Chapter 3

Question 1

Conceptual definition

Answer 1

Presents the abstract and theoretical meaning of concepts under a study.

Ex: Caring can be classified into five classes of conceptual design (human trait, moral imperative, an affect, an interpersonal relationship, a therapeutic intervention). The researchers undertaking a study of caring need to clarify which conceptual definition they have adopted.

Qualitative studies: conceptual definitions of key phenomena may be the major end product, reflecting an intent to have the meaning of concepts defined by those being studied.

Quantitative studies: researchers must define concepts at the outset because they must decide how the variables will be observed and measured.

Question 2

Operational definition

Answer 2

Specifies what the researchers must do to measure the concept and collect needed information

Variables differ in the ease with which they can be operationalized. Ex; Weight is easy to operationalize- round to the 0.5 lb or to the 1gm.

Most variables can be measured in different ways and researchers must choose the one that best captures the variable as they conceptualize them. Ex: anxiety; can be defined in terms of both physiologic and psychological functioning. to emphasize the physiologic aspect, the operational definition might involve the measurement of salivary cortisol. If researchers conceptualized anxiety as a psychological state, the operational definition must be people’s scores on a self-reported test.

Definitional precision is important for communicating exactly what concepts mean within a study.

Operationalizing a concept is often a two-part process that involves deciding

1) how to accurately measure the variable
2) how to represent it in analysis

Question 3

Data

Answer 3

pieces of information obtained in a study.

Quantitative: researchers define their variable and collect relevant data from study participants. Collect primarily QUANTITATIVE DATE- data in numeric form.

QUALITATIVE DATA: narrative descriptions.. narrative information can be obtained by having conversations with participants, making detailed notes about how people behave, or obtaining narrative records (ex. diaries). Contains rich narrative descriptions of participants’ emotional states.

Question 4

Relationships

Answer 4

Bond or connection between phenomena.

Both quantitative and qualitative studies examine relationships but in different ways.

Quantitative: researchers examine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Researchers ask whether variations in the dependent variable (the outcome) is systematically related to variations in the independent variable.
Relationships are usually expressed in quantitative terms (more than, less than, etc).

Each statement expresses a predicted relationship between the dependent variable the measurable independent variable.
Can also address other types of relationships: does a relationship exist? wha tis the direction of the relationship between variables? how strong is the relations between variables? what is the nature of the relationship between variables?

Question 5

Causal relationship

Answer 5

Cause and effect.

Within the positivist paradigm, natural phenomena have antecedent causes that are presumably discoverable.

Many quantitative studies are cause-probing.

Question 6

Functional (associative) relationships

Answer 6

Relationship between variables in present, but one does not cause the other.

Correlational

Question 7

Study of Patterns

Answer 7

Present in qualitative researcher.

Qualitative researchers seek patterns of association as a way to illuminate the underlying meaning and dimensionality of phenomena.

Patterns of interconnected themes and processes are identified as means of understanding the whole.

Question 8

Experimental Research

Answer 8

Researchers actively introduce an intervention or treatment- most often, to address Therapy questions

Explicitly cause-probing- they test whether an intervention causes changes in the dependent variable.

Offer the possibility of greater control over confounding influences than nonexperimental studies, so causal inferences are more plausible.

Question 9

Nonexperimental research

Answer 9

Researchers are bystanders- collect data without intervening.

Sometimes explore causal relationships, but the resulting evidence is usually less conclusive than experimental research.

Question 10

Clinical trial

Answer 10

experimental study in medical research

Question 11

Observational study

Answer 11

nonexperimental study in medical research

Question 12

Randomized controlled trial

Answer 12

Particular type of clinical trial

Question 13

Qualitative Descriptive Research

Answer 13

The majority of qualitative nursing studies can be described as qualitative descriptive research.

Rooted in research traditions that originated in anthropology, sociology, and psychology- prominent in qualitative nursing research

Question 14

Grounded Theory

Answer 14

Researched rooted in sociology.

Seeks to describe and understand the key social psychological processes that occur in social settings.

Most grounded theory studies focus on developing social experience- the social and psychological processes that characterize an event or episode.

A major component is the discovery of not only the basic social psychological problem, but also a core variable that is central in explaining what is going on in that social scene.

Strive to generate explanations of phenomena that are grounded in reality.

Question 15

Phenomenology

Answer 15

Concerned with the lived experience of humans.

Approach to thinking about what life experiences of people are like and what they mean.

The phenomenologic researchers ask the questions: What is the essence of this phenomenon as experienced by these people? What is the meaning of the phenomenon to those who experience it?

Question 16

Ethnography

Answer 16

Primary research tradition in anthropology

Provides a framework for studying patterns, lifeways, and experiences of a defined cultural group in a holistic manner.

Typically engage in extensive fieldwork, and participate in the life/culture of those under study.

Strive to learn from members of a cutural group, to understand their word view, to describe their customs/norms

Question 17

5 Steps of Quantitative Research

Answer 17

1) . The conceptual phase (formulating and delimiting the problem, literature review, undertaking clinical fieldwork, defining framework/developing conceptual definitions, formulating hypotheses.)
2) . The design and planning phase (Selecting research design, developing intervention protocols, identifying the population, designing the sample plan, specifying methods to measure research variables, developing methods to safeguard participants, finalizing the research plan).
3) . The empirical phase (collecting the data, preparing the data for analysis)
4) . The analytic phase (analyzing the data, interpreting the results)
5) . The dissemination phase (Communicating the findings, Utilizing the findings in practice).

Question 18

The Conceptual Phase

Answer 18

1). The conceptual phase (formulating and delimiting the problem, literature review, undertaking clinical fieldwork, defining framework/developing conceptual definitions, formulating hypotheses.

Includes identifying the RESEARCH QUESTION
In developing research questions, nurse researchers must attend to substantive issues (What kind of new evidence is needed?);
theoretical issues (Is there a conceptual context for understanding this problem?);
clinical issues (How could evidence from this study be used in clinical practice?);
methodologic issues (How can this question best be studied to yield high-­quality evidence?);
and ethical issues (Can this question be rigorously addressed in an ethical manner?)

A thorough literature review provides a foundation on which to base new evidence and usually is conducted before data are collected.

Clinical fieldwork can provide perspectives on recent clinical trends, diagnostic procedures, and relevant healthcare delivery models; it can also help researchers better understand clients and the settings in which care is provided. Such fieldwork can also be valuable in gaining access to an appropriate site or in developing research strategies.

When quantitative research is performed within the context of a theoretical framework, the findings often have broader significance and utility. Even when the research question is not embedded in a theory, researchers should have a conceptual rationale and a clear vision of the concepts under study.

Hypotheses state researcher’s predictions about relationships between study variables.

Question 19

The Design and Planning Phase

Answer 19

The design and planning phase (Selecting research design, developing intervention protocols, identifying the population, designing the sample plan, specifying methods to measure research variables, developing methods to safeguard participants, finalizing the research plan).

The RESEARCH DESIGN is the overall plan for obtaining answers to the research questions. Researchers select a specific design from the many experimental and nonexperimental research designs that are available. Specify how often data will be collected, what types of comparisons will be made, and where the study will take place. Identify strategies to minimize biases and to maximize the applicability of their research to real-­life settings. The research design is the architectural backbone of the study.

An INTERVENTION PROTOCOL must be developed for experimental research, creating an intervention (independent variable) and need to articulate its features. Goal is to ensure all people in each group are treated the same. Not necessary in nonexperimental research.

A POPULATION must be identified- the group of whom study results can be generalized; the group to be studied. All the individuals or objects with common defining characteristics.

Researchers collect data from a sample, which is a subset of the population. Risk is that the sample might not reflect the population’s traits. In a quantitative study, a sample’s adequacy is assessed by its size and REPRESENTATIVENESS. The quality of the sample depends on how typical, or representative, the sample is of the population.

The SAMPLING PLAN specifies how the sample will be selected and recruited and how many subjects there will be.

Quantitative researchers must identify methods to measure their research variables. The primary methods of data collection are self-­reports (e.g., interviews), observations (e.g., observing the sleep-­wake state of infants), and biophysiologic measurements (biomarkers). 
Self-­reports from patients are the largest class of data collection methods in nursing research. The task of selecting measures of research variables and developing a data collection plan is complex and challenging.

Researchers seeking financial support submit a proposal to a funding source, and reviewers usually suggest improvements.

Question 20

The Empirical Phase

Answer 20

Involves collecting data and preparing the data for analysis. Often, the empirical phase is the most time-­consuming part of the investigation. Data collection typically requires months of work.

The actual collection of data in quantitative studies often proceeds according to a preestablished plan. A data collection protocol typically spells out procedures for training data collection staff; for actually collecting data (e.g., the location and timing of gathering the data); and for recording information.
Technological advances have expanded possibilities for automating data collection.

Data collected in a quantitative study must be prepared for analysis.
One preliminary step is coding, which involves translating verbal data into numeric form (e.g., coding gender as “1” for females, “2” for males, and “3” for other).
Another step may involve transferring the data from written documents onto computer files for analysis.

Question 21

The Analytic Phase

Answer 21

Quantitative researchers analyze their data through statistical analyses, which include simple procedures (e.g., computing an average) as well as ones that are complex.
Some analytic methods are computationally formidable, but the underlying logic of statistical tests is fairly easy to grasp.
Computers have eliminated the need to get bogged down with mathematic operations.

Interpretation involves making sense of study results and examining their implications.

Researchers attempt to explain the findings in light of prior evidence, theory, and their own clinical experience—and in light of the adequacy of the methods they used in the study.

Interpretation also involves drawing conclusions about the clinical significance of the results, envisioning 
how the new evidence can be used in nursing practice, and suggesting what further research is needed.

Question 22

The Dissemination Phase

Answer 22

A study cannot contribute evidence to nursing practice if the results are not shared.

Another—and often final—task of a study is the preparation of a research report that summarizes the study.

Research reports can take various forms: dissertations, journal articles, conference presentations, and so on.
journal articles—reports appearing in professional journals such as Nursing Research—usually are the most useful because they are available to a broad, international audience.

Ideally, the concluding step of a high-­quality study is to plan for the use of the evidence in practice settings. Although nurse researchers may not themselves be able to implement a plan for using research findings, they can contribute to the process by making recommendations for utilizing the evidence, by ensuring that adequate information has been provided for a systemati

Question 23

Conceptualizing and Planning a Qualitative Study

Answer 23

Usually begin with a broad topic area, focusing on an aspect of a topic that is poorly understood and about which little is known. Often proceed with a fairly broad initial question, which may be narrowed and clarified on the basis of self-­reflection and discussion with others.
The specific focus and questions are usually delineated more clearly once the study is underway.

Qualitative researchers do not all agree about the value of doing an upfront literature review. Some believe that researchers should not consult the literature before collecting data because prior studies could influence conceptualization of the focal phenomenon.
In this view, the phenomena should be explicated based on participants’ viewpoints rather than on prior knowledge.
Those sharing this opinion often do a literature review at the end of the study.

Other researchers conduct a brief preliminary review to get a general grounding.

Still others believe that a full early literature review is appropriate. In any case, qualitative researchers typically find a small body of relevant previous work because of the types of question they ask.

Researchers may need to engage in anticipatory fieldwork to identify a suitable and information-­rich environment for the study. In some cases, researchers have ready access to the study site, but in others, they need to gain entrée.

A site may be well suited to the needs of the research, but if researchers cannot “get in,” the study cannot proceed. Gaining entrée typically involves negotiations with GATE KEEPERS who have the authority to permit entry into their world.

Qualitative researchers use an EMERGENT DESIGN that materializes during the course of data collection.

Certain design features may be guided by the qualitative research tradition within which the researcher is working, but few qualitative studies follow rigidly structured designs that prohibit changes while in the field.

Although qualitative researchers do not always know in advance exactly how the study will progress, they nevertheless must have some sense of how much time is available for fieldwork and must also arrange for and test needed equipment,

ethical issues even more of a concern- there are special concerns in qualitative studies because of the more intimate nature of the relationship that typically develops between researchers and study participants.

Question 24

Conducting a Qualitative Study

Answer 24

In qualitative studies, the tasks of sampling, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation typically take place iteratively.

Begin by talking with or observing a few people who have first-­hand experience with the phenomenon under study. The discussions and observations are loosely structured, allowing for the expression of a full range of beliefs, feelings, and behaviors.

Analysis and interpretation are ongoing, concurrent activities that guide choices about the kinds of people to sample next and the types of questions to ask or observations to make.

The process of data analysis involves clustering together related types of narrative information into a coherent scheme.

As analysis and interpretation progress, researchers begin to identify themes and categories (or stages in a process), which are used to build a rich description or theory of the phenomenon.

The kinds of data obtained and the people selected as participants tend to become increasingly purposeful as the conceptualization is developed and refined.

Concept development shapes the sampling process—as a conceptualization or theory emerges, the researcher seeks participants who can confirm and enrich the theoretical understandings, as well as participants who can potentially challenge them and lead to further theoretical development.

Qualitative researchers’ sampling decisions are guided by the data.
Use the principle of data saturation, which occurs when themes and categories in the data become repetitive and redundant, such that no new information can be gleaned by further data collection.

Qualitative researchers, by contrast, are the main data collection instrument and must take steps to demonstrate the trustworthiness of the data.
The central feature of these efforts is to confirm that the findings accurately reflect the experiences and viewpoints of participants rather than the researcher’s perceptions.

One confirmatory activity, for example, involves going back to participants and sharing interpretations with them so that they can evaluate whether the researcher’s thematic analysis is consistent with their experiences.

Question 25

Disseminating Qualitative FIndings

Answer 25

Qualitative nurse researchers also share their findings with others at conferences and in journal articles.

Regardless of researchers’ positions about when a literature review should be conducted, a summary of prior research is usually offered in qualitative reports as a means of providing context for the study.

Qualitative reports are usually filled with rich verbatim passages directly from participants.

The excerpts are used in an evidentiary fashion to support or illustrate researchers’ interpretations and thematic construction.

Usually contain RAW DATA- data that is still in the form it was collected. Usually, fill with rick verbatim passages directly from participants.

Question 26

Emergent Design

Answer 26

Qualitative nurse researchers also share their findings with others at conferences and in journal articles. Regardless of researchers’ positions about when a literature review should be conducted, a summary of prior research is usually offered in qualitative reports as a means of providing context for the study.
Quantitative reports almost never contain raw data—that is, data in the form they were collected, which are numeric values. Qualitative reports, by contrast, are usually filled with rich verbatim passages directly from participants. The excerpts are used in an evidentiary fashion to support or illustrate researchers’ interpretations and thematic construction.

Question 26

Emergent Design

Answer 26

Qualitative researchers, by contrast, use an emergent design that materializes during the course of data collection.

Certain design features may be guided by the qualitative research tradition within which the researcher is working, but few qualitative studies follow rigidly structured designs that prohibit changes while in the field.

Although qualitative researchers do not always know in advance exactly how the study will progress, they nevertheless must have some sense of how much time is available for fieldwork and must also arrange for and test needed equipment, such as laptop computers or cameras.

Question 27

Data Saturation

Answer 27

Qualitative researchers use the principle of data saturation, which occurs when themes and categories in the data become repetitive and redundant, such that no new information can be gleaned by further data collection.

Question 28

Journal Articles

Answer 28

Research journal articles, which summarize the background, design, and results of a study, are the primary method of disseminating research evidence.

Question 29

IMRAD

Answer 29

Many quantitative and qualitative journal articles follow a conventional organization called the IMRAD format.

This format involves organizing material into four main sections—Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

The text of the report is usually preceded by an abstract and followed by cited references.

Intro
Methods
Results
Discussion

Question 30

Abstract

Answer 30

Brief description of the study is placed at beginning of the article.
About 250 words

What were the research questions asked?
What methods did the researchers use to address the questions?
What did the researchers find?
What are the implications?

Readers reviewed abstract to assess whether the entire report is of interest

Question 31

IMRAD- Introduction

Answer 31

Communicates the research problem and its context

1) The central phenomena, concepts, or variables under study
2) The population of interested
2) Current state of evidence, based on a brief literature review
4) theoretical framework
5) The study purpose, research questions, or hypotheses to be tested
6) The study’s significance

Question 32

IMRAD- Methods

Answer 32

Describes methods used to answer the research questions

Lays out methodical decisions made in the design and planning phase and may offer rationales for those decisions.

Quantitative study: methods section usually describes: the research design, the sampling plan, methods of data collection and specific instrument used, study procedures and ethical safeguards, and analytic processes and measurements.

Qualitative discuss same issues but with different emphases. Often provides more information about the research setting and the study context, less info on sampling. Because formal instruments are not used to collect data, there is less discussion about the data collection method. Reports may include descriptions of the researcher’s efforts to enhance the trustworthiness of the study.

Question 33

IMRAD- Results

Answer 33

Present the FINDINGS of the data analyses.

Summarizes the findings

Description of participants (avg age, percentage male/female)

Quantitative- goes into great detail of findings. provides information about the STATISTICAL TESTS used to test hypotheses and to evaluate the believability of the findings.
Will include: the statistical tests used, the value of the calculated statistic, the STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE- meaning the findings are probably reliable and replicable with a new sample

LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE; how probably it is that the findings are reliable. Researchers can have a high degree of confidence, but not total assurance, that the results are reliable.

Qualitative- excerpts from raw data included to support and provide a rich description of the thematic analysis. May also present the researcher’s emerging theory about the phenomenon under study.

Question 34

Statistically Significant

Answer 34

The findings are probably reliable and replicable with a new sample

Question 35

IMRAD- Discussion

Answer 35

Researchers draw conclusions about what the results mean and how the evidence can be used in practice

Quantitative and Qualitative may both include the following elements:
The degree to which results are consistent with previous research
an interpretation of the results and their clinical significance
implications for clinical practice and for future research
study limitations and ramifications for the integrity of the results

A discussion section that presents these limitations demonstrates to readers that the author was aware of these limitations and probably took them into account in interpreting the findings.