Quantitative Research Flashcards
used to answer questions with…
numerical, quantifiable elements
demonstrates
that there is an association or relationship between variables
ex.
association between second hand smoke and childhood asthma,
or
association between therapy and depression
quantitative research can never…
measure all possible variables that could influence an outcome
ex. other variables associated with childhood asthma could be genetics, sociodemographic status, environmental exposures, diet, exercise
experimental quantitative research
has an intervention, control group, dependent and independent groups
Used to determine if an intervention is beneficial
- Randomized Controlled Trial or Quasi-Experimental
- Used to determine EFFECT of an intervention
- The cause (intervention or independent variable) is manipulated
- Always has a control group for comparison
- Outcome measures are used to determine if the intervention was beneficial (dependent variable): measures the effect of the intervention
- Can be reflected as a PICO question
non-experimental quantitative research
no intervention
Used to describe a relationship between two or more variables
- Correlational or Descriptive
- Can be reflected as a PIO or PI-CO question
ex.
PIO: Among children with asthma (P), does exposure to second hand smoke in the home (I) increase number of hospitalizations due to asthma exacerbations (O)?
experimental design
strongest design
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Quasi-Experimental (no randomization)
non-experimental
Descriptive-Correlational Designs
- Cross-sectional
- Cohort studies
- Ecological Studies
experimental design
> randomized control trials
Used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention OR causality
- cause and effect
Has a CONTROL GROUP
– this is required to determine effect of the intervention
- usually Standard Nursing Care
data collection methods:
clinical
> blood pressure, height, weight, caloric intake
non-clinical
> quality of life questionnaire, patient satisfaction questionnaire
independent variable
The Independent Variable CAUSES variation/changes in the Dependent Variable
Variable that is believed to cause or influence the dependent variable in experimental research
The INTERVENTION under study
dependent variable
The Dependent Variable DEPENDS upon the Independent Variable
Variable that depends on or is caused by the independent variable
The outcome measure to determine effectiveness of the independent variable
intervention
Does the researcher have an intervention?
Do a group of participants receive the intervention?
control group
Does the researcher have a control group to compare the intervention group to?
randomization
Does the researcher randomly allocate the participants to either the intervention or the control group?
Why is this important?
- Every participant has an equal chance of being included in any group
- Decreases bias – which can alter results
- Ensures that participants have equal characteristics at baseline
Randomized Control Trials Characteristics
- aims to involve as large of number of subjects as possible: sample size
- strict inclusion criteria to be part of the study
- participants are randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group
- subjects in each group must be comparable/equivalent on key characteristics at baseline
> > you can determine this at the beginning of the findings when they describe the demographic characteristics of the study and control groups - the intervention is consistently implemented to all subjects in the experimental group
> >follows a strict predetermined protocol
quasi-experimental designs
not ‘TRUE’ experimental designs
because:
- no randomization
- no control group
- no pre-test (post-test) only
Can still be helpful, but have significant limitations and biases
