RESEARCH PROCESS

AT THE END OF THIS LECTURE THE STUDENT

SHOULD BE ABLE TO;

1. List the steps of the research process

2. Discuss each step in the research process

MAJOR CLASSES OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
EXPERIMENTAL NONEXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH RESEARCH
• Researchers actively • Researchers collect data
introduce an intervention without intervening or
or treatment introducing treatments

e.g. factors that contributed to hospital readmission in a Hong Kong hospital.

 GLOSSARY:

1. Literature review. 7. Self-report.

2. Clinical fieldwork. 8. Bio-physiologic methods.

3. Hypotheses. 9. Pilot study.

10. Statistical analysis.
4. Research design.
11. Research reports.
5. Intervention protocols.
12. Journal articles.
6. Population.
 TERMINOLOGIES IN RESEARCH
• Abstract: A clear, concise summary of a study that communicates
the essential information about the study.
• Analysis: Method of organizing, sorting and scrutinizing data in
such a way that research question can be answered or meaningful
inferences can be drawn.
• Data: Units of information or any statistics.
• Hypothesis: A tentative statement or statement of the predicted
relationship between two or more variables in a research study.
• Review of literature (ROL) : A critical summary or research on
topic of interest.
 TERMINOLOGIES IN RESEARCH
• Limitations: Restrictions in a study.
• Manipulation: An intervention or treatment introduced by the
researcher in an experimental or quasi-experimental study.
• Operational Definitions: The way by which a researcher
clarifies and defines the variables under investigation.
• Population: The entire set of individuals or objects selected for
the study.
• Pilot Study: Trial study conducted after the completion of
planning phase.
• Reliability: The degree of accuracy with which an instrument
measures the attribute it is designed to measure.
TERMINOLOGIES IN RESEARCH

• Validity: The degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to

measure.
• Variables: Attributes or characteristics that can have more than one value or
that can change or vary.
 TERMINOLOGIES IN RESEARCH

• Settings: The study setting is the location in which the research

study is conducted.
• Sample: A part or subset of population selected to participate in
research study.
• Sampling: The process of selecting sample.
• Probability Sampling: The selection of samples from a
population by randomization.
• Non-probability Sampling: The selection is using non random
procedures.
 PHASES oF RESEARCH PROCESS

Research Process Consists Of Five Phases Each Phase Contains Certain Steps Listed As Following:

Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 3: Phase 4: Phase 5:

Design &
Conceptual Planning Empirical Analyti Disseminatio
Phase Phase Phase c Phase n Phase
PHASE 1: THE CONCEPTUAL PHASE

• These activities include reading and reviewing ideas and a

firm grounding in previous research on the topic of
interest.
 STEPS OF THE CONCEPTUAL PHASE

• Step 1: Formulating and Delimiting the Problem (research

questions).
• Step 2: Reviewing the Related Literature
• Step 3: Undertaking Clinical Fieldwork
• Step 4: Defining the Framework and Developing Conceptual
Definitions
• Step 5: Formulating Hypotheses
PHASE 2: THE DESIGN AND PLANNING PHASE

• Researchers make decisions about the methods and

procedures to be used to address the research
question, and plan for the actual collection of
data.
PHASE 2: THE DESIGN AND PLANNING
PHASE
• Step 6: Selecting a Research Design
• Step 7: Developing Protocols for the Intervention
• Step 8: Identifying the Population to be Studied
• Step 9: Designing the Sampling Plan
• Step 10: Specifying Methods to Measure the Research Variables
• Step 11: Developing Methods for Safeguarding Human/Animal
Rights
• Step 12: Finalizing and Reviewing the Research Plan
PHASE 3: THE EMPIRICAL PHASE

• The empirical portion of quantitative studies

involves collecting research data and preparing
those data for analysis.
STEPS OF THE EMPIRICAL PHASE
• Step 13: Collecting the Data
• Step 14: Preparing the Data for Analysis
 PHASE 4: THE ANALYTIC PHASE

• Quantitative data gathered in the empirical phase are not reported

in raw form. They are subjected to analysis and interpretation,
which occurs in the fourth major phase of a project.

STEPS OF THE ANALYTIC PHASE

• Step 15: Analyzing the Data
• Step 16: Interpreting the Results
 PHASE 5: THE DISSEMINATION PHASE

• The analytic phase brings researchers full circle: it provides

answers to the questions posed in the first phase of the project.
However, researchers’ responsibilities are not complete until the
study results are disseminated.

STEPS OF THE DISSEMINATION PHASE

• Step 17: Communicating the Findings
• Step 18: Utilizing the Findings in Practice
 1- FORMULATING THE PROBLEM
1- Without a significant, interesting problem, the most carefully and
skillfully designed research project is little value.
2- In developing a research question to be studied, nurse researchers must pay
close attention to substantive issues:
(A) Significant issue, Is this research question given the existing base of
knowledge?
(B) Clinical issues, Could findings from this research be useful in clinical
practice?
(C) Methodologic issues: How can this question best be studied to yield high-
quality evidence?
STEP 2: REVIEWING THE RELATED
LITERATURE.

• Quantitative research is typically conducted within the

context of previous knowledge To build on existing
theory or research.
 3- UNDERTAKING CLINICAL FIELDWORK

• Researchers embarking on a clinical nursing study benefit from

spending time in clinical settings, discussing the topic with
clinicians and health care administrators, and observing current
practices.
• Sterling (2001) notes that such clinical fieldwork can provide
perspectives on (1) recent clinical trends, (2) current
diagnostic procedures, (3)and relevant health care delivery
models.
 4: FRAMEWORK AND DEVELOPING CONCEPTUAL
DEFINITION

A - Theory is the ultimate aim of science in that it transcends the

specifics of a (1) particular time, (2) place, (2) group of people, and
(3) regularities in the relationships among variables.
B- When quantitative research is performed within the context of a
theoretical framework—that is, when previous theory is used as a
basis for generating predictions that can be tested through empirical
research.