Quantitative Research Designs: Dr. Kristen Mauk – Quantitative research for evidence-based practice
Discussion: 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 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.
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 210 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. Quantitative Research Designs: Dr. Kristen Mauk – Quantitative research for evidence-based practice
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.
Required Readings
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer. Quantitative Research Designs: Dr. Kristen Mauk – Quantitative research for evidence-based practice
Chapter 8, “Planning a Nursing Study”
This chapter focuses on the necessary steps for planning a research study. It describes different research designs and their key features and discusses how to plan for data collection.
Chapter 9, “Quantitative Research Design”
This chapter explores quantitative research in greater depth including the importance of experimental design and the role of randomization in conducting research. The chapter also describes quasi-experimental design and observational research. Quantitative Research Designs: Dr. Kristen Mauk – Quantitative research for evidence-based practice
Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2012m). Quantitative research for evidence-based practice. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.
In this video, Dr. Kristen Mauk explains specific quantitative research designs, methods, and considerations related to her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) project. She discusses how she developed her research design and how she used sound quantitative research methods throughout her project.
Quantitative Research for Evidence-Based Practice Program Transcript
NARRATOR: Quantitative research includes any study or project that involves
the use of numerical data or information that can be described using numbers.
But having an effective research design is critical for the validity and success of
all quantitative research ventures. In this video, Doctor Kristen Mauk speaks
about the design of her DNP project, which explored the effect of education on
new nurses in a rehabilitation unit.
Doctor Mauk’s project can be considered a quantitative study, because it
involved comparing the numerical results from tests that nurses completed
before and after receiving educational materials, and then performing statistical
tests to check for significance in the findings.
KRISTEN MAUK, PHD: I found a unit that was nearby, and they had opened a
brand new rehab unit. And I collaborated with the nurse manager to see what
would be the best methods for them to learn. And she said that her rehab staff
didn’t really have a lot of training specifically in rehab. They were experienced,
wonderful nurses, but they were opening a new unit.
Well, my background was rehab, and I decided, ooh, well here was a good
problem. Would education make a difference in their knowledge about
rehabilitation? So that was my question. I designed, in collaboration with the
nurse manager and the administration and using all those techniques about
being a change agent, and communication, and people skills, we designed a
project that fit that unit.
So first I went to the literature and found that, yes, knowledge makes a
difference. If you’re educating nurses, yes, they will– if you give them education,
that will result in better knowledge. So I designed a pre- and post-test using a
tool that was already in existence to measure rehab knowledge. And I took 15
basic competencies of rehabilitation as set forth by the Association of
Rehabilitation Nurses. Quantitative Research Designs: Dr. Kristen Mauk – Quantitative research for evidence-based practice