Effective Rural Emergency Medical Services Systems, Research Paper Example

The need for a pilot study is important in testing the logistics of this survey and collecting vital information to facilitate for the improvement of efficiency as well as the quality of the main research. The pilot study will also aid in the revelation of potential deficiencies associated with the research design and the procedures to be applied so that appropriate measures are taken to address appropriate use of resources and the time to be used in the main experiment. A systematic review of literature or a single publication is a more appropriate source of information on variability. The pilot study is likely to be a source of fundamental information concerning the gravity of projected procedures and treatments in the research (Creswell, 2003). The pilot study shall involve procedures and techniques that do not involve actual data collection prior to the use of the main research that includes data collection with human participants.

Observing research ethics was of paramount importance as a way of marinating the decorum of the entire process involved in this research including the dignity of the researcher and the participants as well. It was therefore imperative that the research accounts for all ethical consideration in the process of gathering information, analysis of available data as well as distribution. Ethical considerations shall involve description of the relationship of the researcher to the problem and potential participants and all measures that will eliminate any conflict of interest as well as the applicable research strategies. Any attempts of to the proposed study and findings will be avoided. Informed consent of participants is a vital consideration in ethics of research. It was the duty of the researcher to reveal to the respondents about the purpose of participating, the relevance, potential benefits as well as the consequences of participation in the research (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). The researcher will also address the following aspects of ethics:

• Protection from harm
• Informed consent
• Assurance of volunteerism
• Right to privacy
• Anonymity
• Confidentiality and the limits of confidentiality
• The potential negative risks for your participants
• Steps taken to safe guard participants from potential negative risks
• Honesty with professional colleagues

All available information from the research must also be handled with the relevant dignity and integrity and must not be used for any other purpose apart from what was initially intended. The participation of the respondents must also be made voluntary and no efforts of coercing them should be made by the researcher. Ethical considerations were also accorded to the secondary sources of information that were used in the literature review through acknowledging their sources (Lefrancois, 2011).

The researcher was also keen when dealing with vulnerable populations such as children, prisoners, pregnant women, mentally disabled persons, or economically or educationally disadvantaged persons. All measures to safeguard their dignity and privacy were taken in to consideration.

The discussion regarding the findings and the available literature on developing effective rural emergency medical services systems includes a debate with reference to the system of data collection. The expected findings of a quantitative research study were projected to impact on the literature and consequently the conclusion to be made.

The current research involved quantitative correlational study using inferential statistics to test hypotheses, draw conclusions and analyze for plausible relationships. Therefore, the research was connected to theoretical uniqueness as evident in literature review. The applicable approach was therefore associated with a high degree of precision in data collection, sampling as well as analysis. Consequently, the authenticity, reliability and validity arte anticipated to be significantly high although it was also important to account for the many aspects that influence the validity and reliability of research. Since the study involved the use of non-experimental correlational design to determine if a relationship exists between age and the availability of EMS services in rural Texas, all research questions were allied to theoretical characteristics that were evident in the literature review. This therefore implied that, the entire process was likely to have a significant degree of accuracy and thus the extent of validity and reliability was equally high (Neuman, 2006).

The research indicates that the systems of rural EMS are exposed to considerable challenges because majority of communities are unable to pay the EMS personnel and instead rely on volunteers. The available EMS workers are only derived from the present populace. The sparse population in the rural areas is significant factors contributing to the increasing costs associated with EMS care and the EMS programs are poorly funded. Due too increased aging among rural populations, the demand for EMS has continued to escalate.

References

Babbie, E. (2007). The Practice of Social Research (11th ed.). California: The Thomas Wadsworth Corporation.

Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Quantitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Quantitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Lefrancois, G. (2011). Psychology: The Human Puzzle. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social research methods: Quantitative and quantitative approaches (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.