Unit 7 Research Designs

What is a Research Design?? Researcher’s strategy: Describes how the researcher(s) will answer their questions/test hypotheses E.g. cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive study Outlines the data collection approach Quantitative Qualitative Found throughout report: Introduction Methods Discussion

What Influences Design Selection? Questions asked Researcher’s philosophical stance Access to population Funding

Quantitative Research Designs Can be grouped into two main classes: Non-experimental Descriptive correlational Experimental Quasi-experimental studies Experimental

Quasi-experimental and Experimental Investigations Main differences: Quasi lacks control group or randomization Quasi may use convenience sampling or comparison of similar groups Gold standard  randomized control trial Random assignment High degree of control Outcome the result of intervention or treatment

Concepts Used in Quantitative Research Design When data collected Pre-post test investigation: describes before and after treatment study Cross-sectional investigations: data collected at one point in time Longitudinal investigations: data collected at different intervals Control: involves use of comparison group Manipulation: use of intervention or treatment Randomization: subjects randomly placed in one group or another

Non-experimental Design: Descriptive Research Descriptive Gather information Describe meanings of phenomena Example: To describe the staff time requirements to provide feeding assistance to nursing home residents who require three different types of assistance to improve oral food and fluid intake and to determine whether physically dependent residents require more staff time, as defined in the national Resource Utilization Group System (RUGS) used for reimbursement, research staff conducted direct observations of usual nursing home care for 2 consecutive days to measure oral food and fluid consumption and staff time spent providing assistance (Simmons & Schnelle, 2006).

Non-experimental Design: Correlational Research Correlational: measures how well factors vary together Example: Formal writing assignments are commonly used in nursing education to develop students’ critical thinking skills, as well as to enhance their communication abilities. However, writing apprehension is a common phenomenon among nursing students. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to describe writing apprehension and to assess the relationships among reading and english aptitude and discipline-specific formal writing ability among undergraduate nursing students. The study sample consisted of 146 sophomores from one baccalaureate nursing program. The results indicated that both reading and english aptitude were related to students’ formal writing ability (Newton & Moore, 2010).

Experimental Design: Quasi-experimental Research Example: The effect of a course on self-awareness and communication techniques on nursing students’ assertiveness and self-esteem was examined. The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory were used to measure assertiveness and self-esteem in second-year students in an undergraduate nursing school. The course lasted 14 weeks for a total of 3 h per week. Seventy-nine students completed the course. The study was designed as a pre-test and post-test study. A significant difference between assertiveness and self-esteem scores of students in pre-test and post-test measurements was found. The teaching methods focused mostly on active student participation, demonstration, role play, experience and experience sharing, homework, constructive feedback, and watching films (Unal, 2012).

Experimental Design: Experimental Research Example: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of performing preoperative preparation program on children's anxiety. A randomized controlled trail was performed on 122 children [7-12 years of age] admitted for elective surgery during 15 months. The researcher randomly assigned eligible participants in to the experimental and control groups, after pre-test baseline measurement had been taken. Analyzing was performed through independent t-test and chi squared test. P<0.005 was considered statistically significant. The experimental group received therapeutic play and the control group received routine preoperative information preparation (Vaezzedah et al., 2011).

References Newton, S. & Moore, G. (2010). Nursing students’ reading and english aptitudes and their relationship to discipline-specific formal writing ability: A descriptive correlational study. Nursing Education Research, 31(4), Simmons, S.F. & Schnelle, J.F. (2006). Feeding assistance needs of long- stay nursing home residents and staff time to provide care. J Am Geriatr Soc, 54, 919–924. Unal, S. (2012). Evaluating the effect of self-awareness and communication techniques on nurses' assertiveness and self-esteem. Contemporary Nurse, 43 (1), Vaezzadehi, N., Douki*i, Z.E., Hadipour, A., Osia, S., Shahmohammadii, S., & Sadeghi, R. (2011). The effect of performing preoperative preparation program on school age children's anxiety. Iran J Pediatr, 21(4),