Chapter 13: Mixed Methods and Other Special Types of Research

Question 1

Mixed-methods research is the combination of _________ and _________ study elements in a single published research study.

Answer 1

quantitative and qualitative

The idea is that the topic requires both types of research to effectively study it–Pragmatism

Question 2

Mixed-methods research:

Three general reasons to use both qualitative and quantitative studies:

Answer 2

1- Complementarity: each approach complements each other and using both types of research mitigates the limitations from a single study type

2- Practicality: for complex issues, it is practical to use multiple tools to best address the phenomena of interest

3- Enhanced validity: more data sources that support a hypothesis make the hypothesis stronger.

Question 3

Mixed-methods research can be used when there are two research questions. Give some examples:

Answer 3

when a concept is new and qualitative exploration is needed, a single approach is not sufficient to explore the concept; the findings can be enhanced with concurrent data from a second study

Qualitative results can help explain the quantitative results, both types of data are required to support the perspective, and multiple project phases are needed to address the issue.
Those reasons are similar and not 6 distinct reasons.

Question 4

Mixed-methods Research Types: (5)

Answer 4

1) Concurrent
2) Sequential
3) Convergent
4) Explanatory
5) Exploratory

Question 5

______ designs have both quantitative and qualitative studies occurring at the same time.

What Symbol indicates this type of method?

Answer 5

Concurrent

A “+” symbol
Ex: QUAL + quan

Question 6

_______ designs clearly have one study type finish before the second happens, or they occur in phases.

What Symbol indicates this type of method?

Answer 6

Sequential

A “–>” symbol indicates a second phase
Ex: QUAN –> qual (quantitative study = 1st phase)

Question 7

Mixed-methods Research:
Uppercase letters versus Lowercase letters:
(Ex: QUAN/qual)

Answer 7

Uppercase letters include the weight of the study type in the research project.

Lowercase letters mean it is less significant

-QUAN in capital letters means the quantitative method is significant.

Question 8

What is both QUAN/QUAL are Uppercase letters?

Answer 8

If both QUAN and QUAL are capitalized, then both types are of equal weight.

Question 9

________ designs obtain different complementary data about a phenomenon.

The goal is to…..?

Concurrent or Sequential? Weighted?

Answer 9

Convergent

The goal is to converge on the truth.

Concurrent and have EQUAL weight applied to both types.

Ex: QUAL + QUAN

Question 10

_______ designs are sequential designs where quantitative data is collected first. The qualitative study data is used to explain the results from the quantitative study.

Answer 10

Explanatory

QUAN -> qual OR quan -> QUAL

Question 11

_______ designs are sequential designs where qualitative data is collected first. The quantitative study is used to explore the results from the qualitative study.

Answer 11

Exploratory

QUAL -> quan OR qual -> QUAN

Question 12

Mixed-methods Research: Sampling
The sample for a mixed-methods study can begin with a ____ (small/large?) sample based on the quantitative study. The sample for the qualitative study can be tested, or a ______ (small/large?) from the sample used in the quantitative study.

Answer 12

large

Small subset

Question 13

Mixed-methods Research: Data Collection

Depends on….

Answer 13

The study type
An RCT could collect data with biophysiological measures of patients trialing a new medication for a condition.
A Phenomenological approach could collect data through semi-structured interviews with a small sample of the population to explore the patient’s lived experiences with the condition.

Question 14

Mixed-methods Research: Intervention Research
______ ______ test clinical interventions.

Example?

Answer 14

Clinical trials

Clinical trials are commonly used for approving medications for use.

Question 15

Mixed-methods Research: Intervention Research
4 Phases of Clinical Trials:

What’s the most common quantitative research type used?

Answer 15

Phase I: establishes safety, tolerance, and dose with a simple design. Focus –> developing the best treatment

Phase II: pilot test of treatment effectiveness. Researchers see if the intervention is feasible and acceptable. Designed as a small-scale experiment.

Phase III: RCT, when the intervention is tested against usual care to determine if it improves. RCT is the most often discussed version of a clinical trial in research.

Phase IV: studies of the effectiveness in the general population without the control or artificial conditions provided by an RCT.

Question 16

Mixed-methods Research: Intervention Research

________ _______ focuses on developing useful information about a program or policy.

Answer 16

Evaluation research

Question 17

Mixed-methods Research: Intervention Research

Name the 2 Types of Evaluation Research Types:

Answer 17

1) Process analysis

2) Economic analysis

Question 18

Mixed-methods Research: Evaluation Research
A(n) _______ or cost analysis seeks to determine if an intervention is financially feasible.

What’s the purpose?

Answer 18

economic analysis

This type of research, in general, doesn’t seek to increase the body of research knowledge, but rather affirm or approve a potential quality improvement initiative, making it considered non-research-based.

Question 19

Mixed-methods Research: Evaluation Research

A _______ analysis seeks to understand what is the treatment, how is it different from traditional practices, what are the barriers to implementation, how do staff and patients feel about it, and in general how it functions.

Primarily uses _____ (quantitative/qualitative?) data.

Answer 19

process analysis

uses mostly qualitative data.

Question 20

Mixed-methods Research:
______ _________ research involves the use of complex interventions rather than the single intervention seen in a clinical trial, but essentially has the same phases.

Answer 20

Nursing intervention research

Question 21

Mixed-methods Research: Nursing intervention research
An _______ theory is used to clearly state what must be done to achieve the desired outcome.

What does it include/identify?

A _____-based approach

Answer 21

An intervention theory

It identifies and includes key stakeholders in the study.

A Team-based approach

Question 22

What’s the difference between Clinical Trials and Nursing Intervention Research?

Answer 22

Nursing Intervention research is more extensive than a clinical trial, and much less present in literature.

Question 23

Mixed-methods Research: Other

Name 3 Other mixed-method studies

Answer 23

1) Health Services Research
2) Survey Research
3) Quality Improvement Studies

Question 24

Mixed-methods Research: Other

_____ _______ Research examines how organizational structures and processes, health technologies, social factors, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the cost and quality of health care, and people’s health and well-being.

Answer 24

Health Services Research

Question 25

Subtype of Health Services Research:

What is it?

Answer 25

Outcomes Research

Outcomes research focuses on examining the effect of healthcare on the outcome of patients.

Question 26

It can be difficult to identify the quality of nursing care for an individual unit in a hospital versus the rated quality of the hospital as a whole.

In order to help with this, ________-_________ indicators or _______-______ indicators are used.

Answer 26

nursing-sensitive indicators

nursing-quality indicators

Question 27

Why are Nursing-sensitive/quality Indicators important?

Answer 27

Research has proven that increasing the quantity or quality of nursing care leads to an improvement in the indicator demonstrating that nursing quality of care has increased.

Question 28

Mixed-methods Research: Other
______ Research obtains quantitative information about variables in a population, one that is usually from a nonclinical population.

How is data collected?

Answer 28

Survey
Data is generally collected through interviews and questionnaires.

The information is generally superficial in nature. Surveys are flexible and offer a broad scope.

Question 29

Mixed-methods Research: Other
______ ________ studies seek to improve practices and processes within a specific organization, NOT to generate knowledge that can be generalized beyond the organization.

Answer 29

Quality Improvement

Question 30

QI studies follow the ______ process.

Answer 30

Plan, Do, Study, Act process (PDSA)

Question 31

Mixed-methods Research: QI Studies
P =
D =
S =
A =

Answer 31

PLAN a change and develop a test or observation, including a plan for data collection.

DO: Try out the change on a small scale

STUDY: Review and analyze the data, study the results, and identify what has been learned.

ACT: Refine the change and take action based on the lessons learned from the test.