Category: Nursing

What can the American and British education systems learn from classrooms in the developing world

Read the following article, “What can the American and British education systems learn from classrooms in the developing world?” from
http://blog.ted.com/2014/08/14/what-can-the-american-and-british-education-systems-learn-from-classrooms-in-the-developing-world/

Research ways in how U.S. can improve the educational system and trends we are seeing in relation to the disparities faced in school-age children. Provide specific examples to the disparities as well as the solution to such rationales with APA references from scholarly resources.

The paper should be a minimum of 350 words. 

What can the American and British education systems learn from classrooms in the developing world

Legislative Worksheet (SBAR Format) – How a Bill Becomes a Law

As you have discovered through this course, nurses are influential members of the community and the political system. Therefore, for the purposes of this assignment you will identify a problem or concern in your community, organization, etc. that has the capacity to be legislated. You will conduct research and state a proposal. Through the legislative process, your proposal for the problem or concern may influence an idea for change into a law.

First, refer to the “How a Bill Becomes a Law” media.

http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/nrs440v_how-a-bill-becomes-a-law-v2.1.php/.

Then, view the “Bill to Law Process” to watch the scenario.

After viewing the scenario, refer to the “Legislative Assignment.” You will need to save the document first to use it.

Legislative Worksheet (SBAR Format) – How a Bill Becomes a Law

SITUATION: IS THIS SOMETHING THAN CAN BE LEGISLATED?

· Identify the problem/concern:

· State your proposal/idea.

BACKGROUND: DO YOUR RESEARCH

· Include studies, reports, personal experience, or anecdotal stories related to your proposal.

· Has there been similar legislation introduced and/or passed in other states? If so, include it.

ASSESSMENT: FINANCES AND STAKEHOLDERS

· Identify financial impact if any (e.g., added costs, cost savings, increased revenue):

· Identify stakeholder groups that would support this bill:

· 
Identify people/groups that would oppose this bill:

RECOMMENDATION Optional, students do not have to answer (no points here)

· Make an appointment with your legislator to discuss your proposal.

Legislative Worksheet (SBAR Format) – How a Bill Becomes a Law

How would you explain and prepare a 10-year-old girl for menstruation?

GI Case Study: H. Pylori infection

Support with 1 journals no older than 5 years.

Week 8

GI Case Study: H. Pylori infection

Questions: As an NP student, needs to determine the medications for recurrent H. Pylori infection.

According to the ACC/AHA Guidelines, what medication should this patient be prescribed? Write her complete prescriptions using the prescription writing format.

ACC/AHA Guidelines

Chief complaint:
 “ I have recurrent H. Pylori infection”.

HPI: 
M.C. a 46-year-old hispanic female presents to the GI clinic for complaint of recurrent H. Pylori infection. She was treated about 2 ½ months ago with H. Pylori triple therapy and failed treatment. She has pmhx of dyspepsia, GERD.

She also indicates that she has noticed that her symptoms of dyspepsia are worsening for past 2 months. She has associated her symptoms with nausea, upset stomach with all foods.

Denies associated symptoms of hematochezia, melena, hemoptysis, abdominal pain, fever, chills, pain or any other symptoms.

PMH:

H. Pylori infection gastritis

Diabetes Mellitus, type 2

Surgeries: None

Allergies
:
 
NKDA

Vaccination History:

She receives an annual flu shot. Last flu shot was this year

Social history:

High school graduate, married and no children. He frequently eats out in restaurants. He drinks one 4-ounce glass of red wine daily. He is a former smoker that stopped 3 years ago.

Family history:

Both parents are alive. Father has history of DM type 2, Tinea Pedis.

mother alive and has history of atopic dermatitis, tinea corporis and tinea pedis.

ROS:

Constitutional: Negative for fever. Negative for chills.

Respiratory: No Shortness of breath. No Orthopnea

Cardiovascular: No edema. No palpitations.

Gastrointestinal: No vomiting. +Dyspepsia. + Nausea. No constipation. No melena. No abdominal pain.

Skin: No lesions. No rash. No itching.

Psychiatric: No anxiety. No depression.

Physical examination:

Vital Signs

Height: 5 feet 5 inches Weight: 140 pounds BMI: 31 obesity, BP 110/70 T 98.0 po P 80 R 22, non-labored

HEENT
: Normocephalic/Atraumatic, PERRL, EOMI; No teeth loss seen. Gums no redness.

NECK
: Neck supple, no palpable masses, no lymphadenopathy, no thyroid enlargement.

LUNGS
: Lungs clear bilaterally. Equal breath sounds. Symmetrical respiration. No respiratory distress.

HEART
: Normal S1 with S2 during expiration. Pulses are 2+ in upper extremities. No edema.

ABDOMEN
: No abdominal distention. Nontender. Bowel sounds + x 4 quadrants. No organomegaly. Normal contour; No palpable masses.

GENITOURINARY
: No CVA tenderness bilaterally. GU exam deferred.

MUSCULOSKELETAL
: Slow gait but steady. No Kyphosis.

SKIN:
 Dry. Intact.

PSYCH
: Normal affect. Cooperative.

Labs day of visit
:: Hgb 15.2, Hct 40%, K+ 4.0, Na+137, Serum Creatinine normal 1.0, AST/ALT normal. TSH 3.7 normal, glucose 98 normal

A:

Primary Diagnosis: Recurrent H. Pylori infection gastritis

Secondary Diagnoses:

Dyspepsia

Differential Diagnosis:

Peptic Ulcer Disease

Previous medication plan:
 
two months ago and failed.

Clarithromycin 500 mg po BID for 2 weeks

Omeprazole 40 mg po BID for 2 weeks and then po daily.

Cipro 500 mg po BID for 2 weeks

Plan: Tests

Pt had EGD done 2 weeks ago that showed H. Pylori positive gastritis in biopsy results.

Urea breath test 8 weeks after treat with H. Pylori medications. Pt needs to stop PPI’s 2 weeks prior to Urea Breath test.

Labs: 
No new labs are needed.

Referrals
: may refer based on effect of medication therapy given for 2 weeks.

Follow up
: return to office in 8 weeks to reevaluate her symptoms. GI Case Study: H. Pylori infection.

Ethics in Public Health Research Essay

You will need to discuss the fragile balance between the need for public health agencies to acquire data and the demand for security of sensitive information. Review the article 
Ethics in Public Health Research. 

As public health director in a small county, you must maintain records that track diabetes rates, the incidence of HIV, and immunization records. Recently, there have been at least two breaches when computers were stolen from employees or an outside hacker broke into the system and downloaded data. Ethics in Public Health Research Essay.

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Now you must write an open letter addressing the community and explain how the department is going to protect the information. In your letter, address the following questions. Ethics in Public Health Research Essay.

1. Explain why the health department collects this information conveying the idea of how it serves the greater good.

2. Discuss the public’s interest in privacy and why this is important in our society.

3. Discuss why the department needs to infringe on the community’s privacy.

4. Explain how the department might ensure greater security.

5. Be sure to identify at least one applicable regulation, statute, or source that supports the ability of the department to collect this information.

Assignment Expectations

1. Limit your response to 3 pages, not including title and reference pages.

2. Be sure to utilize at least 3-4 scholarly references to support your discussions. Ethics in Public Health Research Essay.

3. Be sure to properly cite your references within the text of your assignment and listed at the end.

4. Be sure to apply critical thinking skills to the write-up of your assignment, especially for numbers 1, and 2 above. Ethics in Public Health Research Essay.

Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers

Sampling

This week, we continue our exploration of the steps of the research process. Previously, we examined the background, literature review, research problem, research purpose, research question, and research design. All of these elements are part of the planning phase. Next, we begin to look at the implementation of the plan, which is typically found in the methods section of the research report.

The setting for the study is the place where data collection occurs; this may be in a hospital, clinic, school, home, or other locations. The setting may indicate if the research was conducted in a rural or urban setting, a large or small setting, and so forth. Look to see how well the characteristics of the setting match your own setting—the closer the resemblance, the more applicable the evidence yielded from the research may be.

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When a population is identified for investigation, it is seldom realistic, or even essential, to conduct research on the entire population in order to collect reliable and valid data. Instead, a sample of the population representative of the characteristics of that population is chosen for study.

The sampling strategy is important because a significant sampling error could distort the findings and render them unreliable, invalid, and/or not able to be generalized by the entire population. The sampling strategy considers how subjects are recruited, selected, and, when appropriate, assigned to groups. The sampling strategy must meet all legal and ethical requirements.

There are two major categories of sampling: (a) probability, also known as random sampling, and (b) nonprobability sampling.

Probability or Random Sampling

Probability in sampling increases the chances that the sample accurately represents the population. Probability sampling is preferred in quantitative research because the goal is to generalize findings from the sample to the population. Probability sampling is not appropriate for qualitative studies because this type of research does not seek to generalize results. Two criteria must be met for achieving a probability sample—random selection and independent selection. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Random selection

In probability sampling, ideally, every member of the population has the same chance to be selected as a subject, but sampling the entire population is rarely feasible and, therefore, seldom used.

Random sampling
 involves choosing subjects at random from the population. This strategy should evenly distribute characteristics found in the population to the sample. These characteristics are called extraneous variables (EV). Extraneous variables are not the focus of the research study, but their presence may influence the dependent variable (DV), or outcome. Although random sampling is easier to achieve than sampling the entire population, random sampling may still be labor intensive. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Random assignment
 is much more likely to be the sampling strategy chosen by the researcher. First, the researcher selects subjects who meet certain criteria found in the population. Next, the researcher randomly assigns the subjects to groups to increase the likelihood that any characteristics (EVs) that might affect the outcome (DV) will be equally distributed among the groups. Random assignment to groups is the major way to control for EVs in experimental studies. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Earlier, it was mentioned that random assignment starts with selecting subjects. The aim is to recruit and select subjects who meet criteria found in the population.

Inclusion criteria 
are characteristics of potential subjects that make them eligible to be included in the sample.

Exclusion criteria
 are characteristics of potential subjects that make them ineligible for the sample.

Example:
 If you wish to conduct research on adults, inclusion criteria might state that the subjects must be 21 years of age or older. Conversely, exclusion criteria would eliminate anyone under the age of 21. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

The concern with overuse of inclusion and exclusion criteria is that they make the sample more homogeneous and the results less able to be generalized to the entire population.

Independent selection

The second criterion for achieving a probability sample is independent selection. This means that the selection of one subject is independent, or separate, from the selection of another. If independence is violated, the subjects may share characteristics that will show a correlation due to the sampling strategy instead of the effect of the independent variable (IV). Data results could be distorted.

Nonprobability Sampling

Nonprobability sampling involves a strategy where subjects are not selected at random. Instead, they may be chosen as part of a convenience sample, or a purposive sample.

Convenience sample

The convenience sample is the most common strategy. As the name implies, the subjects are chosen by the researcher because they are accessible. The weakness of convenience sampling is that the characteristics (EVs) of the population are less likely to be distributed evenly among the sample. Bias may occur that will negatively influence the outcomes (DV) of the research. The researcher may decide to use a convenience sample to recruit and select subjects and then make random assignments to groups to minimize the chance of bias by evening distribution of EVs over all groups. Convenience sampling is used for both quantitative and qualitative studies. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Purposive sample

The purposive sample is one where selection of subjects is intentional, or done on purpose. This is a common strategy in qualitative studies where probability sampling is not needed because there is no need for generalization to a larger population. Subjects are carefully chosen for their ability to inform and enlighten the researcher about a phenomenon or other aspect of the research question under consideration.

Sample Size and Power

Sample size
 is the number of subjects that are studied. Qualitative studies may have rules and criteria for what is an appropriate sample size, but they are not as strict as those for quantitative studies. A case study may have only one subject. Typically, the researcher will recruit and collect data on subjects until 
saturation
 is reached, which is the point at which the researcher determines no new results are emerging. Saturation is one way to build confidence in the results of a qualitative study.

In quantitative research, a 
power analysis
 determines how large a sample should be to yield statistically significant results. In general, the sample size for a quantitative study must be a minimum of 30 subjects per group. Generally, larger sample sizes increase the likelihood that the researcher will notice subtle differences among groups. In addition, larger samples have more power and are less likely to produce results that are due to errors in sampling.

The researcher may report the number of subjects who were recruited, the number that consented to participate, and the number that dropped out during the study. Bias may be detected if a certain segment of the population was not represented in the final results because they were not recruited, did not consent, or dropped out. When the potential for bias exists, the trustworthiness of the findings may come into question. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

When you read the research report, look for a description of the sampling strategy and how it was applied. Does the strategy fit with the research design? If this was a quantitative study, were there enough subjects to generalize the findings to the population? If this was a qualitative study, was saturation reached? These factors and more should be considered when you are selecting research-based evidence to apply to your practice.

Ethical Aspects of Research

Researchers must adhere to ethical standards throughout all steps of the research process. They must decide what choices are right or wrong and make value judgments to ensure the ethical treatment of everyone.

Research on human subjects has a murky history. The German Nazis conducted experiments on detainees in concentration camps during World War II. The Nazis were found guilty of atrocities during the Nuremberg war crimes trials, leading to the development of the Nuremberg Code in 1949, which still serves as the foundation of international guidelines for researchers (Houser, 2018). The tenets of the code include the following.

Research can only be undertaken when there are no other means to obtain knowledge.

Participation must be voluntary. Subjects can withdraw at any time.

Subjects must be made aware of risks and give informed consent.

No research can be conducted that could lead to death or disability.

The Declaration of Helsinki, first adopted in 1964, expanded the code (Houser, 2018).

The U.S. Public Health Service (2009) conducted research on African-American sharecroppers with syphilis between 1932 and 1972 to find out how the disease would progress if left untreated. The scientists did not tell the subjects that they had syphilis and withheld penicillin after it became standard treatment in the 1940s. Numerous subjects and their wives died from complications due to syphilis, and children were born with congenital syphilis. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Question & Answer

Question 

The outrage over the Tuskegee study prompted the U.S. Congress to pass the National Research Act in 1974 (Houser, 2018). The act created the National Commission for Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The commission was charged with writing the Belmont Report. This 1979 report describes principles that form the foundation of ethical treatment of human subjects (Houser, 2018). What are these principles, and what does each mean for the researcher?

Answer

The first principle is respect for persons. Individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions, and those who can’t make decisions for themselves or are vulnerable, need to be protected from harm. The second principle is beneficence, which means that researchers will maximize any benefits and minimize any harm to the subjects. The third principle is justice, which means subjects will be treated fairly during selection in terms of the benefits and burdens of research. Those who are disadvantaged will not be excluded from research that would benefit them, nor will they be put at risk from research that would harm them.

 Legal Aspects of Research

Various laws govern the conduct of research on human subjects.

Common law, which includes medical malpractice

Administrative law, which is enacted by the federal government, such as HIPAA

Statutory law, which is enacted by the legislature

Tort law, which covers negligence, assault, false imprisonment, and invasion of privacy

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services developed the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (Houser, 2018). The CFR mandated that Institutional Review Boards (IRB) be formed by organizations performing research to protect the rights of human subjects against unethical, unlawful, and inhumane treatment. The federal regulations stipulate the composition of IRB boards and their powers and responsibilities. Researchers must submit their proposals to the IRB for approval before their studies can be carried out.

Research misconduct can occur when the researcher intentionally makes up data, omits data, or changes data to manipulate the results. Plagiarism, or claiming another’s work as one’s own, is another form of research misconduct. When misconduct occurs, it erodes the trust of the public in the findings of all research. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers.

Discussions this week instruct you to read one article and post what you learned about ethical and legal issues. This article will help you gain insight into the ethical and legal dilemmas that researchers face when planning and implementing their studies.

Summary

This lesson began our exploration of the implementation of the research process that is usually found in the report in the methods section. We looked at various sampling strategies and the reasons why they may be selected.

Next, we reviewed the ethical standards that must be followed when conducting research on human subjects and how these have evolved. Finally, we examined laws and regulations that govern research and how they can be violated.

Take the Check Your Knowledge Quiz to see how well you understand the concepts offered in your text and this lesson.

References

Houser, J. (2018). 
Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence
 (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

U. S. Public Health Service syphilis study at Tuskegee
. (2009). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm. Sampling and Ethics in EBP Nursing Literature Research Papers

Antepartal testing and perfect child essay

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Address this question: Should antepartal testing be used for reason other than the assessment of fetal health and well-being (e.g., select the “perfect child” on the basis of characteristics, gender, and absence of genetic health problems of any kind)?

Support your answers in an APA formatted summary! Antepartal testing and perfect child essay.

Research Problems, Designs, and Sample

This week, we will discuss the research design and sample for your nursing clinical issue. The research design flows from the research question and outlines the plan for the study that will answer the research question. The design identifies the major components of the study. It is important to remember that there is no one best design for a research study.

After you review the designs, describe which research design you would expect to find when searching for evidence relevant to your own research question from Week 2. Why? Explain your answer.

The most common sampling method is the convenience sample; therefore, many of the studies that you find for evidence use this sampling method. What are the implications for using a convenience sample on the way you interpret and use the findings? Research Problems, Designs, and Sample

Clinical issues literature review

Write an 5-6 page paper that synthesizes the evidence you have reviewed. Compare and contrast the research. Discuss: • What was the clinical issue studied? • How were the studies conducted? What research frameworks were utilized? • Who was the population in the studies? • Where did the studies take place? • When were the studies conducted? What length of time did the studies cover? • Why did the authors decide to conduct a study on the topic? • What is the clinical significance of the studies? See the Mini-Literature Review Paper Grading Rubric in the Course Overview or Course Syllabus for specific grading criteria. All direct quotations and other sources used must be credited using APA Style. Clinical issues literature review.

References:

Pederson, H. J. (2017). BREAST CANCER RISK ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT: CURRENT CONCEPTS IN GENETICS AND GENOMICS. 
Contemporary OB/GYN
, 
62
(12), 1-4. Clinical issues literature review.

Keyzer-Dekker, C. G., de Vries, J., Mertens, M. C., Roukema, J. A., & van der Steeg, A. W. (2014). The impact of diagnosis and trait anxiety on psychological distress in women with early stage breast cancer: A prospective study. 
British Journal Of Health Psychology
, 
19
(4), 783-794. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12076. Clinical issues literature review.

Howard, A., Balneaves, L., & Bottorff, J. (2009). Women’s decision making about risk-reducing strategies in the context of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: a systematic review.
Journal Of Genetic Counseling
,
18
(6), 578-597. doi:10.1007/s10897-009-9245-9. Clinical issues literature review

Research Literature Review: Problems and Designs -Essay Assignment Papers Writing

Introduction and the Literature Review

The first part of the research report is the introduction and literature review. The importance of the pursuit of a particular topic is often justified, and the research problem is highlighted in this section of the report. This justification may also appear in the literature review or along with the research purpose. Approaches for justification include describing the

seriousness of the problem;

number of persons affected by the condition under study; and

gap in the research literature.

The literature review is a summary of what is known about the topic of the research study gathered through an examination of literature pertaining to the topic. The content is usually arranged by the variables and population identified in the purpose of the study. A well-written review of the literature demonstrates how the evidence, related to the purpose of the study, fits together. In addition, a review of the literature might provide a critique of the research designs previously used to study the identified topic. These design issues can be another part of the justification for the study when a researcher proposes a study that strengthens the method for studying the topic. All literature cited in the review must also be listed in the references.

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Examine the quality of the sources that the researcher has utilized for the review. Are they current, and are they published in well-respected sources? Are they mostly primary sources that are original articles written by the author instead of secondary sources that paraphrase or interpret the primary sources?

This leads us to a question about peer review.

What does it mean when a journal or resource is peer reviewed? Why is it important that research-based evidence is peer reviewed?

Peer review occurs when a scholarly work, such as a research article, is appraised by experts on the subject who judge its accuracy. Usually, the reviewers do not know the author’s name or credentials to avoid being unduly influenced. This is termed a 
blind
 review and confirms credibility that the information in the article is worthy of consideration. Look to see if a journal is peer reviewed by visiting its website

 Research Problem

The inspiration for identifying a research problem is all around us. As we reflect on our practice, we find ourselves asking questions that lead us to ideas for research problems.

Why are we doing this?

Should we be doing this?

How could we do this better?

Development of the research problem usually evolves in a deductive manner, which means that the researcher’s thinking moves from conceptual to operational, from broad to narrow, and from general to specific.

Table 3.1

Evolution of a Research Problem

Conceptual

Broad

General

Operational

Narrow

Specific

Area of Interest

Pertains to any aspect of nursing that is of importance to the researcher

Knowledge Gap

Identifies the difference between what is known and what needs to be known about the area of interest

Research Problem

Explains why there is a need for research to close the knowledge gap

Research Purpose

Describes the intent of what will be studied to address the research problem

Research Question

Outlines the components of the study and their possible relationships

At times, the researcher’s thought process is more inductive in that specific questions arise first, and these lead the researcher to focus on the larger issues that arise from the questions.

The researcher may present a theoretical framework or conceptual framework as part of the literature review or a separate section in the research report. A theory is a tentative statement of the relationship between variables and comprises the backbone of the research study. It provides direction for one or more aspects of the study, such as which variables to study or the design for an experimental intervention. Theories are used in different ways in different types of research designs.

A qualitative design of grounded theory generates a theory or model.

A qualitative or quantitative design may clarify and enlarge an existing theory.

A quantitative, experimental design may test a theory.

Most nursing research studies are not planned using an explicitly identified theory or conceptual framework. Nursing has some theories of its own but borrows theories from other disciplines, as well.

Research Purposes

The 
research purpose statement
 is the most common method used to indicate the focus or topic of a research study. The research purpose statement is written as a declarative sentence that names the population and variables in the study. One place that the purpose statement is almost always found is at the end of the review of the literature, right before the start of the methods section. The purpose statement may also be found in the abstract and at the end of the first few introductory paragraphs. In some research articles, the purpose statement may be found in two or all three of these locations.

 Research Questions

Another method of stating the research focus is the research question. The research question is written as an interrogative statement that includes the population and variables. One or more research questions may be posed to clarify the specific aims or predictions of the study. The research question is the final stage before the researcher decides on the design of the study. The question must be well constructed as it forms the foundation for the rest of the research study.

The research question for a quantitative study may include components such as populations, interventions, comparisons, and outcomes. Sound familiar? Yes, the researcher may use the PICO format to develop a research question that is very similar to the clinical question that you formulate to search for evidence. Indeed, this is why you use PICO formatting to write searchable, clinical questions. PICO formatting increases your likelihood of locating results from quantitative research.

The research question for a qualitative study does not lend itself to PICO formatting because interventions and comparisons are not sought. The population and the outcome may be identified, but instead of the intervention and comparison, variables of interest (VI) are selected as key terms.

Extraneous variables (EV) are those that you are not looking for when you search but exist in all studies and may impact the research. These variables are not included in the search terms, but you may discover them during a literature review as the researcher describes what influenced the findings.

Research Designs

The 
research design
 flows from the research question and outlines the plan for the study that will answer the research question. The design identifies the major components of the study. It is important to remember that there is no one best design for a research study. An experimental design may produce a stronger level of evidence, but it may be a poor fit for the purpose of the study. Examples of research designs and the questions they address are below.

Examples of Research Design

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research examines a process, event, or outcome and is chosen when little is known about the topic. It seeks to understand what is happening. Descriptive questions are asked more frequently in qualitative studies; however, descriptive questions may be asked in quantitative studies, too.

Correlation Research

Correlation research asks descriptive questions about what is occurring in a situation and tries to determine if there is a relationship among the variables. One using this type of research cannot predict or infer a cause-and-effect relationship; one simply acknowledges that a relationship exists.

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Predictive Research

Predictive research is similar in that it poses descriptive questions, but it goes beyond correlation research in that it not only searches for relationships among variables, but it also seeks to determine if a change in one variable may be used to predict a change in another. No claim is made that this is a cause-and-effect relationship, just that one exists that can lead to a prediction.

Quasi-experimental Research

Quasi-experimental research looks for a cause-and-effect relationship among variables. It does not manipulate the variables to cause the effect, but it tries to determine if an effect exists. Analytic questions are posed that compare the interventions to the outcomes.

Experimental Research

Experimental research asks analytic questions in quantitative studies to find out if there is a causal relationship between the variables, that is, if the intervention or comparison (independent variable) causes the effect or outcome (dependent variable). The research question may form a hypothesis that describes the relationship among variables and the direction that the relationship may take. The researcher can never be certain that a relationship exists; therefore, a null hypothesis may be offered that indicates that there is no relationship between two variables, or no differences between groups. The researcher uses inferential testing to reject the null hypothesis, indicating that a relationship probably exists. The second type of hypothesis is the directional hypothesis, which predicts that there is a relationship between or among variables and the direction of the relationship. The third type of hypothesis is the nondirectional or alternative hypothesis. This is a statement predicting that there is a relationship between or among variables, but it does not predict the direction of the relationship. This type of hypothesis may be used when the actual effect of a treatment cannot be predicted.

There are multiple ways to classify designs, and these may be combined in different ways.

A research design may be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method. Mixed method means that both qualitative and quantitative elements are present. Quantitative designs deal with measurements, and may test theories to find relationships or to gauge the effect of interventions on outcomes. These designs can be cross-sectional or longitudinal, or prospective or retrospective, depending on the time factor. They may be descriptive, correlational, quasi-experimental, or experimental depending on the control factor.

Qualitative designs are chosen to understand the meaning of phenomena and may form the basis of theories. Like quantitative designs, they can be cross-sectional or longitudinal, or prospective or retrospective, depending on the time factor. The control factor determines if the study is focused on phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, or history.

Phenomenology develops understanding of experiences through the perception of those living them.

Ethnography involves the researcher becoming immersed in the culture to describe the phenomena.

Grounded theory seeks connections or links between ideas and concepts and is grounded in the subject’s reality.

Historical research looks for connections or links by exploring the past.

Mixed method designs include elements of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Designs may be experimental or nonexperimental. An experimental design involves the researcher manipulating variables to determine cause and effect. Experimental designs are quantitative because the results are measured. A nonexperimental design does not manipulate variables. All qualitative studies use a nonexperimental design because qualitative research does not investigate cause and effect. Some quantitative studies are nonexperimental in design, as well. They may seek to discover relationships among variables but do not manipulate them to bring about an effect.

Designs may be exploratory or confirmatory. An exploratory study is usually qualitative or mixed method; it seeks to describe a phenomenon and looks for new knowledge. A confirmatory study determines if there are relationships among variables and substantiates knowledge already published; it is, therefore, quantitative.

Last week, you were introduced to the interactive research report. Open it again, and practice finding the sections that have been described in this lesson.

Interactive Research Report

The following research report contains descriptions of the various components that comprise most reports. The purpose of this interactive report is to help you learn where to find specific information.

NR439 Interactive Research Report

Summary

The first step of the research process begins by defining the research problem and question and determining the best design to answer that question. Typically, this is a deductive process—moving from broad thinking about an area of interest to a specific, researchable question. It mirrors the PICO process used to write searchable clinical questions. This lesson provided definitions of many terms and explained how they may relate to each other. In the coming weeks, your understanding of these relationships will deepen as we discuss research methods and analysis. Research Literature Review: Problems and Designs -Essay Assignment Papers Writing