Research Designs

COURSE DESCRIPTION This course introduces the steps in the research process. Emphasis is placed on the principles and methods of the research process, including how this process contributes to the development of nursing knowledge and the improvement of nursing practice. The historical evolution of nursing research is examined and current issues impacting nursing research are analyzed. Ethical considerations and rights of human subjects are explored

Module 3 Discussion: Topic B: Research Designs
Topic B: Identifying and critiquing research designs (i.e. case control study, cohort study, randomized control trial, quasi-experiment, etc.), including describing the manipulation or treatment (if appropriate), controls used to strengthen the design, etc.
Book use in class Polit, D. F., Beck, C. T. (2018). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice (9th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. Chapter 9

Now that you have reviewed the presentation, read the class articles, and done some of your own research into the topic, it’s time to discuss your learning with the class.

First, read any existing posts in the discussion. Then post at least one substantial response post, utilizing at least one outside source and at least one class resource (textbook, class articles, etc.). Posts should be at least two fully developed paragraphs and should thoughtfully reflect on, critique, or expand upon the post that you are responding to. The goal is to get a dialogue going with your classmates.

Classmates post
According to Polit & Beck (2018), within the field of research, quantitative research is utilized in order to address different types of research questions, and different designs that are appropriate for different styled questions (pg. 213).  A design that is considered to better at revealing cause-and-effect relationships than other designs are known as randomized controlled trials or RCTs.  This design is best when illuminating causal relationships, but it does have its limitations depending on the hierarchy of designs for different cause-probing research questions (Polit & Beck, 2018).  In order for the experiment to be considered a true experiment it is characterized by the following properties: Intervention, control, and randomization.  Intervention is when the experimenter intervenes and does something to the participants to manipulate the independent variable that is being observed.  Control is when the experimenter introduces a control group into the study, which is a group that does not receive the intervention while another group receives that specific intervention.  Finally, the randomization is when the experimenter assigns participants to either a control or experimental condition through a randomized selection process. These are the characteristics that define of what is a true experiment, although not all true experiment designs follow these characteristics such as what is known as quasi-experiments.
The Quasi-experiments sparked my interest in its composition and its contribution towards the medical field.  According to Miller, Smith, & Pugatch (2020), implementation science is focused on maximizing the adoption, appropriate use, and sustainability of effective clinical practices in real world clinical settings, although not all implementation science questions can utilize all the characteristics of what makes a true experiment design.  In this case it is common to utilize quasi-experimental designs, which are intended to estimate the effect of an intervention in the absence of randomization.  Quasi-experiments are composed of interventions; however, they’re design lacks randomization, which is the signature to a true experiment and sometimes they lack a control group (Polit & Peck, 2018).
A frequently used quasi-experimental design is known as nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design, which involves comparing two or more groups of people before and after the implementation of an intervention.  An example that utilizes the same style design was conducted by Hsu et al., (2014) within their research they utilized a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design to test and evaluate the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) model created to provide concrete caring and uncaring behaviors that were identified through patient and nurses’ interviews.  They then created evaluation tools composed of quizzes, self-evaluations, focus groups, etc.  They compared both the pre-posttests from the data that was gathered by both the patient’s and the nurses.  In this research design the nonequivalent control groups are composed of two groups: the patients and the nurses and they are being compared to the care behaviors experienced by both groups within a hospital setting.  One of the strengths of quasi-experiments is their practicality and its ease of not having to implement randomized trials.  Although, one of the major disadvantages of quasi-experiments is that causal inferences cannot be made as readily as with RCT’s (Polit & Beck, 2018).