Module 1 - Chapter 2 Flashcards
Nursing science
generates the evidence to support nursing interventions and cannot be separated from nursing practice.
How did Kaplan define scientific method?
- incorporating all procedures that scientists have used, currently use, or may use in the future to pursue knowledge.
- asking and answering questions in a systematic way to ensure the answers are as accurate as possible
- These broad definitions embrace the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in developing research evidence for practice.
logical positivism or empiricism
philosophies consistent with the belief that absolute truth existed and only needed to be discovered.
postpositivism
truth was not absolute and science could reveal knowledge with a probability of being accurate
How is scientific knowledge generated?
generated through the testing of deductive theories, an application of logical principles, and reasoning whereby the researcher adopts a distant and noninteractive posture with the research subject to prevent bias
quantitative research
formal, objective, systematic study process implemented to obtain numerical data to answer a research question.
This research method is used to describe variables, examine relationships among variables, and determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is used to describe what?
is used to describe variables, examine relationships among variables, and determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables
Qualitative research
systematic, interactive, subjective, holistic, scholarly approach used to describe life experiences, cultures, and social processes from the perspectives of the persons involved in their natural settings
This type of research is conducted to explore, describe, and promote understanding of human experiences, situations, events, and cultures over time.
Qualitative research
Why is Qualitative research conducted?
This type of research is conducted to explore, describe, and promote understanding of human experiences, situations, events, and cultures over time.
How is Quantitative and qualitative research complement each other
generate different kinds of knowledge that are useful in nursing practice.
What determine the type of research to be conducted
The problem to be studied and purpose
What are the similarities between quantitative and qualitative research?
-require researcher expertise,
-follow steps of the research process, involve rigor in implementation,
-and result in the generation of scientific knowledge for nursing practice.
Mixed methods research
quantitative and qualitative combined in a study
What is the philosophical origin for quantitative research?
Logical positivism, postpositivism
What is the philosophical origin for Qualitative Research
Naturalistic, interpretive, humanistic
Focus of quantitative research?
concise, objective, reductionistic
Focus of qualitative research?
broad, subjective, holistic
Reasoning of quantitative research?
Logical, deductive
Reasoning of qualitative?
dialectic, inductive
Basis of knowing: quantitative
cause and effect relationship
Basis of knowing - qualitative
Meaning, discovery, understanding
Theoretical Focus : Quantitative
tests theory
Theoretical focus: qualitatative
Develops theory and frameworks
Researcher involvement: quantitative
Control
Researcher involvement: qualitative
Shared interpretation
Data collection methods: quantitative
Structured interviews, questionnaires, observations, scales, physiological measures
Data collection methods: qualitative
Unstructured interviews, observations, focus groups
data: qualitative
Words
Data: quantitative
Numbers
Analysis: quantitative
Statistical analysis
Analysis: qualitative
text based analysis
Findings: quantitative
Acceptance or rejection of theoretical propositions, generalization
Findings: qualitative
Uniqueness, dynamic, understanding of phenomena, new theory, models, and/or frameworks
logical positivism,
branch of philosophy which operates on strict rules of logic, truth, laws, axioms, and predictions.
What position does a quantitative researcher hold- in relation to logical positivism?
truth is absolute and that there is a single reality that one could define by careful measurement.
To find truth as a quantitative researcher, what do you need to be - in relation to logical positivism
objective, meaning that your values, feelings, and personal perceptions cannot influence the measurement of reality.
What does a quantitative researcher believe in relation to logical positivism ?
all human behavior is objective, purposeful, and measurable.
postpositivist philosophy
- evolved from positivism
- focuses on discovery of reality - characterized by patterns and trends that can be used to describe, explain, and predict phenomena
What is postpositivist philosophy about truth?
truth can be discovered only imperfectly and in a probabilistic sense, in contrast to the positivist ideal of establishing cause-and-effect explanations of immutable facts
What idea does postpositvist approach reject?
the idea that the researcher is completely objective about what is to be discovered but continues to emphasize the need to control environmental influences
What does qualitative researcher value?
interpretive methodological approach consistent with subjective science
Where this qualitative research evolve?
behavioral and social sciences as a method of understanding the unique, dynamic, holistic nature of human beings.
What is the philosophic basis of qualitative research?
interpretive, humanistic, and naturalistic and is concerned with helping those involved understand the meaning of their social interactions.
What does qualitative researcher believe about the truth?
truth is both complex and dynamic and can be found only by studying persons as they interact with and within their sociohistorical settings
Reductionism
breaking the whole into parts so that the parts can be examined.
What happens when there is involvement of the researcher in the quantitative study?
Researcher involvement in the study is thought to bias or sway the study toward the perceptions and values of the researcher, and biasing a study is considered poor scientific technique
What is the intent for qualitative research?
to reveal meaning about a phenomenon from the naturalistic perspective
What does quantitative researcher use control for?
The investigator uses control to identify and limit the problem to be researched and attempts to limit the effects of extraneous or other variables that are not the focus of the study.
Why is statistical analysis conducted in quantitative research?
Statistical analyses are conducted to reduce and organize data, describe variables, examine relationships, predict outcomes, and determine differences among groups
What increases validity of a quantitative research?
Control, precise measurement methods, and statistical analyses
What is involved in generalization?
Generalization involves the application of trends or general tendencies (which are identified by studying a sample) to the population from which the sample was drawn.
What does a sound generalization require?
sound generalization requires the support of many studies with a variety of samples
How does qualitative researcher gather data?
Qualitative researchers use observations, interviews, and focus groups to gather data.
Qualitative data
words recorded on paper or electronically.
What is the intent of analysis with qualitative research?
to organize the data into a meaningful, individualized interpretation, framework, or theory that describes the phenomenon studied.
What are the types of qualitative research?
- descriptive research
- correlational research
- quasi-experimental research
- experimental research
What are the different types of qualitative research?
-Phenomenological research
-grounded theory research
-ethnographical research
-exploratory-descriptive qualitative
What does descriptive research provide
provides an accurate portrayal or account of characteristics of a specific individual, situation, or group
What does descriptive research offer?
Descriptive studies offer researchers a way to (1) discover new meaning, (2) describe what exists, (3) determine the frequency with which something occurs, and (4) categorize information.
When are descriptive studies usually conducted?
Descriptive studies are usually conducted when little is known about a phenomenon and provide the basis for the conduct of correlational studies.
Correlational research
involves the systematic investigation of relationships between or among two or more variables that have been identified in theories, observed in practice, or both
What is the primary intent of a correlational study?
to explain the nature of relationships, not to determine cause and effect.
Correlational studies are the means for?
generating hypotheses to guide quasi-experimental and experimental studies that focus on examining cause-and-effect interactions
What is the purpose of quasi experimental studies?
(1) to identify causal relationships, (2) to examine the significance of causal relationships, (3) to clarify why certain events happened, or (4) a combination of these objectives
which study is more powerful? Quasi-experimental or experimental
Experimental
Whys is quasi-experimental not as strong as experimental?
because they involve a lower level of control in at least one of three areas: (1) manipulation of the treatment or independent variable, (2) manipulation of the setting, and (3) assignment of subjects to groups.
Experimental research
-objective, systematic, controlled investigation conducted for the purpose of predicting and controlling phenomena.
-his type of research examines causality
What is the most powerful quantitative method?
Experimental research
What are the 3 main characteristics of experimental studies
(1) a controlled manipulation of at least one treatment variable (independent variable), (2) administration of the treatment to some of the subjects in the study (experimental group) and not to others (control group), and (3) random selection of subjects or random assignment of subjects to groups, or both
Which type of experimental research produces the strongest research evidence for practice form a single source or study?
RCT
humanistic study of phenomena.
Phenomenological research
Phenomenological research
humanistic study of phenomena.
What is the aim of phenomenological research?
aim of phenomenology is to explore an experience as it is lived by the study participants and interpreted by the researcher.
How is participants’ lived experiences are expressed in a phenomenological research?
through the researcher’s interpretations that are obtained from immersion in the study data and the underlying philosophy of the phenomenological study.
Grounded theory research
- inductive research method
inductive research method
Grounded theory research
What is grounded theory research useful for?
- useful for discovering what problems exist in a social setting and the processes people use to handle them
-is particularly useful when little is known about the area to be studied or when what is known does not provide a satisfactory explanation
What does grounded theory methodology emphasizes
interaction, observation, and development of relationships among concepts.
What does the researcher to through the process of grounded research
the researcher explores, proposes, formulates, and validates relationships among the concepts until a theory evolves.
Ethnographical research
developed by anthropologists to investigate cultures through in-depth study of the members of the cultures.
What does ethnographical research attempt to do?
This type of research attempts to tell the story of people’s daily lives while describing the culture in which they live.
What is the ethnographical research process
systematic collection, description, and analysis of data to develop a description of cultural behavior.
Exploratory-descriptive qualitative research
is conducted to address an issue or problem in need of a solution and/or understanding.
What does Exploratory-descriptive qualitative research lack?
lacks a clearly identified qualitative methodology, such as phenomenology, grounded theory, or ethnography
Mixed methods research
conducted when the study problem and purpose are best addressed using both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
Outcomes research
examines the results of care and measures the changes in health status of patients
What does EBP involve?
involves the use of best research evidence to guide clinical decision making in practice.
Best research evidence
summary of the highest quality, current empirical knowledge in a specific area of health care that is developed from a synthesis of quality studies in that area
Describe the synthesis of study findings for best research evidence
The synthesis of study findings is a complex, highly structured process that is conducted most effectively by at least two researchers or even a team of expert researchers and healthcare providers.
What adds to the quality of the research evidence?
Replicating or repeating of studies with similar methodology
How are the strength and weaknesses of the studies determined?
by critically appraising the credibility or trustworthiness of the study findings
what are the processes that are usually conducted to synthesize research in nursing and health care:
(2) meta-analysis, (3) meta-synthesis, and (4) mixed methods research synthesis.
What is the purpose of the systematic review synthesis?
Systematically identify, select, critically appraise, and synthesize research evidence to address a particular problem in practice (
Types of Research Included in the Synthesis (Sampling Frame) For systematic review
Quantitative studies with similar methodology, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and meta-analyses focused on a practice problem
Analysis for achieving synthesis with systematic review
Narrative and statistical
Meta Analysis - Purpose of synthesis
Pooling of the results from several previous studies using statistical analysis to determine the effect of an intervention or the strength of relationships
Meta Analysis - Types of research
Quantitative studies with similar methodology, such as quasi-experimental and experimental studies focused on the effect of an intervention, or correlational studies focused on selected relationships
Meta Analysis - Analysis of achieving synthesis
Statistical
Meta-synthesis - Purpose of synthesis
Systematic compilation and integration of qualitative studies to expand understanding and develop a unique interpretation of the studies’ findings in a selected area
Meta - Synthesis : Types of research
Original qualitative studies and summaries of qualitative studies
Meta - Synthesis - Analysis of achieving synthesis
Narrative
Mixed methods research synthesis - Purpose of synthesis
Synthesis of the findings from independent studies conducted with a variety of methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods) to determine the current knowledge in an area
Mixed methods research synthesis: Types of research
Variety of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies
Mixed methods research synthesis- Analysis of achieving synthesis
Narrative and sometime statistical
systematic review
structured, comprehensive synthesis of the research literature conducted to determine the best research evidence available to address a healthcare question.
What is involved in a systematic review?
identifying, locating, appraising, and synthesizing quality research evidence for expert clinicians to use to promote an EBP
meta-analysis
conducted to statistically pool the results from previous studies into a single quantitative analysis that provides one of the highest levels of evidence about an intervention’s effectiveness
What are the studies usually synthesized in meta-analysis
- usually quasi-experimental or experimental types of studies that are measuring the same outcome variable in similar ways.
- a meta-analysis can be performed using correlational studies to determine the type (positive or negative) and strength of relationships among selected variables
Where is the the strongest evidence for using an intervention in practice generated from?
it is generated from a meta-analysis of multiple, controlled quasi-experimental and experimental studies.
Qualitative research synthesis
is the process and product of systematically reviewing and formally integrating the findings from qualitative studies
Meta-synthesis
the systematic compiling and integration of qualitative study results to expand understanding and develop a unique interpretation of study findings in a selected area
mixed methods research synthesis
synthesis of a variety of quantitative and qualitative study findings
What can contribute to strengthening and validity the evidence?
- quality and quantity of the studies conducted in the area.
- Consistent findings among the studies, such as the effectiveness of a specific intervention,
- the conduct of studies with similar frameworks, research variables, designs, and measurement methods increase the strength of the research evidence generated in an area
Level 1
Systemic review and meta-analysis;
Level-2:
Randomized controlled trail (RCT) or experimental study;
Level-3:
Quasi-experimental study;
Level-4:
Descriptive correlational, predictive correlational, and cohort studies.
Level-5:
Mixed methods research syntheses and qualitative meta-syntheses.
Level-6:
Descriptive study and qualitative study;
Level-7:
Opinions of expert committees and authorities.
EBP guidelines
are rigorous, explicit clinical guidelines that are based on the best research evidence available in an area.
