Quantitative Research Designs

In order to find the best information on a topic, not only should you develop a question and search for resources, but you should also know how to analyze the value of the resources that you identify. There are different ways to evaluate resources, such as using the hierarchy of evidence, which you explored in Week 4 of this course. Another way to evaluate resources is to consider the appropriateness of the research design. Understanding how research designs contribute to the quality of a study is essential for being able to analyze resources when conducting a literature review or locating evidence for practice.

In this Discussion, you consider the different research designs and evaluate how these designs have been used to research a specific topic. You also consider strategies for selecting an appropriate research design.

To prepare:

  • Review the information in the course texton quantitative research designs. Focus on the information in Box 9.1, “Guidelines for Critiquing Research Designs in Quantitative Studies” located on page 230 of the course text.
  • Select a topic from the list below and search the Walden Library to find two different quantitative research studies addressing that issue:

Caregiver stress

◦Anxiety in children

◦Sleep apnea

◦Depression in college freshmen

◦Rural health care issues

◦Post-traumatic stress syndrome

◦Traumatic brain injury in veterans

◦Health effects of environmental contaminants

◦Bipolar disorder

◦End-of-life ethical issues

◦Alternative medicine

PICK TWO TOPIC FROM ABOVE, FIND AND REVIEW THE ARTICLE) Article should not be older than 5yrs including use of required learning resource  for references ( polit and Becks)

  • For each of the sources that you select, identify the type of quantitative research design used, and evaluate whether it is the most appropriate approach to the research.
  • Consider the ramifications of choosing an inappropriate design for a research study.

QUESTION

Post the topic you selected, references for the two sources you identified, and the quantitative research design used in each. Critique the appropriateness of the design used and justify your comments with information from the Learning Resources. Discuss the ramifications of choosing an inappropriate design for a research study.

INSTRUCTORS INSTRUCTION

Hi Everyone,

Just a note, be sure you select 2 quantitative articles on one of the topics recommended. Please do not use a “systematic review”,” meta-analysis” or “meta-synthesis” which are all a study of studies. You need a single study to appropriately apply the items in box 9.1 “Guidelines for Critiquing Research Designs in Quantitative Studies”  on page 210 in your textbook to critique your articles. The purpose of this week’s discussion is to examine single research studies.

Dr. Sullivan

Critique box 9.1 “Guidelines for Critiquing Research Designs in Quantitative Studies” on page 210

What type of question (therapy, prognosis, etc) is being addressed? Does the research question concern a possible causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables?

What would be the strongest research design for the research problem. How does this compare to the one used in the study?

Is there an intervention or treatment? Was it adequately described? Was the control group described? Was experimental or quasi-experimental design used?

If the study was RCT, what specific experimental design was used? Was the randomized procedure described?

Was the design quasi-experimental? What specific quasi-experimental design was used? What was the reason for not using an RCT design?

If it was non-experimental, was the study inherently nonexperimental? If not, is there justification for not manipulating the independent variable? What specific design was used? If retrospective was there justification for not be prospective?

What types of comparisons are specified in the design (e.g. before/after, between groups? Do they compare adequately?

Was the study longintudinal? Was the timing of the collection of data appropriate? Was the nuber of data collection points reasonable?

Was blinding/masking used? If yes, was was blinded-and was this adequate? If not, is there an adequate rationale for failure to mask? Is the intervention a type that could raise expectatiions that in and of themselves could alter the outcome?

Required Readings

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Chapter 8, “Planning a Nursing Study”

This chapter focuses on the necessary steps for planning a research study. It describes different research designs and their key features and discusses how to plan for data collection.

Chapter 9, “Quantitative Research Design”

This chapter explores quantitative research in greater depth including the importance of experimental design and the role of randomization in conducting research. The chapter also describes quasi-experimental design and observational research.

 


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