Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis, Essay Example

Broadly, quantitative and qualitative research processes gather two different types of data. Qualitative processes gather information to determine how, why, and when certain hypotheses true. Quantitative processes support aims through the analysis of numerical data. A specific model of the qualitative research process that it utilized in the healthcare system is the distribution of surveys in order to determine patient comfort levels (Wertz et al., 2011). These are used frequently in the maternity ward to ensure that the facility is implementing best practices that will support the comfort level of expecting patients. A specific model of the quantitative research process that is utilized in the healthcare system is the analysis of patient data. In the maternity ward, this involves determining statistics such as the length of stay for each patient to determine how the team can improve practice in a manner that will allow new mothers to return home with their child more quickly.

Ultimately, qualitative and quantitative research processes should be combined when collecting evidence to apply to practice. To acquire sufficient evidence stating that a practice should be changed, it is necessary to gain an understanding of statistical value prior and following the implementation of an intervention. However, these values measure efficacy rather than the human aspect of practice changes, and it is equally valuable to receive feedback from patients and employees to determine the complete impact of the alteration.

Validity is a more important concept to the understanding of rigor in research. To ensure that a study is valid, it is important for the research to base a project on knowledge of prior evidence in the field (Simon, 2011). Conclusions of a study can then be drawn to determine whether a new study validates existing findings or whether new results provide an extension of knowledge for a given field. Ultimately, rigor involves ensuring that the findings of a study apply to the particular group of individuals that were examined in the study (internal validity) in addition to determining whether the findings apply to an external population (external validity).

If a research sample was composed of identical twins, reliability would be enhanced because these individuals could be paired in a manner that each member of the experimental group has a genetically identical control. As a consequence, all variables are eliminated in this process which allows the researcher to be more certain about the results. It is important to consider that the validity of the experiment cannot be defined because only genetically identical individuals are utilized. Therefore, it would be difficult to determine if the results generated applies to members of the external patient population.

There are many advantages in conducting pilot studies for DNP projects. Pilot studies will allow the researcher to gain a greater understanding of whether the results have internal validity, external validity, or both. In addition, starting a project with a smaller sample size allows the researcher to be more certain that resources will be used to their maximum potential if the results of a pilot study show promise. If this is the case, there is a greater likelihood that a large number of patients could be reasonably recruited to a study. In the field of maternity, this is an important ethical consideration as well. Since the goal is to maximize care and minimize harm of patients, a pilot study would allow the researcher to determine the extent to which this exists within a particular case and allow him or her to make modifications to the study accordingly.

References

Simon MK. (2011). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success. Seattle, WA: Dissertation Success LLC.

Wertz, Charmaz, McMullen. (2011). Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis: Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry. The Guilford Press, 1.