Step 2: Design the Study Flashcards
What are the methodologies that may be used for a study?
Quantitative
Focused on measurable outcomes
Testing a hypothesis/theory
Qualitative
Focus on understanding a phenomenon leading to theory development
Mixed
Combination of quantitative and qualitative
What type of methodology focuses on measurable outcomes?
Quantitative
What type of methodology focuses on understanding phenomenon leading to theory development?
Qualitative
Define a population and sample.
How do we know what size of sample to use?
Population
Large group of people who could participate in the research
Sample
Representative of the population
Larger sample size required in quantitative research to enable generalization
Small sample size required in qualitative research; goal is to achieve data saturation
What type of data is collected for each type of study?
Quantitative studies collect numeric data
Qualitative data collects narrative, in-depth data
What are the basic ethical principles that must be considered when designing a study?
o Autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice
o Informed consent
o Ethic review boards
What must be demonstrated in quantitative studies that must be considered when designing the study?
Validity
* External – Findings can be generalized to the public
* Internal – did the study measure what it is supposed to measure
Reliability
* Degree of consistency in recording data
What must be demonstrated in qualitative studies that must be considered when designing the study?
REMEMBER: CC DAT to me
Rigour – trustworthiness of the results defined by:
* Credibility
* Confirmability
* Dependability
* Authenticity
* Transferability
How is the researcher views of ontology, epistemology, and axiology shown in their study design?
The methodology they choose, so qualitative, quantitative, or mixed
What influences a researchers decision about what type of methodology to use for a study?
How the researcher views ontology, epistemology and axiology
o Influenced by ways of knowing and the particular paradigm that we attest to
Each influences the methodology that will be used in research to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how
Asks how do we find out? What strategies are used?
Describe the mixed methodology
What types of approaches of mixed methods did we discuss?
Design study that analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data
Commonly used in program evaluation, organizational studies, and policy development
Specific approaches in this course:
o Sequential - Quantitative followed by qualitative or vise versa
o Concurrent - Quantitative and qualitative at the same time
o Transformative - Want to make some kind of change in the population we are studying
What is the sequential mixed method?
Quantitative followed by qualitative or vise versa
What is the concurrent mixed method?
Quantitative and qualitative at the same time
What is the transformative mixed method?
Want to make some kind of change in the population we are studying
What type of study design uses the positivist/postpositivist paradigm?
Quantitative
What type of study design uses the constructivist/interpretivist paradigm?
Qualitative
What type of study design uses the researcher’s point of view?
Quantitative
What type of study design uses the participant’s point of view?
Qualitative
What type of study design believes that there is only one reality and minimizes context?
Quantitative
What type of study design uses deductive reasoning?
Quantitative
What type of study design studies concepts, constructs, and variables?
Quantitative
What type of study design looks for reliability, validity, and generalizability in their quality of evidence?
Quantitative
What type of study design uses identified concepts are investigated for relationships?
Quantitative
What type of study design tests/explores the relationships among concepts?
Quantitative
What type of study design results in an outcome that accepts or rejects a proposed theory or hypothesis?
Quantitative
What type of study design aims to describe, explain, predict or control?
Quantitative
What type of study design requires a researcher that is neutral and without bias?
Quantitative
What type of study design utilizes a fixed design?
Quantitative
What type of study design looks at a narrowed picture?
Quantitative
What type of study design Uses a contrived setting?
Quantitative
What type of study design collects numerical values, closed-ended data collection, and highly structured writing
Quantitative
What type of study design uses experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental designs?
Quantitative
What type of study design is value-laden?
Qualitative
What type of study design is value-free?
Quantitative
What type of study design values objectivity?
Quantitative
What type of study design values subjectivity?
Qualitative
What type of study design believes that multiple realities exist and in which the context is emphasized?
Qualitative
What type of study design uses inductive reasoning?
Qualitative
What type of study design studies phenomena and concepts?
Qualitative
What type of study design view trustworthiness as the measure of the quality of evidence?
Qualitative
What type of study design identifies concepts or patterns?
Qualitative
What type of study design describes a situation and possibly develops a theory?
Qualitative
What type of study design has an outcome that illuminates a situation or concept or builds a theory?
Qualitative
What type of study design aims to describe or understand?
Qualitative
What type of study design has the researcher involved as an active participant and bias is recognized?
Qualitative
What type of study design has an emerging design?
Qualitative
What type of study design utilizes a complex picture?
Qualitative
What type of study design believes the setting and context are important?
Qualitative
What type of study design has data that includes narrative descriptions, open-ended data collection, and a flexible writing structure?
Qualitative
What type of study design utilizes narrative research, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory studies, or case studies?
Qualitative
What type of study design uses sequential, concurrent, or transformative approaches?
Mixed methods
Describe quantitative study designs
- Collecting and analyzing numerical data
- Quantify relationships between variables
- Reality viewed from researcher’s perspective
- Based on the perspective that reality is objective and can be measured
- Focuses on parts rather than wholes
- Targeted to aspects of people’s health-related experiences
- Large number of participants
- Data collection typically precedes data analysis
- Generalizable results to a larger population
- Produces numerical/statistical data
What is the purpose of a quantitative research designs?
Provide a plan of study that permits accurate assessment of relationships between cause-and-effect relationships and between dependent and independent variables
Major concern
o Specify control mechanisms so the answer is clear and valid
Strong design prevents bias from influencing outcomes
Project must be designed so it answers the questions it was supposed to answer so that
o Extraneous factors are controlled
o Degree of generalization to a larger population is valid is valid
What are the critical criteria of a quantitative research study?
Objectivity
o Researcher is at arm’s length from data collection
Accuracy
o Collect accurate data and accurate procedures for analyzing data
Control
o Prevents extraneous variables from influencing outcomes
Feasibility
o Within the timeframe and financial restrictions allotted
o Within restrictions of abilities of the researchers and data collectors
When designing a quantitative research study, what considerations regarding control must be made?
Intervention versus no intervention – determines approach type
Control over the independent variable (IV)
Methods to control extraneous and eliminate confounding variables
o Can these be identified prior to the study?
o Controlling these allows for reliability and validity
A quantitative study may have group comparisons. We discussed 2 of them, what are they?
Between subjects
o Comparing one group of people to another group
Within subjects
o Comparing the same group of people over time
What is a between subjects comparison in a quantitative study?
Comparing one group of people to another group
What is a within subjects comparison in a quantitative study?
Comparing the same group of people over time
What are some examples of settings that may be used for quantitative research studies?
Highly controlled or laboratory
o i.e. petri dishes
Partially controlled
o i.e. hospital setting
Natural or field settings
o i.e. in someone’s home
What are some time frames that may be used when designing a quantitative study?
Cross-sectional - one point in time
Longitudinal - same individuals over a long period of time
Retrospective - looking back in a group to determine ideas about associations for an outcome that has already occurred
Prospective - begins before outcomes, such as at birth, and then watches for outcomes, such as teh development of disease
Describe the cross-sectional timeframe of a quantitative study?
o One point in time
o Might look at people who differ at one point in time
Describe the longitudinal timeframe of a quantitative study?
o Same individuals over an extended period
o Look at variables over months or years
o Used to discover relationships between variables that are not related to various background variables
o Collect data at outset and then periodically over time
Describe the retrospective timeframe of a quantitative study?
o Outcome has already occurred by the time the study started
o Look back in time to formulate ideas about possible associations
o Investigate potential relationships
Correlation not causation
o Might use administrative databases, medical records, interviews with people who already have the condition
o Examines an outcome for which a prospective study is not feasible
Describe the prospective timeframe of a quantitative study?
o Watches for outcomes, such as the development of disease
o Birth cohorts are an example where they collect the group before anyone is ill and then check back in sometimes
Describe the validity of a quantitative study
- To what extent are the findings believable/true?
- Can you rule out other factors as rival explanations?
- The best available approximation of the truth of a given proposition, inference, or conclusion
may be internal or external
Describe internal validity of a quantitative study
- Features of the research context that can compete with the independent variable (IV) to explain what you are observing about the dependent variable (DV) or outcome
- Threats are unreliable findings about the dependent variable
What is external validity of a quantitative study?
- It is the validity of applying the conclusions of a scientific study outside the context of that study
What are threats to an internal validity of a quantitative study? Give some examples
Unreliable findings about the DV
History - external events that are unrelated but occur at the same time as the study
Maturation - natural developmental change
Testing - getting better at a post-test because they did a pre-test
Instrumentation - changes in data collection methods or the instrument to measure the data
Mortality - also called attrition as people drop out or drop dead
Selection bias - poor selection of subjects
Describe a historical threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
- External events – events that are unrelated and happen outside the study
- They occur at the same time as the IV that can affect the outcome
Describe a maturation threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
- Developmental change
- Process that occurs within the participants of a study as a result of time
- Most notable in children as their responses will improve and change as they develop
- May happen in new nurses but when you go back they will be improved nurses just because they have been working
Describe a testing threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
- Testing effects are also called order effects
- Occur in designs that have more than one stage i.e. pre-test and post-test
- Taking a test more than once influences the behaviours and scores on the post-test thus confounding the results
Describe a instrumentation threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
Reliability of measure
Changes in data collection methods
o Different collectors with slight variations in how they measure
o Poorly trained collectors
o Changing to a BP cuff that hasn’t been calibrated
Confounding by changes in what an instrument measures over time
Describe a mortality threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
- Sometimes also called attrition
- Participants drop out or drop dead
- Usually recruit more than they need to account for attrition
Describe a selection bias threat to the internal validity of a quantitative study
- Poor selection of subjects
- The way people are chosen to participate in a study
- Arises from differences between groups that exist before the study takes place
- Avoid this with random selection and random assignment into groups
What do the following design notations in a quantitative study mean?
R
X
C
B
A
R – random assignment
X – experimental/treatment group
C – control group or comparison group
B – measurement before the experiment/intervention
o Alternative: O1 – outcome 1, but instructor likes this less
A – measurement after the experiment/intervention
o Alternative: O2 – outcome 2, but instructor likes this less
How is random assignment denoted in a quantitative study?
R
How is the experimental/treatment group denoted in a quantitative study?
X
How is the control group or comparison group denoted in a quantitative study?
C
How is the measurement before the experiment/intervention denoted in a quantitative study?
B
How is the measurement after the experiment/intervention denoted in a quantitative study?
A
Describe the experimental design?
- Involves the manipulation of an independent variable (IV) to observe its effect on a dependent variable (DV) while controlling for other variables
- Classic design has X experimental and C control groups
- Randomization R
(intervention, control, and randomization)
Describe the control group of an experimental design
C
Does not receive experimental treatments
Performance provides a baseline against which the effects of the intervention/treatment can be measured
What types of studies use the experimental design?
After only - test is only done after the intervention
Before and after - testing is done before and after the intervention
Solomon Four Group Design - attempts to control for the effects of pre-testing by adding groups that are not pre-tested
Crossover - Same individuals receive a treatment, have a washout period, and then a second treatment
Factorial - 2 or more IV (factors) are manipulated at the same time
Describe the randomization of an experimental design
R – subjects are randomly assigned to groups
Critical characteristic of experimental design
Randomly assigned to experimental or control groups
Compares outcomes between the two groups
Allows establishment of cause and effect or correlational relationships
Randomization
Different from random selection – how you select the sample
Randomization refers to the assignment to groups
What is a critical characteristic of the experimental design?
Randomization
Describe the after only design
A type of experimental design
Also called a post-test only design
Random assignment to 2 groups
o R X A
o R C A
Equivalent groups
o Randomization spreads the variation of sample between the two groups
What type of design has the following two groups:
R X A
R C A
After only design, which is an experimental design
Describe the before-after design
A type of experimental design
Also called equivalent groups or pre-test/post-test designs
Random assignment to two groups
o R B X A
o R B C A
Test is done before and after the intervention
Disadvantage
o Using the same test/observation, people improve when they do them a second time which can confuse the results
(testing threat to validity)
What is a disadvantage to the before-after test design?
This is a type of experimental design that test people before and after the intervention.
The issues is that using the same test/observation, people improve when they do them a second time which can confuse the results
(testing threat to validity)
What type of design has the following two groups:
R B X A
R B C A
Before-after design, which is an experimental design
Describe the Solomon Four group design?
What is a disadvantage of this design type?
A type of experimental design
Attempts to control for the effects of pre-testing by adding groups that are not pre-tested
A combination of the After-only and Pre-test/Post-test designs
Format
o R B X A
o R B C A
o R X A – so no pre-testing has been done for this group
o R C A – so no pre-testing has been done for this group
The 2 X and 2 C groups can be contrasted to verify the difference in the post-test as a result of the pre-test
Disadvantage
o Requires a large sample group so it has a higher cost
What type of design has the following groups:
R B X A
R B C A
R X A
R C A
Solomon four group design, a type of experimental design
Describe the crossover design
A type of experimental design
- Also called repeated-measures design
- Considered experimental if subjects are randomized to treatments
- Researcher exposes the same study participants to more than one intervention
- Each subject serves as their own control by crossing over from one treatment to another
- For example, a patient receives treatment A, then have their condition assessed during a washout period, then they are given treatment B and then their condition is reassessed
What type of design has the following groups:
R T1 A W T2 A
R T2 A W T1 A
W - washout period
T1 - treatment 1
T2 - treatment 2
Crossover design
Describe the factorial design
What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of this design type?
A type of experimental design
2 or more IV (factors) are manipulated at the same time
Can be 2x2, 2x3, etc.
o Can be as large as you want
Advantages
o Manipulation of more than 1 variable
o More than 1 hypothesis can be tested at the same time
o Control for potentially confounding variables by building them into the design
o Interactive effects of the IV on the DV
Disadvantage
o Requires a large sample group so it has a higher cost
Which type of design looks like this:
**IV1 L1IV1 L2
IV2 L1DVDV
IV2 L2**DVDV
Factorial design
Describe quasi experimental designs
A type of quantitative study
Similar to experimental but lacks randomization
Why do many nursing studies follow the quasi experimental design?
o Nature of the study
o Clinical setting of the study
What type of study design is similar to experimental but lacks randomization?
Quasi-experimental
What are some examples of quasi-experimental study designs?
Nonequivalent groups - control/comparison
Time series - measurements taken multiple times throughout the study, both before and after
Describe nonequivalent group design
A type of quasi-experimental study
- Also called control/comparison design
- Nonequivalent groups because there is no randomization
- B X A
- B C A
What type of design has the following groups:
B X A
B C A
Nonequivalent groups, a type of quasi experimental design
If is the same as the before-after type except there is no randomization
What type of design as the following groups:
B1, B2, B3, X, A1, A2, A2
Time-series
Describe the time series design?
No control group is used
No randomization
* Take measurements at different points in time before the intervention and then follow up with multiple measurements after
o B1, B2, B3, X, A1, A2, A2o Can be minutes, hours, days etc. depending on study
Experimental group is serving as their own control
Advantages
o Phenomenon that can vary such as stress and anxiety
Describe non-experimental quantitative designs
Used when IV cannot be manipulated
i.e. cannot randomize people to smoke vs not smoke
May be unethical to randomize people
Design does not fit the research question
i.e. exploratory or descriptive
Not enough studies done
Need to go back to square one
What are examples of non-experimental quantitative designs?
Correlational - includes cohort and case-control designs
Descriptive correlational - seeks relationships among variables in a single group without inferring causation
Descriptive comparative - examining characteristics of two intact groups
Surveys
Case study
Describe cohort study designs
It’s a correlational design which falls under quantitative studies for non-experimental designs
It is prospective
Start with a presumed cause and go through to presumed effect
i.e. follow people who are vaping and following them for years as they continue to vape
Describe case control study designs
It’s a correlational design which falls under quantitative studies for non-experimental designs
It is retrospective
May be called ex post facto
Phenomenon observed in the present is linked to what happened in the past
This is how they discovered the link between smoking and lung cancer
What does a descriptive correlational study investigate?
Type of non-experimental quantitative study
Relationships among variables in a single group without trying to infer causal relationships
What does a descriptive comparative study investigate?
Type of non-experimental quantitative study
- Examining characteristics of two intact groups
- i.e. compare men to women in a nursing unit for response to pain
Describe a quantitative survey
Type of non-experimental quantitative study
Self-report strategies
May be
o Cross-sectional – so happens at one point in time
o Longitudinal – interview people now, 3 months, 1 year etc.
Describe a quantitative case study?
- In depth research study of a single unit (individual, family, group, organization)
- i.e. a nursing school cohort and base a case study off this class
What are the perspectives of a researcher doing a qualitative study?
o Reality is subjective
o People actively construct own world
o Reality is constantly changing and is not predictable
o Multiple realities exist
o Influence of context is important
How is narrative data analyzed?
Thematically
What type of reasoning is use for qualitative studies?
Inductive
What does a qualitative study seek to do?
- Can help to explain, illuminate, or reinterpret quantitative data
What are the uses of quantitative studies?
MEMORY: VICE
Variation between participants
o Determining why they are different
Inadequacy of conventional theories
Complexity
o When it is not easy to determine all the things that influence what is happening
Exploration
o Insight not well established
o Not many studies when literature is searched
Describe the nature of quantitative research
- Understand by exploring phenomenon in depth
o Discover feelings or perspectives of participants - Contextualization about why things are the way they are
o Rich descriptions are generated - Seeks to answer questions about why people behave the way they do
- Search for variation, pluralism
- Interpretation – how, why, what?
What questions should you ask yourself when reviewing a qualitative study?
- Who undertook the interviews?
- Where were the interviews conducted?
- Who were the participants?
- How likely were the participants to be able to provide rich data for the study?
- How was the data analyzed?
- Do the findings provide rich contextual data?
What study designs might someone use when performing a qualitative study?
Phenomenology - lived experiences
Grounded theory - observations of the world from the view of a selected group of people
Ethnography - cultural theory
Historical - interpreting people, events, and occurrences of the past
Oral history - cultural memory
Narrative - using stories to make sense of the world
Case study - contextual analysis of an individual, family, institution, or other social group
Describe phenomenology
Include aim, method, foundation, data collection, and purpose
A type of qualitative study design
Aims to describe experience as it is lived
o Obtaining a description of an experience as it is lived to understand the meaning of the at experience for those who have it
Method
o Understanding the essence of a phenomenon (lived experience)
Foundation
o Philosophy
Data collection
o Long interviews with up to 10 people who have experienced a phenomenon
Purpose
o Developing a richer understanding of a human phenomenon
What are types of phenomenology, a type of qualitative research design?
Descriptive phenomenology - develop essence of descriptive experiences while interviewer remains non-judgmental and aloof
Interpretive phenomenology - same as descriptive but interviewer uses their own context to describe the essence of a phenomenon (lived experience)
What is a phenomenon in phenominology?
The lived experience
Describe descriptive phenomenology
A type of phenomenology, a qualitative study design
Focus is on descriptive experience in order to get at its essence (true meaning)
Believe that by getting to the meaning, the research could uncover common themes
In dept interviews
Bracketing
o Researcher sets aside their assumptions/ideas about the phenomenon
o Allows them to act non-judgmentally
o Prevents contamination of data
Describe interpretive phenomenology
A type of phenomenology, a qualitative study design
Focus is on descriptive experience in order to get at its essence (true meaning)
Believe that by getting to the meaning, the research could uncover common themes
In dept interviews
No bracketing
o View that it is not possible to describe the essence of a phenomenon without interpreting it in the context of our own understanding
Describe the grounded theory design
Include the underlying theory, goal, method, foundation, and data collection
A type of qualitative study design
Theory that is constructed inductively from a base of observations of the world as it is lived by a selected group of people
Goal
o Theory about basic social processes
o Arrives here by using a systematic set of procedures
Method
o Generation of comprehensive explanations of phenomena that are grounded in reality, grounded in the data
Foundation
o Sociology
o Social psychology – symbolic interaction theory
Data collection
o Interviews with 20-30 individuals who participate in a process about a central phenomenon
o May also include
Observations
Document analysis
How is the sample decided upon for a grounded theory qualitative study design?
Theoretical sampling
o Begin with homogenous group of individuals
o Continue to select successive informants based on an assessment of factors believed to have an impact on the process of interest as well as on factors that emerge from the analyzed data
How is the data analyzed in a grounded theory qualitative study design?
Step 1: open coding
* Take raw data or transcripts
* Segment them into categories of information
* Develop categories to reveal the central phenomenon
Step 2: Axial coding
* Return to data and examine central phenomenon in more detail by asking a series of question such as
o What caused this phenomenon?
o What strategies were used in response to it? Etc.
* Seeks to understand central phenomenon in terms of
o Causal conditions
o Context
o Intervening conditions
o Strategies
o Consequences
What type of study design is used to describe experience as it is lived?
Phenomenology
What type of phenomenology does the researcher attempt to understand the true meaning of lived experience while setting aside their own assumptions and judgements?
Descriptive phenomenology
What type of phenomenology does the researcher attempt to understand the true meaning of lived experience by viewing it through the lens of their own context?
Interpretive Phenomenology
What type of qualitative approach (study design) that aims to use a base of observations of the world as it is lived by a selected group of people and inductively constructs a theory, so basically a theory about basic social processes?
Grounded theory
What type of qualitative design aims to produce a cultural theory and understand different views of the world?
Ethnography
Describe the ethnography study design.
Include the goal, foundation, and perspectives it uses
A type of qualitative design
Produces cultural theory
Scientifically describes cultural groups
Goal
o Understand different views of the world
Foundation
o Anthropology
Perspectives
o Emic perspective
Insider
Subjective
o Etic perspective
Outsider
Objective
o MEMORY: eMic is Me, eTic is Them
o Combination of the 2 gives the richest interpretation
What are the 2 perspectives used in the ethnography qualitative study design?
Emic perspective
Insider
Subjective
Etic perspective
Outsider
Objective
MEMORY: eMic is Me, eTic is Them
Describe the historical qualitative study design
Systematic compilation of data and the critical presentation, evaluation, and interpretation of facts regarding people, events, and occurrences of the past
Foundation
o Philosophy, arts, science
May look at
o Lived experiences of the past
o Determine how historical perspectives provide context for current issues
o Historical policies and practices
Describe the oral history qualitative study design
Consists of cultural
o Representations
o Memory
o Psychological processes
Popular memory group - Memory is a composite of
* Public memory
o Institutional publications
o Policies
* Private memory
o Individual’s
Describe the narrative qualitative study design
Theory that stories produce identities and help us make sense of
o The world
o Our relationship to the world
o Our relationship between ourselves and others
Describe the case study qualitative study design
In depth contextual analysis of an entity or a small number of entities
o May be individual, family, institution, or other social group
Aim
o Explore “bounded system”
The boundaries of the case being studied
It’s a box that contains information to the phenomenon being studied including relevant
* Variables
* Processes
* Relationships
Also bounded by time and place
Data collection
o Multiple sources of information rich in context
Study types
o Individual
o Program – within-site study
o Programs – multi-site study
What types of notes may a qualitative researcher take?
Jottings - short hand
Logs - daily records of events/conversations
Field notes - broader, more analytic longer hand notes
Describe jottings?
A type of qualitative notetaking
o Short notes jotted down quickly in the field
o Does not distract researcher from their observations or roles as participant observers
Describe logs
A type of qualitative notetaking
o Daily records of events and conversations
Describe field notes
A type of qualitative notetaking
Broader, more analytic, more interpretive
May be
Observational
Theoretical
Methodological
Personal
What questions should I ask myself when critiquing qualitative designs?
Is the qualitative tradition identified?
Does the research question match the qualitative approach?
Are the data sources and methods congruent with the qualitative approach
Is the research design described well?
o Are design decisions explained and justified?
Was an ideological perspective taken?
o Did the research have the power to be transformative?
Identify the IV and DV
A broken leg results in pain
IV - broken leg
DV - pain
Identify the IV and DV
Heart rate increases with exercise
IV - exercise
DV - heart rate
Identify the IV and DV
Self monitoring of blood glucose levels every day leads to better glycemic control
IV - self monitoring BGL daily
DV - glycemic control
Identify the IV and DV
Practicing improves performance
IV - practice
DV - performance
Identify the IV and DV
Attendance rate at lectures impacts on examination success
IV - Attendance rate
DV - exam success
Identify the IV and DV
Speed kills
IV - speed
DV - kills
Identify the IV and DV
Overeating causes weight gain
IV - overeating
DV - weight gain
Identify the IV and DV
Infections are caused by bacteria
IV - bacteria
DV - infections
Identify the IV and DV
Skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby after birth promotes bonding
IV - skin to skin contact
DV - bonding
Identify the IV and DV
Smoking cigarettes causes COPD
IV - smoking cigarettes
DV - COPD
What is a single-blind study?
An experimental design in which either the researcher OR the participant are unaware of which group they have been assigned to
What is a double-blind study?
An experimental design in which neither the researcher nor the participants know which group they are in
What attempts to ensure homogeneity between groups in an experiment?
Randomization
What type of study design is similar to a true experiment in that the manipulation of an intervention is always present but the other two criteria of control and randomization may be missing?
Quasi-experimental
Can quasi experimental designs determine cause and effect through the study?
No because the groups cannot be randomized create a threat to validity as they may have differences in the compositions of the group. It makes the results less reliable but still valuable as they can indicate strong links
What is the essential difference between experimental designs and non-experimental or observational studies?
No manipulation of the independent variable (intervention)
What is a positive correlational relationship?
o As one variable increases, the other variable also increases
What is a negative correlational relationship?
o As one variable increases, the other decreases
What is an unrelated correlational relationship?
o Both variables are independent and not related
What are the different strengths of relationships in correlational studies?
- Strong ± 0.70 to 1.0
- Moderate ± 0.30 to 0.69
- Weak ± 0.00 to 0.29
What is a the relational co-efficient? What is it represented by?
Represented by r
Signifies how strong a correlational relationship is between 2 variables. 0 indicates no relationship, while +1 is a perfect positive relationship and -1 is a perfect negative relationship.
What is a qualitative study that is framed by an existing theory?
Theoretical framework
What is a qualitative study that is framed by number of concepts from various theories and research findings?
Conceptual framework
When is a framework used for qualitative research?
Why are they used?
Why are the developed?
- Used when the qualitative study is not aimed at developing a theory
- Provides a theoretical rationale for the study that generates the lens through which the research can be seen
- Developed during literature review when existing theories/concepts are explored
What is a theoretical framework?
A qualitative study that is framed by an existing theory
Make sure to list it in your study paper
What is a conceptual framework?
A qualitative study that is framed by a number of concepts from various theories and research findings
Make sure to list them in your paper
While qualitative research is often talked as theory generating, or as using an inductive approach, why would existing theories or concepts be used in a new research study?
Because it can provide a guide for your research, such as what questions to ask during the interview process
What are the major qualitative methodologies?
MEMORY: Qualitative Provides A Good Narrative Collection Of Experiences
Q - Qualitative descriptive
P - phenomenology
A - Action research
G - Grounded theory
N - narrative
C - case study
O - oral history
E - ethnography
What is the simplest form of qualitative research and while it does have a theoretically underpinning, is more flexible both philosophically and theoretically than other qualitative study types?
Qualitative descriptive studies
What is the purpose of qualitative descriptive studies?
o Describe or explore a phenomenon, problem or issue
o Suitable for why, what, where and how questions
When you see a case study methodology was used in a qualitative study, what would you expect to see as you read through the study?
What might you ask yourself/look for when reading it?
What would you expect to see?
* It is about a case
* There will be multiple types of data collected
* Focus of study should be well explained
What might you ask yourself/look for?
* What constitutes the case?
* What are different types of data collected?
When you see an ethnography methodology was used in a qualitative study, what would you expect to see as you read through the study?
What might you ask yourself/look for when reading it?
What would you expect to see?
* Researcher embeds themselves in the community being studied
* Study takes place across extended period of time
What might you ask yourself/look for?
* Who is the community of interest?
When you see a grounded theory methodology was used, what would you expect to see as you read through the study?
What might you ask yourself/look for when reading it?
What would you expect to see?
* About generating theory/ideas from data
* Could be about overarching aim of study or about specific data analysis process
What might you ask yourself/look for?
* How is grounded theory being used? Is it an approach or methods for data analysis or both?
When you see a narrative inquiry methodology was used in a qualitative study, what would you expect to see as you read through the study?
What might you ask yourself/look for when reading it?
What would you expect to see?
* Data focusing on participants’ descriptions of their lives, beliefs, experiences (could be text, could be conversations)
What might you ask yourself/look for?
* How is narrative inquiry being used? Is it an approach or methods for data analysis or both?
* How important are “stories” to the study?
When you see a phenomenology methodology was used in a qualitative study, what would you expect to see as you read through the study?
What might you ask yourself/look for when reading it?
What would you expect to see?
* About understanding person’s experiences
What might you ask yourself/look for?
* What type of data are collected?
* What or whose perspectives are studied?
What type of design study uses both quantitative and qualitative data?
Mixed methods
What paradigm does mixed method designs use?
What are the highlights/advantages to this paradigm?
Pragmatic
o Complementarity of qualitative and quantitative data
o Practicality
o Enhanced validity
What research situations would a mixed methodology be useful?
o When concepts are poorly understood
o Findings from one approach enhanced by the other
o When one approach is inadequate
o When quantitative results are difficult to interpret, qualitative data can help with explanations
o Multiphase project needed to achieve objectives
What are the major applications for mixed methodologies in nursing research?
o Instrument development
o Intervention development
o Hypothesis generation
o Theory building and testing
What type of mixed method design has stages of first either qualitative or quantitative which is followed by the other method?
Sequential
What is the sequential design?
A mixed methodology in which quantitative followed by qualitative or vice versa
What is the exploratory design?
How is it denoted?
A type of mixed methodology in which qualitative is done first and then quantitative
Its used to explore the topic before collecting the numerical data
Denoted by QUAL → quan
What is the explanatory design?
How is it denoted?
A type of mixed methodology in which quantitative is done first and then qualitative
The qualitative data is used to explain the quantitative data obtained in the first stage
Denoted by QUAN → qual
What are the two types of sequential design of mixed methodology?
Exploratory design
Qualitative first, then quantitative
Explores the topic before collecting any numerical data
Explanatory design
Quantitative first, then quantitative
The qualitative data is used to explain the quantitative data
What are the 3 approaches to mixed methodology?
Sequential - one first then the other
Concurrent - both qualitative and quantitative at the same time
Transformative - want to make some kind of change in the population we are studying (focused on social justice and can be either sequential or concurrent)
What type of mixed methodology explores qualitative and quantitative data at the same time?
How is it denoted?
Concurrent
QUAL + QUAN
What is the concurrent mixed methodology?
How is it denoted?
o Quantitative and qualitative at the same time
QUAL + QUAN
What type of mixed method design is used to explore a topic before collecting any numerical data?
How is it denoted?
Exploratory design, a type of sequential mixed methodology
Denoted by QUAN → qual
What type of mixed method design involves collecting quantitative data first and then collecting more insight into the topic via qualitative data?
How is it denoted?
Explanatory design, a type of sequential mixed methodology
Denoted by QUAL → quan
What is a nested design?
How is it denoted?
A type of concurrent design in which a small subset of the quantitative sample is asked for qualitative data
Denoted by QUAL[quan]
What type of mixed method design takes quantitative data from a large sample and then obtains qualitative data from a select few of the same sample?
How is it denoted?
Nested design
Denoted by QUAL[quan]
What type of mixed methodology is utilized primarily for social justice?
How are the strands tested?
Transformative
May be sequential or concurrent
What is the transformative mixed methodology?
o Want to make some kind of change in the population we are studying (social justice)
o May be sequential or concurrent
How is the dominant strand in a mixed method study denoted?
All capital letters
How is the nondominant strand in a mixed method study denoted?
lower case letters
What does the arrow in mixed method notations mean?
sequential design
What does the + in mixed method notations mean?
Concurrent design
What can parentheses be used to show in the notations of a mixed methodology study?
an embedded structure, such as a nested design
What is face validity?
A form of internal validity for quantitative tests
Concerned with reading the study instrument and judging whether the questions “appear” to measure what they are supposed to
What is content validity?
A form of internal validity for quantitative tests
Data collection instrument inclusive and applicable to the research question
What are the two parts to criterion related validity? What do each of these mean?
Concurrent validity
o Data from 2 methods can be compared in tandem and have similar results
Predictive validity
o Instrument can accurately identify how an individual will respond or behave in a particular situation
What is concurrent validity?
A type of criterion-related validity, a form of internal validity for quantitative tests
Data from 2 methods can be compared in tandem and have similar results
What is predictive validity?
A type of criterion-related validity, a form of internal validity for quantitative tests
Instrument can accurately identify how an individual will respond or behave in a particular situation
What types of internal validity were discussed in the text?
Face validity - measure what they are supposed to measure
Content validity - instrument is inclusive and applicable to research question
Criterion validity
- concurrent - 2 methods can compare together and get the same results
- predictive - accurately identify a response
Construct validity - congruity between variables of the framework
What is construct validity?
A form of internal validity for quantitative tests
- Ensures congruity between the variables of the conceptual frameworks and how the researcher plans to measure these
- Can be a difficult concept to test
Which type of internal validity is difficult to test for?
Construct
* Ensures congruity between the variables of the conceptual frameworks and how the researcher plans to measure these
What are the 3 parts to reliability?
Stability - instrument has same findings on the same group at different times
Internal consistency - degree to which items on a questionnaire measure a particular variable
Equivalence - interrater reliability in observational studies
What is stability?
A form of reliability for quantitative tests
o Instrument generates similar findings from the same group on different occasions
What is internal consistency?
A form of reliability for quantitative tests
o Degree to which items on a questionnaire measure a particular variable
o Strong internal consistency are homogeneous variables
What is equivalence?
A form of reliability for quantitative tests
o Interrater reliability in observational studies
What is something with strong internal consistency in a quantitative test called?
Homogeneous variables
What type of validity is concerned with reading the study instrument and judging whether the questions appear to measure what they are supposed to measure?
Face validity (type of internal validity of quantitative tests)
What type of validity involves ensuring the data collection instrument inclusive and applicable to the research question?
Content validity (type of internal validity of quantitative tests)
What type of validity ensures that the data from 2 methods can be compared in tandem and have similar results?
Concurrent validity, a type of criterion related validity (type of internal validity of quantitative tests)
What type of validity ensure the instrument can accurately identify how an individual will response or behave in a particular situation?
Predictive validity, a type of criterion related validity (type of internal validity of quantitative tests)
What type of validity ensures congruity between the variables of the conceptual frameworks and how the researcher plans to measure these
Construct validity (type of internal validity of quantitative tests)
What are the parts important to rigour?
Used for quantitative research
MEMORY: CC DAT to me
C - Credibility - findings/interpretations accurately describe experience
C - Confirmability - clear audit trail to confirm how conclusions were derived
D - Dependability - determines how sound the findings are
A - Authenticity - reality of participants can be recreated
T - Transferability - findings applicable to other groups/settings
What is the credibility part of rigour?
o Findings and interpretations accurately describe the participant’s experience
What is the dependability part of rigour?
What is an essential component of dependability?
o Determines how sound the findings are
o Credibility is an essential component to this as without credibility there is no dependability
What is the transferability part of rigour?
o Findings are applicable to other groups or in other settings
What is the confirmability part of rigour?
o Achieved by researcher leaving a clear audit trail about how data and evidence were managed and how conclusions were derived
What is the authenticity part of rigour?
o Needs to be able to recreate the reality experienced by participants
o Allows reader a deeper understanding of the theme being described
What are the examples of external validity that we talked about?
Selection effects - participant characteristics affect the observed response in a way that findings cannot be generalized
Reactive - subjects reacting to being studied
Measurement effects - pretest changing sensitivity to DV
What is a selection effect?
A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
- Similar to selection bias
- Participant characteristics may affect the observed response to the IV in a way that the findings cannot be generalized to people with different characteristics
- Increased threat – when ideal sample cannot be obtained
What is a reactive effect?
What are some examples of this?
A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
- Subjects response to being studied
- Subjects may be reacting to some feature of the research environment rather than the IV
- We cannot assume that the findings will be the same when the IV is administered under different circumstances
Possible subject responses
o Experimenter effect
o Novelty effect
o Hawthorn effect
What is a measurement effect?
A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
- Pretest can increase or decrease subject sensitivity to DV
- Affects generalizability if pretest not used in other settings, populations, etc.
- i.e. based on pre-test, participants modify their thinking and responses
- Increased threat – pretest is used
What is the Hawthorne effect?
A type of reactive effect, an external validity threat to a quantitative study
Attention alone produces the results
Like watching an intervention on workers may cause the change just because the workers know they are being watched
You have implemented an intervention to see if it could increase the workers’ productivity in a factory. You watch the workers to see if the intervention worked, and it did!
The problem, the watched workers who did NOT have the intervention also saw the increase in productivity.
What effect is this?
Hawthorne effect
It is part of a reactive effect, an external validity threat to a quantitative study
What effect results when a participant characteristic affects the observed response to the IV in a way that the findings cannot be generalized to people with different characteristics?
Selection effect A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
What effect is caused by the subject reacting to some feature of the research rather than the independent variable?
Reactive effect A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
What is the effect caused by a subjects increase or decrease in subject sensitivity to the DV caused by taking a pre-test as part of the study?
Measurement effect A type of external validity risk of a quantitative study
What is reliability?
A measurement of rigour in quantitative studies
Consistency with which a measuring instrument yields a certain, consistent result when the entity being measured hasn’t changed
o The extent that the instrument yields the same result on repeated measures
Analogous to variance
Low reliability = high variance
