 7:00 each morning, but is set for 6:30. It is very
reliable (it consistently rings the same time each day), but is not valid (it is not
ringing at the desired time)
●For example, if your scale is off by 5 lbs, it reads your weight every day with
an excess of 5lbs. The scale is reliable because it consistently reports the
same weight every day, but it is not valid because it adds 5lbs to your true
weight. It is not a valid measure of your weight.
○Bundling
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■a structured way of improving the processes of care and patient outcomes: a small,
straightforward set of evidence-based practices — generally three to five — that,
when performed collectively and reliably, have been proven to improve patient
outcomes.
●Data Analysis
○Internal validity
■the extent to which you can be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship
established in a study cannot be explained by other factors.
■the degree of confidence that the causal relationship you are testing is not
influenced by other factors or variables.
○External validity
■Generalizability
■Ability to transfer results of study to another population
○Descriptive statistics
■Range
●the difference between the maximum and the minimum value of a sample on
a given variable
■Central tendencies (mean, median, mode)
■Percentages
■Standard deviation
●a measure of how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean. Low standard
deviation means data are clustered around the mean, and high standard
deviation indicates data are more spread out
○Inferential statistics
■T-test
●Difference between 2 variables
■ANOVA
●Difference between more than 2 variables
■Pearson Product Moment
●Relationship between variables
■Chi Square
●a statistical test used to compare observed results with expected results. The
purpose of this test is to determine if a difference between observed data and
expected data is due to chance, or if it is due to a relationship between the
variables you are studying.
○Errors
■Type 1 (False Positive)
●Example: Test says you have COVID and you actually don’t
■Type 2 (False Negative)
●Example: Test says you don’t have COVID but you actually do
○Power Analysis
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■can be used to determine whether a study has a good chance of providing a
statistically significant result if a difference truly exists in the population. For nurse
researchers, understanding the likelihood of achieving statistically significant results
is important.
■a calculation that helps you determine a minimum sample size for your study
●Translation & Dissemination
○Translation
■the process whereby knowledge is passed anywhere along the translational pathway
i.e. research findings are translated into practice, policy or further research
●Applied research
○designed to answer specific questions aimed at solving practical
problems.
○Basic research
■Research for the sake of gaining new knowledge
○Dissemination
■Internal
●To the healthcare organization: huddle, in-service education, bulletin board,
research week poster
■External
●To the organization: poster at a professional meeting, article publication,
podium presentation at a professional meeting
●Levels of Evidence
○Level 1 - Meta-analysis (Strongest)
■Re-evaluation of existing data
○Level 2 - Experimental Design
■Has an intervention
○Level 3 - Quasi-Experimental
■Has an intervention
○Level 4 - Non-Experimental
■Evidence from well-designed case-control or cohort studies.
■“Survey research”
○Level 5 - Purely Qualitative
■Evidence from systematic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies
(meta-synthesis).
