Qualitative and Quantitative design Research

Goal:

You will critically appraise a research design

Content Requirements:

You will select one research report with a qualitative design and one with a quantitative design and answer the following questions regarding the following categories:

1. Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research
2. Briefly, describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach.
3. Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies.
4. Briefly, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice.
5. Communicate how this research design is used in research.

The study, sampling, data collection, analysis, rigor, findings, and limitations

1. Identify the purpose of the study.
2. Briefly, describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose.
3. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.
4. Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
5. Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research.
6. Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
7. Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
8. Identify four (4) criteria by which the rigor of a qualitative project can be judged.
9. Discuss the rigor of this study using the four criteria.
10. Briefly, describe the findings of the study and identify any limitations.

Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion any implications for the discipline of nursing.

1. Discuss what you understand by the term Quantitative Research – Use the following dot points to guide your discussion (give reasons for your argument and support with references):
2. Describe the characteristics of quantitative research.
3. Identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a quantitative research approach
4. Differentiate between observational and interventional research designs and also between experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
5. Briefly, outline the difference between inferential and descriptive statistics and their relationship to levels of measurement.
6. Communicate how this research design is used in research.

Critique the Quantitative Research Report – Use the following headings to guide your critique (in all discussions and explanations give reasons for your argument and support with references):

The study

1. Identify the purpose and design of the study.
2. Explain what is meant by ‘blinding’ and ‘randomization’ and discuss how these were addressed in the design of the study.
3. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.

Sampling

1. Explain the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
2. Discuss how the sample size was determined – include in your discussion an explanation of the terms used.

Data collection

1. Briefly, outline how the data was collected and identify any data collection instrument(s).
2. Define the validity and reliability of the terms and discuss how the validity & reliability of the instruments were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important.

Data analysis

1. Outline how the data were analyzed.
2. Identify the statistics used and the level of measurement of the data described by each statistical test – include in your discussion an explanation of the terms used.

Findings and limitations

1. Briefly, outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study
2. Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to briefly discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion an explanation of the term statistical significance and name the tests of statistical significance used in this study.

Submission Instructions:

• The paper is to be clear and concise, and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation, and misspelling.
• The paper should be formatted per the current APA and 5 pages in length, excluding the title, abstract, and references page.
• Incorporate a minimum of 3 current (published within the last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.

Qualitative and Quantitative design Research

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Qualitative and Quantitative design Research

Abstract

Healthcare relies on research to promote best practices, new inventions, and innovations. The two main research designs include quantitative and qualitative research designs. Nurses should have a better understanding of both research designs. Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data, while quantitative research involves collecting and analyzing numerical data.

The selected qualitative study is titled “Barriers and facilitators to infection control at a hospital in northern India: a qualitative study,” and published by Barker et al.  (2017). In addition, the selected quantitative study is “Health care workers knowledge, attitude and practice towards hospital-acquired infection prevention at Dessie referral hospital, Northeast Ethiopia,” published by Gezie (2021). In that regard, the purpose of this paper is to critically appraise both research studies.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data. It can be used to understand how people experience the world. For instance, nurses may investigate how depression affects patients’ social life. Some of the qualitative methodologies include direct observation, document analysis, and interviews (Oshagbemi, 2017). Observations involve collecting data using one’s senses, especially by looking and listening in a systematic and meaningful manner. In interviews, the researcher asks respondents questions in one on one context (Oshagbemi, 2017). Document analysis involves evaluating electronic and physical documents to interpret or understand them.

Qualitative research can help nurses to gain new knowledge from observations, interviews, and document analyses. A qualitative research study is easy to conduct since it does not involve rigorous sampling and analysis methods (Oshagbemi, 2017).  In addition, data collection occurs in a real-world context. However, the real-world connection may make the study unreliable due to uncontrolled factors affecting the data. Qualitative research design is used in research studies that do not require statistical analyses.

Critical Appraisal of a qualitative Study

The selected study is titled “Barriers and facilitators to infection control at a hospital in northern India: a qualitative study,” and published by Barker et al.  (2017). The study aimed to assess facilitators and barriers to infection control in a hospital setting. This was a qualitative paper due to a lack of statistical methods of data analysis. The sample populations were nurses and physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess facilitators and barriers to hospital infection control (Barker et al., 2017). The design is appropriate because it entails asking for opinions about the topic. This was aimed at explaining a phenomenon rather than analysis hence, the design is appropriate.

This study was conducted per human research ethical guidelines. For instance, the participating institution approved the study. The Health Sciences Institutional Review Board at the University of Wisconsin- Madison also approved it. In addition, all the participants received sufficient information before the actual study (Barker et al., 2017). They provided written and oral consent before the data was collected. The convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants. The participants represented a wide range of clinical departments and career levels.

All hospital employees directly involved in patient care were eligible for enrollment. The sampling method was appropriate because it targeted people who had adequate knowledge and experience regarding infection control (Barker et al., 2017). Only healthcare employees in the hospital could provide accurate answers about what goes on within the facility. Data collection methods included interviews using semi-structured questions. The data collection method was appropriate because the study was based on individual testimonies. The rigor of qualitative study can be judged through its credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability.

Credibility reflects the confidence that can be placed in the truth of the research findings. This study has high credibility because the data was correctly interpreted. The study methodology is detailed. It also assesses what was indicated in the study purpose (Barker et al., 2017). The study findings showed that major barriers included a high rate of nursing staff turnover, time spent training new staff, limitations in language competency, and heavy clinical workloads.

Major facilitators include a well-developed infection control team and an institutional climate that prioritizes infection control (Barker et al., 2017). The limitation is that it was a single-site study, affecting generalizability. Based on the information gained from the critique, the study is trustworthy because it used transparent, credible, and valid methods. Participants were well-informed and interviews happened individually. Applicability is limited since it is a single-site study (Barker et al., 2017). The study findings can be used to improve infection control to enhance nursing care outcomes.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research involves collecting and analyzing numerical data. Quantitative research design is often used to quantify behaviors, opinions, and other defined variables. For instance, one might investigate how education level influences the rates of sexually transmitted infections. The interventional study investigates a treatment regimen (intervention) while the observational study does not test any potential treatments (Ahmad et al., 2019).

The experimental research design used random sampling while the quasi-experimental design lacks random assignment to experimental and controlled groups. Descriptive statistics help describe the characteristics of the population using a sample. Inferential statistics use various analytical tools to draw inferences about the population using samples (Ahmad et al., 2019). Tools. Both statistical strategies help in drawing conclusions and making predictions based on the data. Quantitative research design is applied in research studies that involve statistical analysis.

Critical Appraisal of a quantitative Study

The selected study is “Health care workers knowledge, attitude and practices towards hospital-acquired infection prevention at Dessie referral hospital, Northeast Ethiopia,” published by Gezie (2021). This study aimed to assess health workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice towards hospital-acquired infection prevention at Dessie referral hospital.  In a quantitative study, blinding means the concealment of an aspect of the study (participants or intervention) from one or more individuals involved in a clinical research study.

Randomization means the random assignment of participants to the control or intervention group. The study used a simple random sampling method to attain the final individuals. Ethical clearance was obtained from Wollo University, college of medicine and health sciences, department of comprehensive nursing research committee (Gezie, 2021). Information was given to the participants regarding the purpose of the study. Written consent was obtained from all study participants.

To select the study participants, the total sample size was allocated proportionally based on the number of professionals size in each department. A simple random sampling method was used to attain the final individuals. The sample size was determined using the population correction formula (FPC = ((N-n)/ (N-1)) 1/2), whereby N=population size and n=sample size (Gezie, 2021). Data collection occurred by asking respondents specific questions. A self-administered questionnaire was used.

Reliability in quantitative study is the consistency while validity is the accuracy the research instrument measures. This study did not address the validity and reliability of the self-administered questionnaire. This is important because it affects the entire research findings. Data were cleaned, centered, and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software (Gezie, 2021). Data were described using tables and graphs. Statistics used include percentages and frequencies to describe different variables such as profession, age, sex, and others.

The study findings showed that out of 211, 165 (86.4%) health workers had good knowledge and the rest 26 (13.6%) respondents had poor knowledge of hospital-acquired infection prevention (HAIP) (Gezie, 2021). Furthermore, a significant number of participants have misconceptions regarding hospital-associated infections (HAIs). Regarding healthcare workers’ attitudes toward hospital-acquired infection prevention, 146 (76.4%) had favorable attitudes while 45 (23.6%) had unfavorable attitudes toward HAIP activities (Gezie, 2021).

In addition, the result showed that the majority of respondents had poor practice 147 (77%) and 44 (23%) of them had good practice towards HAIP activities, while 56 (29.3%) always wash their hands before starting work (Gezie, 2021). A limitation is that it was a single-facility study, limiting its generalizability.

Based on the information gained from the critique, the study is trustworthy because it used credible and valid methods. Data analysis was done using a valid and reliable instrument. Participants were well-informed and interviews happened individually (Gezie, 2021). The study’s applicability is limited since it is a single-site study. The study findings can be used to improve nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward HAI prevention.

Conclusion

is an essential element of healthcare that enhances best practices, innovation, and new inventions. The two main research methods include qualitative and quantitative methods. Nurses are required to gain a better understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research studies. This paper presented a critical appraisal of qualitative and quantitative research studies.

References

Ahmad, S., Wasim, S., Irfan, S., Gogoi, S., Srivastava, A., & Farheen, Z. (2019). Qualitative vs. quantitative research. Population, 1(43), 2828-2832. https://doi.org/10.18410/jebmh/2019/587

Barker, A. K., Brown, K., Siraj, D., Ahsan, M., Sengupta, S., & Safdar, N. (2017). Barriers and facilitators to infection control at a hospital in northern India: a qualitative study. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 6(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-017-0189-9

Gezie, H. (2021). Health care workers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice towards hospital-acquired infection prevention at Dessie referral hospital, Northeast Ethiopia. Health Science Journal, 0-0. https://doi.org/10.29328/journal. cjncp.1 001019

Oshagbemi, T. (2017). Chapter4. Research Design and Methodology. Leadership and Management in Universities, 67-95. https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/24016/04chapter4.pdf