This module focuses on the implementation phase of research, beginning with an overview of participant recruitment and data collection. Topics covered include recruitment, retention, preparation for collecting data, and interviewing. Structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews are also covered. We then focus on Internet sources, secondary analysis, historical research, and intervention.

Recruitment and retention are two tremendous hurdles faced by any researcher. In this module we explored the process of participant recruitment and enrollment, what motivates people to participate in a research study—the incentives, and why they may decline—what barriers to participation exist. We also considered the question of retention, which becomes important if you need to maintain contact and retest or re-interview participants.

The type of data you decide to collect and how you go about collecting it will have a great impact on its value in the analysis, reporting, and application phases of your research study. We began with the initial planning and preparation for data collection, including selection of measures, and then consider procedures for specific data collection modes. Specific approaches to testing and observation were discussed, as well as interviewing, and online, secondary, and archival sources.

In this module we discussed online research, secondary analysis of existing databases, and historical research. Each of these methods of data collection has its advantages but also poses some challenges for the researcher. There is still a lot to be learned about the strengths and weaknesses of Internet-based research and questions to be answered about the ethics of using existing data that are felt to be private yet are publicly available. Secondary data analysis probably should be done more often than is currently the case. Although there are challenges to using data collected for another purpose, secondary data analyses often generate a rich yield for the effort expended. Historical research addresses entirely different questions and uses different data collection methods. It requires a sense of context and continuity unlike that of the other data collection strategies. As different as they are, each contributes to our understanding of the patients, clients, their families, and the environment in which nurses provide care.

The intervention phase of research requires active involvement of the investigator and members of the research team. A carefully designed intervention based upon previous research and an underlying theoretical framework are the basis for undertaking this phase of the study. Those providing the intervention need to be well trained, the provision of the intervention needs to be monitored and recorded meticulously, and safety of participants needs to be assured throughout the study.

Module Goals

• Evaluate the ten steps for participant recruitment.
• Appraise barriers to recruitment and retention.
• Critique retention strategies for a given research study.
• Compare and contrast testing and observation as they relate to data collection.
• Differentiate among structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interview.
• Evaluate applications for Internet sources, secondary analysis, and historical research.
• Appraise the challenges in utilizing the Internet for recruitment, data collection, or intervention.
• Establish steps to ensure treatment fidelity in intervention studies.
• Develop a plan to monitor patient safety in an intervention study.

Goals Alignment:

University Mission Based Outcomes – 1, 4

Program Learning Goals – 1, 4

Course Learning Objectives – 2, 4, 7

Learning Materials

Required Resources: 

• Tappen, R. (2016). Advanced nursing research: From theory to practice (2nd ed.). Jones and Bartlett. ISBN: 978-1284048308. Read Chapters 13-17 
•  
• Discussion Question:

In your opinion, is it possible to perform a truly and totally pure structured interview? For example, how can you negotiate a participant that tends to add more than the question requires? Explain.

Your initial posting should be 250 to 350 words in length and utilize at least one scholarly source other than the textbook.

How are theory and research connected? Theory supports research.

Contains unread posts

Krista Muzny posted Apr 6, 2023 5:59 PM

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            According to Barnum (1990, as cited in Tappen, 2016), a theory may be defined as “a statement that describes and/or explains phenomena” (p. 21). Ayers and Olander (2013) define theory as “a set of ideas that attempt to explain phenomena and provide guiding principles on which to base practice” (p. 439). Ayers and Olander (2013) suggest that theory supports research by facilitating scientific inquiry and assisting the development of knowledge. If theory supports research, it will also determine what is measured during research and how results are interpreted from the research study (Ayers & Olander, 2013). Researchers may be confused about which theory to apply and when to apply it during research studies (Ayers & Olander, 2013). According to Ayers and Olander (2013), the number of theories available to the researcher is high, making it difficult to choose one. James Lind is one example of putting a theory to use in research. In the eighteenth century, it was theorized that scurvy was caused by decomposing food in the body. In 1747, James Lind conducted experiments to prevent scurvy in sailors by providing them with citrus fruits, cider, and vinegar (Ayers & Olander, 2013). The experiment created a clear connection between citrus and the prevention of scurvy. This is one example of how a theory supported and gave direction to a significant research study. Reeves et al. (2008) state that “theories provide complex and comprehensive conceptual understandings of things that cannot be pinned down:  how societies work, how organizations operate, why people interact in certain ways” (p. 1). Reeves et al. (2008) further state that theories provide researchers with a different “lens” through which to look at complicated problems and processes and draw their focus to different facets of the information collected providing a basis to conduct their study. I like the idea of a theory providing a lens to look at a problem. Reeves et al. (2013) also provide examples of theories that may be used for research, with the intention of making it easier for those interested in research to apply theory. Tappen (2016) suggests that research and theory are interchangeable. Theory allows the researcher to hypothesize the unknown and research leads into theory by collecting facts and making a conclusion about what they all mean (Tappen, 2016). Clearly, each is integral to the other. Starting with a theory can be used to form a research question, direct the collection of data, interpret the data, and provide explanations of the underlying causes (Reeves et al., 2008). 

 

References

Ayers, S., & Olander, E. K. (2013). What are we measuring and why? Using theory to guide

perinatal research and measurement. Journal of Reproductive & Infant

 Psychology, 31(5), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2013.834041

Reeves, S., Albert, M., Kuper, A., & Hodges, B. D. (2008). Why use theories in qualitative 

research? BMJ : British Medical Journal (Online), 337. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a949

Tappen, R. (2016). Advanced nursing research: From theory to practice (2nd ed.). Jones and 

Bartlett.