Quantitative Nursing Research Designs
Quantitative Research Designs
In order to find the best information on a topic, not only should you develop a question and search for resources, but you should also know how to analyze the value of the resources that you identify. There are different ways to evaluate resources, such as using the hierarchy of evidence, which you explored in Week 4 of this course. Another way to evaluate resources is to consider the appropriateness of the research design. Understanding how research designs contribute to the quality of a study is essential for being able to analyze resources when conducting a literature review or locating evidence for practice.
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In this Quantitative Nursing Research Designs Discussion, you consider the different research designs and evaluate how these designs have been used to research a specific topic. You also consider strategies for selecting an appropriate research design.
Quantitative Nursing Research Designs To prepare:
Review the information in the course texton quantitative research designs. Focus on the information in Box 9.1, “Guidelines for Critiquing Research Designs in Quantitative Studies” located on page 230 of the course text.
Select a topic from the list below and search the Walden Library to find two different quantitative research studies addressing that issue:
Caregiver stress
Anxiety in children
Sleep apnea
Depression in college freshmen
Rural health care issues
Post-traumatic stress syndrome
Traumatic brain injury in veterans
Health effects of environmental contaminants
Bipolar disorder
End-of-life ethical issues
Alternative medicine
For each of the sources that you select, identify the type of quantitative research design used, and evaluate whether it is the most appropriate approach to the research.
Consider the ramifications of choosing an inappropriate design for a research study.
By Day 3
Post the topic you selected, references for the two sources you identified, and the quantitative research design used in each. Critique the appropriateness of the design used and justify your comments with information from the Learning Resources. Discuss the ramifications of choosing an inappropriate design for a research study.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ Quantitative Nursing Research Designs responses.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.
Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Validity in Quantitative Research Designs
Validity in research refers to the extent researchers can be confident that the cause and effect they identify in their research are in fact causal relationships. If there is low validity in a study, it usually means that the research design is flawed and the results will be of little or no value. Four different aspects of validity should be considered when reviewing a research design: statistical conclusion validity, internal validity, construct validity, and external validity. In this Quantitative Nursing Research Designs Discussion, you consider the importance of each of these aspects in judging the validity of quantitative research.
To prepare:
Review the information in Chapter 10 of the course text on rigor and validity.
Read the method section of one of the following quasi-experimental studies (also located in this week’s Learning Resources). Identify at least one potential concern that could be raised about the study’s internal validity.
Metheny, N. A., Davis-Jackson, J., & Stewart, B. J. (2010). Effectiveness of an aspiration risk-reduction protocol. Nursing Research, 59(1), 18–25.
Padula, C. A., Hughes, C., & Baumhover, L. (2009). Impact of a nurse-driven mobility protocol on functional decline in hospitalized older adults. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 24(4), 325–331.
Yuan, S., Chou, M., Hwu, L., Chang, Y., Hsu, W., & Kuo, H. (2009). An intervention program to promote health-related physical fitness in nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18(10), 1,404–1,411.
Consider strategies that could be used to strengthen the study’s internal validity and how this would impact the three other types of validity.
Think about the consequences of an advanced practice nurse neglecting to consider the validity of a research study when reviewing the research for potential use in developing an evidence-based practice.
By Day 3
Post the title of the study that you selected and your analysis of the potential concerns that could be raised about the study’s internal validity. Propose recommendations to strengthen the internal validity and assess the effect your changes could have with regard to the other three types of validity. Discuss the dangers of failing to consider the validity of a research study.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ Quantitative Nursing Research Designs postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional sources.
Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Expand on your colleagues’ Quantitative Nursing Research Designs postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.