Key Concepts
Jie Hu, PhD., RN, FAAN
Quantitative Research:
A formal, objective, systematic process in
which numerical data are used to obtain
information about the world.
Qualitative Research:
A systematic, subjective approach used to
describe life experiences and give them
meaning (Burns & Grove, 2003)
Quantitative
Data
numbers, hard data
Perspective Outsider
Approach
Objective, rational,
empirical
Setting
Controlled, lab
Methods
Measurement
Analysis
Statistical analysis
Qualitative
words, soft data
Insider
Subjective, intuitive
Naturalistic, fieldwork
Description
Individual interpretation
A characteristic or attribute that differs
among the persons, objects, events, that are
being studied
Something varies
Any quality of a person, group or situation
that varies or takes on a different value
Trait or characteristic of individuals being
studied
Independent variables
Dependent variables
Research variables or concepts
Extraneous variables
Demographic variables
Height, weight
Pregnant/not pregnant, male/female,
single/married/divorced/widowed
Age, blood type, health beliefs or grip
strength
Variables: weight, nursing diagnosis, blood
pressure readings, preoperative anxiety levels,
and body temperature
Constant: If everyone had black hair and weighed
125 pounds
The presumed ”cause “ of change in the
dependent variable
The variable that is being manipulated
The variable which influences or has an effect on
the dependent variable
Its occurrence in time should come before the
dependent variable
Known as treatment or experimental variable
Patients with hypertension who
received diet and physical activity
intervention and group education
would have lower blood pressure in the
12 months following-up.
The variable the researcher is interested in
understanding, explaining or predicting
Cause/Effect (the thing being effected)
Example: Smoking (IV) Lung cancer
(DV)
Research question: What is the effect of the
timing of an initial bath on temperature in
newborns ?
Independent variable: Timing of the initial bath
(1 hour versus 2 hours after birth).
Dependent variable: Axillary temperature.
The abstract or theoretical meaning of the
concepts being studied
Non-observable
Range from concrete to abstract
They are the variables in the study
Examples of concrete and abstract concepts
Caring
Pain
Patient care
Coping
Grief
The actual values of the variables
In quantitative research these take on numerical
values.
How depressed would you say you have been on a
scale from 0-10, 0=not at all, 10=the most possible.
Eg. Subject 1: 9
Subject 2: 0
Subject 3: 4
Phase 1:
Phase 2:
Phase 3:
Phase 4:
Phase 5:
Conceptual Phase
Design and Planning Phase
Empirical Phase
Analytic Phase
Dissemination Phase
Phase 1: Conceptual Phase
1. Formulating the problem
2. Reviewing related literature
3. Undertaking clinical fieldwork
4. Defining the framework and developing
conceptual definitions
5. Formulating hypotheses
• Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase
6.
7.
8.
9.
Selecting a research design
Developing intervention protocols
Identifying the population
Designing the sample plan
Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase (cont’d)
10. Specifying methods to measure research
variables and collect data
11. Developing methods to protect
human/animal rights
12. Finalizing and reviewing the research plan
Phase 3: Empirical Phase
13. Collecting data
14. Preparing data for analysis
Phase 4: Analytic Phase
15. Analyzing the data
16. Interpreting results
Phase 5: Dissemination Phase
17. Communicating the findings
18. Utilizing findings in practice
Research Questions
Description of the variable
Examination of relationships among variables
Determination of differences between two or
more groups regarding selected variables
Does massage decrease anxiety in patients
undergoing cardiac catheterization?
Does mouth care in intubated adult patients
decrease ventilator-associated pneumonia?
Are maternal-infant bonding behaviors affected
by the performance of initial newborn infant
physical examination?
Examples of Research Questions
What is the relationship between the Braden
risk-factors scores for skin breakdown and
actual skin breakdown among patients in acute
settings?
What is the relationship between the Braden
risk-factor scores for skin breakdown and the
strategies chosen for prevention of skin
breakdown in patients with diabetes?
Example
Patient or problem: “In radical prostatectomy
patients staying in the hospital one day after
surgery….”
Intervention : “…does customized preoperatve
teaching…”
Comparison intervention: “… compared with
standard preoperative teaching…”
Outcomes: “ …lead to better pain control as
measured by a visual analog scale?”
Examples of Research Questions
What are the urine flow factors contributing to
urinary tract infection in home care clients with
an indwelling urinary catheter?
What are the beliefs and understanding about
tobacco use and cessation among current and
former users in rural Appalachia?
What percentage of a sample of working African
American women has hypertension?
What is the relationship of blood pressure status to
three stress-related variables, anger, coping resources,
and strain?
Is there a significant difference in demographic and
health-related variables among women with different
blood pressure status?
Hypothesis
A statement of the predicted relationship between
independent and dependent variable
Must always involve at least 2 variables
Must suggest a predicted relationship between the
independent variable and the dependent variable
Must contain terms that indicate a relationship (e.g.,
more than, different from, associated with)
Examples
Simple Hypotheses
Older patients are more at risk of experiencing a
fall than younger patients. (Age of patient,
falling behavior)
Central venous catheter-related sepsis will be
lower in patients who do not have a gauze
dressing after the insertion site has healed than
in patients who do have gauze dressing (Olson,
Rennie, Hanson, Ryan, Gilpin, Falsetti et al.,
2004)
Higher levels of perceived control would be associated
with less emotional distress in spouses of patients
recovering from cardiac disease
Perceived control could be enhanced in spouses of
cardiac patients by cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) training.
Nondirectional hypothesis
Relationship exists between variables, but
hypothesis does not predict nature of relationship
Directional hypothesis
Nature (positive or negative) of interaction
between two or more variables is stated
These are developed from theoretical framework,
literature, or clinical practice
Attitudes of pediatric nurses toward mentally retarded
clients are related to number of years in practice
Attitudes of pediatric nurses toward mentally retarded
clients are more favorable than those of medical
surgical nurses
Null hypothesis
States there is no difference or relationship
between variables
Is also called statistical hypothesis
Research hypothesis
States what researcher thinks is true
There is a relationship between two or more
variables
There is no difference in reported pain experienced by
cancer patients with chronic pain who listen to music
with positive suggestion of pain reduction and those
who do not
There is a positive relationship between social distance
in families and burden of caregiving for chronically ill
adults
There is no difference between attitudes of men and
women toward caring for people with AIDS
“There will be (is) no difference between men
and women in knowledge about HIV
transmission routes (sexual, needle sharing,
casual).”
“There will be (is ) no difference between men
and women in knowledge about the
effectiveness of measures to prevent sexual
transmission of HIV” .
Test Yourself:
What Types of Hypotheses Are These?
Older patients are more at risk of experiencing a
fall than younger patients.
The older the patient, the greater the risk that she
or he will fall.
Younger patients tend to be less at risk of a fall
than older ones.
The risk of falling increases with the age of the
patients.
Test Yourself:
“There will be (is) no difference between men
and women in knowledge about HIV
transmission routes (sexual, needle sharing,
casual).”
“There will be (is ) no difference between men
and women in knowledge about the
effectiveness of measures to prevent sexual
transmission of HIV”.
Test Yourself:
1. Older patients are more at risk of
experiencing a fall than younger patients
2. The older the patient, the greater the risk
that she or he will fall
3. Younger patients tend to be less at risk of
a fall than older ones
4. The risk of falling increases with the age
of the patients
Test Yourself:
Does therapeutic touch affect patients’
muscle tension levels?
The muscle tension levels of patients
treated with therapeutic touch will be
lower than the muscle tension levels of
patients treated with physical touch.