Please Respond to these discussions APA format with a reference

Discussion 1

Identifying Designs Used in Nursing Studies

Sometimes, descriptive and correlational designs are

referred to as nonexperimental designs because the focus is on examining
variables as they naturally occur in environments and not on the implementation
of a treatment by the researcher.

Quasi-experimental and experimental studies are

designed to examine causality or the cause and effect relationship between a
researcher-implemented treatment and selected study outcome. The designs for
these studies are sometime referred to as experimental because the focus is on
examining the differences in dependent variables thought to be caused by
independent variables or treatments.

Experimental and non-experimental research design

Experimental research design

Experimental research designs are based on a clear

hypothesis, the purpose of the research is to confirm or refute the validity of
the hypothesis. Experimental research designs have an independent variable, a
dependent variable, and a control group. Most of the experiments are conducted
in a laboratory in a controlled environment. The purpose of the experiment is
to find out the causation and experimental studies are causal studies. These
studies answer what, why and even how questions in the research. The
experimenter can manipulate the variables and he has a control group and a
placebo. The control group receives the treatment that the experimenter wants
to test and the placebo group is tested without any treatment. The changes in
the results of both groups are compared. The experimenter repeats the test in
the same environment more than one time to get most valid results. There are
basically three different types of experiments: controlled experiments,
quasi-experiments, and field experiments.

Non-experimental research design

Non-experimental research designs are carried out in

natural settings, it does not involve manipulation of the situation, event,
circumstances or people. Survey, case studies, correlational studies
comparative studies and descriptive studies are some of the examples of
non-experimental research design. Longitudinal studies are also
non-experimental research and the purpose of these studies is to study a
situation, people or phenomenon over a period of time to observe the change.

A correlation can be established using

non-experimental research design but causation cannot be established. To
establish causation, the researcher should be able to say that the result is
the outcome of the observed variable and not something else. They do not have a
control group and the research design is highly flexible. Due to the absence of
the control group the researcher cannot ascertain that the final results are
the direct effect of the variable that has been studied. The non-experimental
research design study the phenomenon, people or situation in a natural setting
without manipulating it, therefore, the findings can be applied to a wide
audience.

The difference between an experimental and a non-experimental research is in the methodology.

Experimental Methodology

The experimenter determines two groups to perform an

experiment: one group is called the experimental group and the other group is
called a placebo group. The experimental group gets the treatment and the
placebo does not get any treatment. The experimental group is similar to the
control group except that the control group does not get any treatment while
the experimental group gets the treatment. The experimenter repeats the test
twice or thrice to increase the validity of the results.

Non-Experimental Methodology

In a non-experimental research, the researcher does

not manipulate the variables to be tested and therefore he cannot ascertain the
effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. A causation is
established in some of the nonexperimental studies but not in all of them. The
causation is established by determining that a certain variable has an impact
on another variable. It can also compare the results of two or more groups or
people on one or more variables.

Reference:

Grove, S., Gray, J., Burns, N. (2015). Understanding Nursing Research, 6th Edition. [Pageburstl]. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/978145577…

Discussion 2

The two research designs, descriptive and correlational, can be thought to be non-experimental designs. This is because the focus is on observing variables as they naturally exist in environments and not in the implementation of a treatment by the researcher. Types of non-experimental research designs are: surveys, case studies, correlation studies, comparative studies and descriptive studies. Non experimental designs have no random assignments, no control groups and no manipulation of variables, the research design is observation only (Sousa, Driessnack & Menders, 2007). They do not have a control group and the research design is highly flexible. Due to the absence of the control group the researcher cannot ascertain that the final results are the direct effect of the variable that has been studied.

On the other hand, in experimental design researchers uses random assignment and they manipulate an independent variable around a controlled variable. A true experimental design there must be randomization, a control group and manipulation of a variable when examining the direct cause or predicted relationships between variables. In a quasi-experiment one of these aspects is missing (Sousa, Driessnack & Menders, 2007). Experimental research designs have an independent variable, a dependent variable, and a control group. Most of the experiments are conducted in a laboratory in a controlled environment. The control group receives the treatment that the experimenter wants to test and the placebo group is tested without any treatment.

References

Sousa, V.D., Driessnack, M., & Menders. (2007). An overview of Research Designs Relevant to Nursing: part 1:Quantitative Research Designs. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v15n3/v15n3a22.pdf

Discussion 3

Experimental designs were developed to focus on studying casualty (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). In other words, experimental designs enable the researcher to test their hypothesis. An example of an experimental design is the pre- and post-tests used in hospital settings. This design also uses experimental and control groups. This specific design focuses on intervention, setting, measurement and other extraneous factors (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The comparison group refers to those that do not receive education or treatment, while the experimental group is referred to the group who receives treatment, as well as the posttest (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The comparison group is not randomly selected. The controls used would include one receiving treatment, while the other does not, or one receives a placebo (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). For example, if the researcher wanted to know whether asthma educational videos were useful, they would first provide a pre-test. After the pre-test, one group would receive education and watch the video, while the other group, would not receive education, and only take the post-test.

Correlational and Descriptive designs are also referred to as Nonexperimental Design. This is because the focus is on examining factors as they occur, naturally, and not by any means of treatment implementation (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). Some nonexperimental designs will include a time frame. Most nonexperimental designs are thought of as retrospective because the researcher is examining an activity that already occurred (Thompson & Panacek, 2007). A few examples of nonexperimental designs include cross-sectional study, case-control study, survey’s and questionnaires, and case reports. These kinds of designs also may help to develop theories or identify problems. A cross-control study is observational and is intended to be descriptive (Thompson & Panacek, 2007). In case-control studies, there are two similar populations selected. One of these populations has an outcome, also known as the dependent variable of interest, while the other does not (Thompson & Panacek, 2007). After the study, the researcher will assess the situation retrospectively, to determine the cause for the outcome. Because nonexperimental designs lack interventions, as the researcher mostly observes, there is a lack of control in this kind of design (Thompson & Panacek, 2007). The difference in controls between nonexperimental and experimental is that in the experimental study, there is a comparison between the experimental and control group. In nonexperimental, there is a lack of control group due to the study being mainly based on observation.

References

Grove, S. K., Gray, J. R., & Burns, N. (2015). Clarifying Quantitative Research Designs. In Understanding Nursing Research (6th Edition). Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/978-1-437…

Thompson, C. B., & Panacek, E. A. (2007). Research Study Designs: Non-experimental. Air Medical Journal, 26(1), 18-22.

Discussion 4

Experimental research design

Experimental research designs are based on a clear hypothesis, the purpose of the research is to confirm or refute the validity of the hypothesis. Experimental research designs have an independent variable, a dependent variable, and a control group. Most of the experiments are conducted in a laboratory in a controlled environment. The purpose of the experiment is to find out the causation and experimental studies are causal studies. These studies answer what, why and even how questions in the research. The experimenter can manipulate the variables and he has a control group and a placebo. “The control group receives the treatment that the experimenter wants to test and the placebo group is tested without any treatment” (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The change in the results of both groups are compared. The experimenter repeats the test in the same environment more then one time to get most valid results. There are basically three different types of experiments: controlled experiments, quasi-experiments, and field experiments.

Non-experimental research design

Non-experimental research designs are carried out in natural settings, it does not involve manipulation of the situation, event, circumstances or people. Survey, case studies, correlational studies comparative studies and comparative studies and descriptive studies are also non-experimental research and the purpose of these studies is to study a situation, people or phenomenon over a period of time to observe the change.

A correlation can be established using non-experimental research design but causation cannot be established. To establish causation, the researcher should be able to say that the result is the outcome of the observed variable and not something else. They do not have a control group and the research design is highly flexible. “Due to the absence of the control group the researcher cannot ascertain that the final results are the direct effect of the variable that has been studied” (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The non-experimental research design study the phenomenon, people or situation in a natural setting without manipulating it, therefore, the findings can be applied to a wide audience.

Reference

Grove, S. K., Gray, J. R., & Burns, N. (2015). Clarifying Quantitative Research Designs. In Understanding Nursing Research (6th Edition). Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/978-1-437…

Discussion 5

Sampling theory was developed to determine the most
effective way to acquire a sample that accurately reflects the population under
study. Key concepts of sampling theory include populations, target population,
sampling or eligibility criteria, accessible population, elements,
representativeness, sampling frames, and sampling methods or plans.

Sampling involves selecting a group of people,

events, objects, or other elements with which to conduct a study. A sampling
method or plan defines the selection process, and the sample defines the
selected group of people (or elements). A sample selected in a study should
represent an 249 250identified population of people.

Often we are interested in drawing some valid

conclusions (inferences) about a large group of individuals or objects (called
population in statistics). Instead of examining (studying) the entire group
(population, which may be difficult or even impossible to examine), we may
examine (study) only a small part (portion) of the population (entire group of
objects or people). Our objective is to draw valid inferences about certain
facts for the population from results found in the sample; a process known as statistical
inferences. The process of obtaining samples is called sampling and theory
concerning the sampling is called sampling theory.

Example: We may wish to draw conclusions about the

percentage of defective bolts produced in a factory during a given 6-day week
by examining 20 bolts each day produced at various times during the day. Note
that all bolts produced in this case during the week comprise the population,
while the 120 selected bolts during 6-days constitutes a sample.

In business, medical, social and psychological

sciences etc., research, sampling theory is widely used for gathering
information about a population. The sampling process comprises several stages:

Defining the population of concern

Specifying the sampling frame (set of items or events possible to measure)

Specifying a sampling method for selecting the items or events from the sampling frame

Determining the appropriate sample size

Implementing the sampling plan

Sampling and data collecting

Data which can be selected

In its simplest form, generalizability can be described as making predictions based on past observations.

In other words, if something has often happened in the past, it will likely occur in the future. In studies, once researchers have collected enough data to support a hypothesis, they can develop a premise to

predict the outcome in similar circumstances with a certain degree of accuracy

Two aspects of generalizability Generalizing to a population. Sometimes when

scientists talk about generalizability, they are applying results from a study
sample to the larger population from which the sample was selected. For
instance, consider the question, “What percentage of the Canadian population
supports the Liberal party?” In this case, it would be important for
researchers to survey people who represent the population at large. Therefore
they must ensure that the survey respondents include relevant groups from the
larger population in the correct proportions. Examples of relevant groups could
be based on race, gender or age group.

Generalizing to a theory. More broadly, the concept

of generalizability deals with moving from observations to scientific theories
or hypotheses. This type of generalization amounts to taking time- and
place-specific observations to create a universal hypothesis or theory. For
instance, in the 1940s and 1950s, British researchers Richard Doll and Bradford
Hill found that 647 out of 649 lung cancer patients in London hospitals were
smokers. This led to many more research studies, with increasing sample sizes,
with differing groups of people, with differing amounts of smoking and so on.
When the results were found to be consistent across person, time and place, the
observations were generalized into a theory: “cigarette smoking causes lung
cancer.”

Requirements for generalizability

For generalizability we require a study sample that

represents some population of interest — but we also need to understand the
contexts in which the studies are done and how those might influence the
results.

Reference:

Grove, S., Gray, J., Burns, N. (2015). Understanding Nursing Research, 6th Edition. [Pageburstl]. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/978145577…

Imdadullah, M. (2015, August 17). Sampling theory, Introduction and Reasons to Sample. Retrieved April 09, 2018

Generalizability. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2018, from https://www.iwh.on.ca/what-researchers-mean-by/gen…

Discussion 6

Sampling theory provides the tools and techniques for data collection keeping in mind the objectives to be fulfilled and nature of population. Sample surveys and complete enumeration or census are two ways of obtaining the information. Sample surveys collect information on a fraction of the entire population while census collect information on an entire population. There are those surveys that are done on a regular basis while others are only carried out when it is necessary to do so. Some surveys such as economic surveys and agricultural surveys are the ones that can be conducted regularly. On the hand, the need to carry out a consumer satisfaction survey at a newly opened electronics shop can be done when there is need to know the level of satisfaction of the clients.

Generalizability refers to the use of results from a study sample to the larger population from which the sample was taken. Generalizability or applicability is an issue of great importance in all forms of health and social research, and this is particularly true in the current environment in which evidence is held in high esteem. Evidence with high potential for generalizability represents a good starting point such that there can be a working hypothesis that must be evaluated within a context of clinical expertise and patient preferences.

References

Polit, Denise & Tatano Beck, Cheryl. (2010). Generalization in Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Myths and Strategies. International journal of nursing studies. 47. 1451-8. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.06.004.

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