Ch 18 - Mixed Methods and Other Special Types of Research Flashcards
Advantages of mixed methods
- Complementarity
- Practicality- use whichever works best in the current research situation
- Incrementality- build off each other
- Enhanced Validity- supported by multiple types of data, triangulation
Pragmatism
provides basis for a position that has been stated as the “dictatorship of the research question”
researchers consider that it is the research question that should drive the inquire and it’s design/methods, don’t want to force a specific type of research on a study
Aspects of MM research questions
- exploratory questions (qualitative)
- —-combined with——- - confirmatory questions (quantitative)
Examine
- causal effects: quantitative
- causal mechanisms: qualitative
What situations are good for MM?
- concepts that are poorly understood
- findings that can be enhanced by another source of data
- when picking one approach wouldn’t be sufficient
- when quantitative results are difficult to interpret
Situation for MM: Developmental Work
NEW construct - qualitative research helps to capture full complexity
-qualitative research can help form research questions for quantitative research
Situation for MM: Hypothesis Generating and Testing
qualitative studies may bring to light insights into constructs/relationships and then an be studying/tested with larger quantitative samples
Situation for MM: Explication
qualitative provides meaning behind quantitative descriptions/relationships (WHY - clarification)
Situation for MM: Theory Building, Testing, and Refinement
an ambitious application of MM
–>if a theory can survive both qualitative and quantitative study then it will provide stronger contest for the clinical work
Decisions in MM: Design Decisions/Notation
- Sequencing
-qual first, quant first, both simultaneously (concurrent)
QUAN –> qual, QUAN + qual, or QUAN (qual) - Prioritization
–>deciding which approach to emphasize
(equal status vs. dominant status)
ex. QUAL/quant, QUANT/qual, or QUANT/QUAL
Decisions in MM: Specific MM Designs
- convergent parallel design
- embedded design
- explanatory designs
- exploratory designs
Convergent Parallel (Triangulation) Design
- ->seek to obtain different, but complementary data bayou the central phenomenon
- goal to converge truth about a problem/phenomenon by allowing the limitations of one approach to be offset by the strengths of the other
(QUAL + QUAN) = data collected simultaneously and with equal priority
Embedded Design
oen type of data is used in a supportive capacity in a study based primarily on the other data type
QUAL(quan) or QUAN (qual)
Explanatory Design
sequential designs with quantitative data collected int he first phase, followed by qualitative data collected in second phase
–>qualitative builds on the quantitative
QUAN –> qual
Exploratory Design
qualitative data collected first (explore in-depth a poorly understood topic) and then quantitive data to focus on measuring/classifying it
(QUAL –> quan) or (QUAL –> QUAN)
Decisions in MM: Sampling and Data Collection
Quant: rely on sampling strategy that enhances researchers ability to generalize from sample to broader population
Qual: adopt purposeful sampling method to select information-rich cases who are good informants
Sample size: different in qual vs. quan, issue: people can be in both strands (useful in nested approach)
Data Collection:
- group/individual interviews
- psychosocial scales
- observations
- biophysiological measures, etc
- ->intramethod mixing
Intervention Research
relies on MM to develop, refine, test, and understand the intervention (ex. clinical trials, evaluation research)
Intervention Research: Clinical Trials
designed to assess clinical interventions - test an innovative therapy/drug
Phase I: establish safety, develop best treatment
Phase II: pilot test of treatment effectiveness, see if tx holds promise, side effects, and possible refinement (small scale or quasi-experiment)
Phase III: full experimental test of the tx (RCT w/random assignment) - develop evidence about the treatment’s efficacy (better than the alternative)
Phase IV: studies of the effectiveness of an intervention in the general population - external validity
Intervention Research: Evaluation Research
focuses on developing useful information about a program/policy
–>decide whether to adopt, modify, or abandon
- process analysis
- impact analysis
- economic (cost) analysis
Process Analysis
undertaken to obtain descriptive information about the process by which a program gets implemented/functions
- ->what is the program and why is it better than alternatives?
- ->what are berries of successful implementation?
- qualitative data play BIG role
Impact Analysis
researchers seek to identify the program’s NET IMPACT , over and above usual care
–>phase III of clinical trial (quasi-experiment) - aim to make causal inference about the benefits of a special program
Economic (Cost) Analysis
assess whether the program’s benefits outweigh the cost
Intervention Research: Nursing Intervention Research
research approach distinguished by it’s process of planning, developing, testing, and disseminating interventions
-similar to clinical trial phases
- basic developmental research
- ->key “stakeholders” are brought on board to benefit from intervention - pilot research
- -> secure preliminary evidence of the benefits to refine and assess feasibility of rigorous test - efficacy research
- ->full Experiment, real-world clinical setting - effectiveness research
Intervention theory
clearly articulate what must be done to achieve desired outcomes
-creates the intervention design, specifies clinical inputs, and duration/intensity of the intervention
Health Services Research
borad interdisciplinary field that studies how organizational structures/processes, health technologies, social factors, and personal behaviors affect one’s:
- ACCESS to healthcare
- COST/QUALITY of healthcare
- Ultimately people’s HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Outcomes Research
subset of health services research
- -> efforts to understand the END RESULTS of particular health care practices and to assess the EFFECTIVENESS of health care services
- seek to justify care practices in terms of improved pt outcome/costs
Framework of Outcomes Research
- Structure: broad organizational/administrative features, ex. nursing skill mix
- Process: aspects of clinical management, decision making, and clinical interventions
- Outcomes: specific clinical end results of patient care
Survey Research
Survey: obtains quantitative information about prevalence, distribution, and interrelations of variables within a population
- used mostly in correlation data, from nonnlincal populations
- most respected: personal interviews
- flexible/broad, may be superficial
Secondary Analysis
using data gathered in previous study to address new questions
-efficient/economical b/c don’t do own data collection
Uses:
- variables and relationships among variables that weren’t analyzed in previous study
- focuses on a particular subset of original population
Methodological Research
entails investigations of the methods for conducting rigorous research
- address development, validation, and evaluation of research tools/methods
- in qualitative: methodological issues arise within context of substantive study, rather than originate on own
