Nursing Research
Karljan Paul L. Gayloa, RN
Nature of Research
Definition of Research
- A Systematic inquiry that uses discplined methods to answer questions or
solve problem
Definition of Nursing Research
- A Systematic inquiry designed to answer questions and develop knowldege
about issues of importance to the nursing profession
Ultimate Goal
Refine
Expand
Develop
Knowledge
Ethics and the Rights of Research Subjects
Nurembeg Code
- Was created in response to human rights violations by the Nazi
Belmont report
- 1978
- Adopted by the National Commission for the protection of Human Subjects
of Biomedical and Behavioral Research
Ethical Principles
Beneficence
BELMONT
REPORT
Respect for Human
Dignity
Justice
Beneficence
• Right to freedom from harm and discomfort
(Minimize harm)
• Protection from Exploitation
Respect for Human Dignity
• Self – Determination – Voluntarism
• Full Disclosure - Informed
Justice
• Right to fair treatment
• Right to Privacy
Formulation of Research Problem
1. Research Problem
2. Research Questions
3. Hypothesis
Research Problem
• Enigmatic or troubling condition; articulates the problem and describes
the need for a study (Polit & Beck, 2012)
• Example:
“Nausea and vomiting are common side effects among patients on
chemotherapy, and interventions to date have been only moderately
successful in reducing these effects. New interventions that can reduce
or prevent these side effects need to be identified.”
Research Question
• Specific queries researchers want to answer in addressing the problem; guides
the types of data to collect in the study (Polit & Beck, 2012)
• Example:
“What is the relative effectiveness of patient-controlled antiemetic therapy
versus nurse contolled antiemetic therapy with regard to a) medication
consumption and b) control of nausea and vomitting in patients on
chemotherapy?”
Hypothesis
• Specific predictions about answers to research questions that are the tested
(Polit & Beck, 2012)
• Example:
“Subjects receiving antiemetic therapy by a patient-controlled pump will (1) be
less nauseous, (2) vomit less, (3) consume less medication than subjects
receiving the therapy by nurse administration.”
Sources of Research Problems
1. Clinical Experience
2. Quality improvement efforts
3. Nursing literature
4. Social issues
5. Theories
6. Ideas from external sources
Evaluating Research Problem
• Significance of the Problem
• Researchability of the Problem
• Feasibility of Addressing the Problem
Researchability of the Problem
• How to better phrase the following research question:
“Should assisted suicide be legalized?”
Feasibility of Addressing the Problem
•
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Money
Availability of study participants
Scope of experience of the researcher
Area of interest by the Researcher
Kooperasyon
Equipment and facilities
Time
SA ULO
Kinds of Literature
• Conceptual vs Research literature
Key Electronic Databases for Nurse
Researchers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
MEDLINE (Medical Literature On-Line)
British Nursing Index
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Dissertation Abstract Online
Scopus
And many more
Types of Hypothesis
• According to:
1. Derivation
2. Wording
Derivation of Hypothesis
Inductive Hypothesis
Deductive Hypothesis
• From observed relationships to
• From general to specific; theories as a
• Examples of sources:
1. A nurse notices that a surgical patient
• Ex.:
1. Theoretical principles (Eg.:
generalizations
who express a lot about pain have a
more difficult time coping
starting point
Environmental Theory, Adaptation
theory, Unitary Human Beings)
Types of Variable
Indipendent Variables
Dependent Variables
CAUSE
EFFECT
Wording of Hypotheses
Simple
Complex
• 1 indipendent variable is to 1 dependent
• 2 or more IV; 2 or more DV
• Example:
• Example:
variable
“Patient controlled analgesia significantly
reduced the pain level of the client more
than those who had regular pain
management.”
“Patient controlled analgesia and
Therapeutic communication significantly
reduces the pain level of the client and
they consume less medication”
Wording of Hypotheses
Directional
• Explicitely stated the expected
direction of relationship
Non - Directional
• Does not state the type of
relationship of the variables
• Example:
• Example:
“Older patients are more at risk of
experiencing a fall than younger
patients”
“There is a relationship between
the age of a patient and the risk of
falling”
Identify if Simple or Complex; Directional or
Non-Directional
“ The older the patient, the greater the risk of
falling”
Identify if Simple or Complex; Directional or
Non-Directional
“ Older patients differ from younger ones with
respect to their risk of falling”
Identify if Simple or Complex; Directional or
Non-Directional
“There is a significant relationship between gender
and level of awareness on safe sex practices”
Identify if Simple or Complex; Directional or
Non-Directional
“There is a significant relationship between age, sex,
and year level and the level of awareness of college
students on safe sex practices in terms of condom
use, abstinece, and hygeinic practices.”
Identify if Simple or Complex; Directional or
Non-Directional
“Nursing students who are in a relationship with
engineering students are less likely to last at least 2
years than nursing students who are in a relationship
with sudents from other courses”
• Something that varies . . .
(Polit & Beck, 2012)
Variables
Examples:
1. Weight
2. Age
3. Sex
4. Blood pressure level
Types of Variable
1.Continuous
2.Discrete
3.Categorical Variables
Types of Variable
Continuous Variable
• Assumes infinite values between
two points
Discrete Variable
• Finite number of values between
two points.
• Example:
• Example
Weight
Number of Persons in the family
1.0lbs, 1.1lbs, 1.5lbs, 2.0lbs
1, 2, 3, 10, etc.
Categorical Variables
• No numerical value
• Example:
1. Blood type
2. Color
Categorical Variable
• Dichotomous Variable
- Has only two values
Example:
Sex (Male or Female)
Levels of Measurement
1.Nominal
2.Ordinal
3.Interval
4.Ratio
Nominal
• Example:
Sex (Male or Female)
Ordinal
• Example:
9th place ;)
Interval
• No true zero
Example:
Temperature
Ratio
• With true zero
• Example: Weight
Sampling
• Specifies how many participants are to be
selected
• The process of selecting cases to represent
the entire population
Basic Concepts in Sampling
1. Population – the entire aggregation of cases in which the researcher is
interested
2. Accessible population – conforms to the designated criteria and are
accessible for a study
3. Target population – the aggregate of cases about which the researcher
would like to generalize
Basic Concepts in Sampling
4. Strata – a mutually exclusive segment of a population; subpopulation
5. Staged Sampling – a combination of different sampling methods
6. Sampling Bias – systematic over-representation or under-representation of a
population segment
Types of Sampling Method
1. Non-probability
2. Probability
Sampling Methods
Nonprobability Sampling
Probability Sampling
• Less likely to produce representative
• Random selection of elements from the
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
samples
Examples:
Convenience
Quota
Consecutive
Purposive
population
Examples:
Simple random sampling
Stratified random sampling
Cluster sampling
Systematic Sampling
Nonprobability Sampling
Convenience Sampling
• Uses the most conveniently available people as participants.
• E.g:
1. A faculty member distributes questionnaires to his students right afyer their
class
2. A Nurse conducts a study at a local highschool
Variant: Snowball sampling ( aka.: network sampling or chain sampling)
Quota Sampling
• The researcher identifies population and
determines how many participants are
needed from each subpopulation or stratum
Consecutive Sampling
• Involves recruitment of all people from a target
population who meet the eligibility criteria over a
specific time interval or specified sample size
Example:
1. All eligible ICU patients in a six month period
2. 250 eligible patients admitted to the ICU
Purposive Sampling
• Aka: Judgemental Sampling
• Researchers decides to purposively to select
people who are judged to be typical of the
population or particularly knowldgeable about the
issues in the study
Probablity Sampling
Simple Random Sampling
• Develops a sampling frame (technical term
for the list of participants or elements), and
randomly selects participants from the
list.
Stratified Random Sampling
• Divides the population into different
strata or categories (eg.: male and female) and
randomly selects participants under each
category for equal representation.
Cluster Sampling
• Selects broad clusters rather than
individulas
• Eg.: Performs random sampling of Nursing
Schools
Systematic Sampling
• Involves selecting every kth (sampling interval) case from the list.
• Formula of the sampling interval:
Population size(N) ÷ sampling size(n) = k
Eg.:
N= 40,000
n= 200
k= ?
Development of Theoretical Framework
Terms:
1. Concept or phenomena: abstractions of particular aspects human behavior
(E.g.: pain, quality of life, or resilience)
2. Construct: abstractions that are systematically invented by researchers
3. Theory: a systematic, abstract explanation of some aspect of reality; a
generalization that offers explanation about how concepts are interrelated
Levels of Theories
1. Grand Theory or macrotheory
2. Middle Range theory
3. Practice theory/Situation specific
theory/Microtheory
Criteria for Choosing an Appropriate Theory
T
T
• Theoretical clarity
• Theoretical complexity
nya
G
I
An
T
•
•
•
•
General Issue
Importance of the theory
AppropriateNess of the theory
Theoretical Grounding
Research Design
Quantitative
Qualitative
Examples:
Examples:
1. Experimental
1. Ethnography
2. Phenomenology
2. Quasi-Experimental
3. Non-experimental
3. Symbolic interaction (interactionism)
4. Discourse analysis
5. Historical research
Quantitative Research
Research Design
Experimental
• Aka: Randomized Control Trial
• Consists of the ff. Properties:
1. Manipulation
2. Control
3. Randomization
Quasi-Experimental
• Aka: Controlled trials without
randomization
• In short : WALANG
RANDOMIZATION!!!
• PS.: some researches do not even
have control groups
Non-Experimental Research
• Aka: Observational
• When researchers do not manipulate the independent variables
• Examples:
1. Correlational Cause-Probing
2. Descriptive Research
Non-Experimental Research
Correlational Cause-Probing Research
Descriptive Research
• Purpose: to study the potential cause
• Purpose: to observe, describe, and
• Examples:
1. Retrospective
2. Prospective (Cohort)
• Examples:
1. Descriptive Correlational Studies
2. Univariate Descriptive Studies
that cannot be manipulated
document the situation as it naturally
occurs
Data Collection in Quantitative Research
• Structured Self-Report
Most widely used data collection method
- Could either be interview schedule or questionnaire
1. Interview Schedule- questions are asked face to face
2. Questionnaire – respondents complete the instrument
themselves
-
Structured Self-Report
Types of Structured Questions:
1. Open and Closed ended questions
2. Composite Scales
3. Cognitive and Neuropsychological Tests
4. Q Sorts
5. Vignettes
Open and Close Ended Questions
Open Ended Questions
Close Ended Questions
• Allow respondents to answer in their
• Respondents are given specific choices;
own words; in a narrative fashion.
• Example:
“How did you feel about your diagnosis?”
more effecient than open ended
questions
• Examples:
1. Dichotomous questions
2. Multiple choice questions
3. Rank-order questions
Other types of Close Ended Questions
• Forced choice questions
• Rating questions
• Checklists
• Visual Analog Scales
Checklist
Composite Scales
1. Likert Scale
2. Semantic Differential Scale
Likert Scale
Semantic Difference Scale
Data Collection in Quantitative Research
• Structured Observation
- Used to document specific behaviors, actions, and events.
- The nurse records the data but it is susceptible to biases:
• Types of Biases:
1. Halo Effect
2. Hawthorne Effect
Types of Biases
Halo Effect
• Interpretation of the observer is
somehow influenced by the actions
of the subject
1. Leniency error
2. Severity error
Hawthorne Effect
• The behavior of the subject is
altered due to his/her being
concious from being observed