NURSING RESEARCH

Research
- systematic, disciplined investigation
- use of scientific method

Nursing research
Purpose: to develop evidence on issues of the nursing profession
- E.g. Nursing practice, education, administration.
Goal: improve QOL (quality of life) of patients

Clinical nursing research

Purposes: to guide bedside practice

BASIC CONCEPTS

Basic vs. Applied Research

1) Basic: increase knowledge
2) Applied: find solutions to problems, higher level than basic

Variable
1) Independent variable (IV): presumed cause
2) Dependent variable (DV): presumed effect, aka outcome variable
IV  DV
Presumed cause Presumed effect

3) Confounding/Extraneous Variables
- contaminating factors

Relationships
- connection between two or more phenomena

a) Causal relationship
- cause-and-effect (100% sure)

b) Associative relationship
- Change in X tends to change Y (just a probability)
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Empirical: observed, not hunch Understanding human experience

Systematic: logical, planned Flexible, evolving procedures

Quantitative data: numbers, statistics Qualitative data: narrative, subjective

validity, reliability biases Naturalistic setting

Ethics in Research
Codes of Ethics - protection of research subjects
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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)
Priority: Safety

Ethical Principles (from Belmont Report)

1) Beneficence: Do good (e.g. medications)

2) Non-maleficence: Do no harm (e.g.

asepsis)

3) Justice: equal risks and benefits

4) Autonomy
- voluntary decision

5) Veracity: complete information about the

study

6) Confidentiality: data not revealed

- Anonymity: identity cannot be linked to
data

Informed Consent
- accept or X decline participation voluntarily
- protects right to self-determination

Informed Consent (VICS)

- Voluntary
- Informed: fully understood
- Competence: 18 y/o and above (legal age), coherent
- Signature: (1) Participant, (2) witnesses

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Research Problem
- “What is wrong?”
- Curiosity and interests

Statement of Purpose
- “What do you want to happen?”
- aka. Goals (general) and Objectives (specific)

Research Question
- question to be answered in addressing the research problem
- Basic form (PIRD):
In (1. Population), is (2. Independent variable [IV]), (3. Relationship) with (4. Dependent
variable [DV])?”
- E.g.] Among older adults (population), is high sugar intake (IV) associated with
(relationship) diabetes mellitus (DV)?

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)
Types of Sources
1) Primary source: Reports of original researchers
2) Secondary source: Reports by someone other than original researcher

Primary > Secondary

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

Types of Research Designs

Quantitative Designs
I.) True Experimental (or Randomized Controlled Trial or Clinical Trial)

- 3 Features (CRM)

a.) Control
- Control group (for comparison)
- no intervention/ alternative intervention/ placebo
- Placebo: false intervention, no value

b.) Randomization
- Random assignment to experimental and control groups
- Exp and Control Groups are EQUIVALENT. Cancels confounding variables.  Bias

c.) Manipulation
- intervention or treatment of experimental group

II.) Quasi-experimental
-Absence of randomization
-Experimental and Control groups are NON-EQUIVALENT.
-Experimental > Quasi-experimental

III) Non-experimental
-Researchers: by-standers
- When independent variables cannot be manipulated

1) Descriptive
- observe, describe, and document variables

2) Correlational
- association between two variables
- Correlation  causation
- Descriptive correlational: describes relationships among variables.

3) Prospective/ Cohort
- follow to the future
- Sample  IV (Exposed/Not exposed)  DV (affected/not affected)

Time dimension: Longitudinal

- data collection: multiple points
- Explains trends over time

4) Retrospective/ Case-control
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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)
 - look back in the past
- IV (Exposed/Not Exposed)  DV (Case/Control)  Sample

Time dimension: Cross-sectional

- data collection: one point in time
- Cannot explain trends over time

*Prospective > Retrospective

Why? Prospective design can be controlled/monitored!

Qualitative Designs
-identify themes and categories
-flexible and elastic; evolves throughout study
-Triangulation: use of multiple sources; strengthens evidence.

1) Ethnography
-Cultural patterns, lifeways, and experiences
-2 Perspectives
o Etic: outsider’s view (researcher)
o Emic: insiders’ view (participant)

2) Phenomenology
-lived experience
-discovering meaning

3) Grounded theory
-understanding social processes
-e.g. the process of practicing spirituality for health promotion of Filipinos

4) Case Studies
-in-depth study of a single entity
- E.g. Case presentation

5) Participatory Action Research (PAR)

-Collaboration: researchers x participants
-Tasks: (1) conduct research, (2) empower people
-Type: Action research; Design: Qualitative

Sampling
-Selecting a portion of the population (sample)
-Population (N), sample (n)
-Goal: Representativeness

Sample size
1) Quantitative
Slovin’s formula

e=margin of error

2) Qualitative
-Data saturation: data repetitive

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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)
Types of Sampling

Non-probability Sampling
- Non-random
- Not all have the chance to be selected
- Low representativeness

1) Convenience
- most conveniently available people
- Biased, weakest, but most common

2) Snowball
- Referrals
3) Quota
- Strata; non-random selection

4) Purposive/judgmental
- Hand-picking samples
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Probability Sampling
- Random
- All have chance to be selected.
- High representativeness
- Probability sampling > Non-probability sampling

1) Simple Random Sampling

- Sampling frame: list of population
- E.g. draw lots

2) Systematic Random Sampling

- Sampling interval (k); k=N/n

3) Stratified Random Sampling

- Strata; random

4) Cluster/ Multistage
- Successive random sampling
- Geographic locations

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Descriptive Statistics
-To synthesize and describe data

Measures of Central Tendency

- Mean: average
- Median: number that divides distribution in half
- Mode: most frequent number

Inferential Statistics
- To make interpretations about the population

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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)
- Used for Hypothesis Testing

1) Correlation
Pearson’s r value
Interpretation:
1 – no relationship
1.1 to 0.3 – low
0.31 to 0.5 – moderate
0.51 to 1.0 – high

(+) positive correlation: direct

(-) negative correlation: inverse

2) Chi-squared (X2) test

- Differences of the proportion (%) of frequencies

3) t-test
- Differences of means of 2 groups.

Independent vs. Dependent t-test

a) Independent: Group 1 and Group 2 are different groups (magkahiwalay)
b) Dependent/Paired: Same group (magkasama)

4) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

- Differences of means of 3 or more groups.

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Prepared by: Raymund Kernell B. Mañago, RN
Source: Polit and Beck’s Essentials of Nursing Research (2010)