Research Designs

(Mrs.Pushpa. D , HOD, Department of Psychiatric Nursing , St.Philomenas college of nursing)

Introduction
After developing the research problem, articulating research hypothesis/question and developing a theoretical rational there are several challenges that a researcher faces. Proper planning is vey essential to ensure completion of the study . DEFINITION Research design is the master plan specifying the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information in a research study. Research design is a plan of how, when and where data are to be collected and analyzed

Elements of Research Design The Approach: plan includes if the study will be a Qualitative or Quantitative study, will there be an intervention or manipulation, will there be a comparison group or not. Population, sample and sampling technique should also be made clear when planning for the research. Time(ho often! and place of data collection(location! should be ensured in detail while planning Tools " #ethod(s! of data collection ools: Questionnaires, interviews/ direct observations for quantitative studies and for qualitative studies a combination of these methods can be used. #ethod of data anal$sis: !ither quantitative or qualitative data analysis techniques can be used Factors affecting selection of Research Design ". Nature of the research pro%lem #phenomenon$ is an important factor to determine the type of investigation to conduct.

%. Purpose of the stud$ : is it for prediction, description, e&ploration, or correlation of the research variables that the study is conducted. '. Researcher &no ledge and e'perience gives confidence to select the design for the study. (. Researcher(s interest and moti)ation le)el helps to determine the choice of design for the study. ). Research ethics and principles: Participant*s rights, informed consent, protection from harm, adverse effects to educational progress, health or well+ being should also be considered. ,. *u%+ects, participants: if smaller numbers are available choose qualitative sample, if larger sample then choose quantitative sample. -. Resources- resources li.e money, equipment, facilities, and support from others etc. /. Time- time is a ma0or factor in choice of design for the study 1. Possi%le control on e'traneous )aria%les- depending on whether researcher can control e&traneous variables or not in an e&perimental study he chooses either true/ quasi/ pre e&perimental design. "2. .sers of the stud$ findings- 3n order to ma&imize the efficacy of the research findings it is important to select the appropriate design.

T$pes of Research Design group design

". Post test only control %. Pre+test post+test control group design '. 7olomon four group design

/0 1uantitati)e Research Designs

(. 8actorial design ). 9andomized bloc. design ,. 5ross over design

20 1ualitati)e Research Designs

A0 E'perimental Research Design ". rue design e&perimental

". :on ; randomized control group design %. ime series design ". <ne shot case design %. <ne group pretest posttest design

". Phenomenology %.!thnographic study '. 4rounded theory (. 5ase study ). 6istorical research

%.Quasi+e&perimental design '. Pre+e&perimental

40Non5E'perimental Research Design ".>escriptive design %.5orrelation design '.>evelopmental research design (.!pidemiological design ).7urvey design research

/01uantitati)e Research Design

A0 E'perimental Research Designs (o%ser)ation under controlled conditions! An e&periment is a scientific investigation in which observations are made and data are collected according to a set of well+defined criteria. 3haracteristics of an E'perimental Research /0 #anipulation: =>oing something to at least one group of sub0ects? 7omething:@@treatment/e&periment@.. independent variable

!&perimenter purposely varies the independent variable and observes the effect that manipulation has on the dependent variable. !.g. teaching, new therapy, etc 20 3ontrol- Acquired by a$ #atching- a conscious =matching? of the sample characteristics in both the groups. b$ 3ounter%alancing- in studies where the order of administration of the interventions is concerned all the sub0ects receive all the treatments but the order of administration is varied.

c$ 5arefully preparing e&perimental protocol #homogeneity by statistical test$: d$ Asing a control group 60 Randomi7ation or random allocation or random assignment : 9andom means every sub0ect has an equal chance of being assigned to any group 8lipping a coin Bottery method able of random numbers 8ree internet access on http:www. 9andomizer.org 7tatistical software pac.age

*$m%olic representationsR8 9andom assignment of the sub0ects to groups O8 <bservation or measurement of dependent variables 98 !&perimental treatment or intervention

a0 True e'perimental Designs #designs in which manipulation/ treatment, randomization and control are present$
". Post+test only control group %. Pretest post+test control group '. 7olomon ( group (. 8actorial design ). 9andomized bloc. ,. 5rossover design /0Post5test onl$ control design or after onl$ design- participants are assigned to two groups randomly as control group and e&perimental groups, without conducting pretest. 3ntervention is administered to only the e&perimental group and both groups are administered the testC post test#after administration of the intervention$. R 9 O2

O2

20Pretest post5test control group- participants are assigned to two groups randomly as control group and e&perimental groups. Doth are pretested then the intervention is administered to the e&perimental group for the set period, after which both the groups are tested with the same tool. his shows the result is only due to the intervention on the e&perimental group. 9epresented as R O/ 9 O2 R O/ O2

60*olomon(s Four5group Design- investigator assigns the participants randomly to ( groups of which % are e&perimental and two are control group. <nly e&perimental group " and control group " do the pretest. he intervention is administered to both the e&perimental groups. hen all four groups do the post+test . Eost prestigious of the e&perimental research designs.
E'p0 :roup / 3ontrol :roup/ E'p0 :roup 2 3ontrol :roup2 O/ O2 55 55 9 5 9 5 O6 O; O< O=

;0Factorial design- considered in e&periments where the researcher manipulates two or more independent variables at the same time to observe the effect on the dependent variable. !.g. to observe the effect of saline or potassium in healing of episiotomy wound. he second factor will be the timing used for the sitz bath, "2 minutes, %2 minutes or '2 minutes. /st )aria%le is material used for the sit7 %ath, 2 nd )aria%le the duration for the sit7 %ath Duration
Protocol %ath
7aline #7$

for

*it7 Protocol for *it7

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Potassium permanganate#P$
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"2 mins# "$ %2 mins# %$ '2 mins# '$

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<0Randomi7ed %loc& design- here are two factors #independent variable$ but one factor is
not e&perimentally manipulated the second factor is stratifying variable. #%2 samples required in each cell$. 4loc&ing factor (not manipulated!

Tactile stimuli A" A"

Auditor$ stimuli D" D"

Eale 8emale

=03ross o)er design- 3nvolves the e&posure of same sub0ects to F " e&perimental treatment . his type of within sub0ects design has the advantages of ensuring the highest possible equivalence. AD5 D5A 5AD A 5 D D A 5 5 D A

Ad)antage of e'perimental approach ". Eost powerful method to test hypothesis of cause+and effect relationship between variables. %. Gields highest+quality evidence regarding intervention effects. '. 5onditions not found in the natural setting can be created in an e&perimental setting, where the independent variable is manipulated by investigator. (. <ffer greatest validation compared to other research methods Disad)antage of e'perimental approach ". 6awthorne effect. %. 5ontrol by researcher in clinical studies is difficult as she or he has little control over that environment '. Eany interesting variables are not open to e&perimental manipulation e.g.. 6ealth history, age gender etc cannot be randomized (. 8indings cannot be replicated due to ethical reasons ). 3mpractical when effects of the independent variable may require a lengthy period of time to .now the response.

,. 5onducted on human beings so small size+ generalization difficult b.1uasi5e'perimental designs (#anipulation " 3ontrol ,R andomi7ation! /0Non equi)alent ,nonrandomi7ed control group designsi. :on+equivalent control group before+ after design:
O/ 9 O2

O/

O2

ii.

:on+equivalent control group after+only design

6ere no pretest is held 9 O2 O2 20Time5series designs- researcher measures the effect of an inter)ention o)er a period of time, usuall$ a single participant or small num%er of participants0 with control group O/ O/ Hithout control group O2 O2 9 O6 O6

O/ O2

O6

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O< 9

O= O>

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*trengthsa$ Practical+in real life situations b$ Eore feasible in conducting nursing research studies c$ Patients not willing to be in control group d$ 3nvolve broader group of people as it does not have random allotment

Bea&ness-

a. 9esults are less conclusive b. :o control over e&traneous variables influencing dependent variable

c0Pre5e'perimental Research Design #Eanipulation but no 5ontrol /9andomization$ /0One5shot case design- one group is e&posed to the treatment and observations are made after the implementation of the treatment. 20One group pretest5posttest design- only the e&perimental group is chosen and the pretest done after which the intervention is administered and a post test is administered. Ad)antages Iery simple and convenient to conduct in natural settings, especially in nursing Eost suitable for beginners

Disad)antages Hea. design to establish cause+ effect relationship 6as very little control over the research

40 Non5e'perimental Design, O%ser)ational Research

(No #anipulation, 3ontrol or Randomi7ation! /0Descripti)e design- observe, describe and document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs. Anivariant >escriptive 7tudies: describes the frequency and occurrence of a phenomenon, describing all the variables and establishing the relationship between the variables. !&ploratory descriptive design: in+depth phenomenon and its related factors. e&ploration of the e&isting

5omparative descriptive design: involves comparing and contrasting two or more samples of study on one or more variables often at a single point in time.

203orrelational design- researcher e&amines the relationship between two or more variables in a natural setting. 9etrospective >esigns: 9esearcher studies the current phenomenon see.ing information from the past. !.g. =A retrospective 5orrelational study on substance+abuse+related high+ris. factors among traumatic head in0ury patients admitted in neurosurgery 35A of a selected 6ospital?. Prospective >esigns: 9esearcher studies the current phenomenon see.ing information with the future. 7tarts with the presumed cause and goes on to the presumed future. !.g. JA prospective 5orrelational study on smo.ers and their chances of development of cancer* '.De)elopmental research design- e&amines the phenomenon with regard to time. 5ross+sectional design: researcher collects data at a particular point in time. Bongitudinal design: researcher collects data over an e&tended period of time. 5an be of three types+ ". rend studies: investigate a sample from a general population over a period of time wrt some phenomenon. %. Panel + studies: same selected people are contacted two or more times to collect data. Patterns of change and reasons are .nown. '. 8ollow up studies : underta.en to determine the subsequent state of sub0ect#s$with regard to a specified condition or after a specific treatment.

;0 Epidemiological design- a study of the distribution and causes of the diseases in a population. 5ase+control design: causes of a disease are investigated after the occurrence of a disease. !.g. h/o smo.ing in patients diagnosed with cancer. 5ohort studies: used to investigate the occurrence of a disease in a presumed cause e.g. non vegetarians and obesity. <0 *ur)e$ research design- collect information from different sub0ects within a given population having same characteristics of interest. 3f on a sample called as sample survey, if on the population then called as population survey/ census. Ad)antages of Non5e'perimental Design

5losest to real life situations Eost suitable to nursing research studies Eanipulation is not possible for many of human characteristics#blood type, personality$ Eanipulation of certain variables not possible on ethical grounds

Disad)antages 5ause effect relationship cannot be established even if it e&ists 5onducted for comparison purposes so homogeneity of group not possible so affects the authenticity and generalizability of the study results

30 Other Additional Research Design

Eethodological studies: are conducted to develop, validate, test and evaluate the research instruments and methods. Eeta+analysis: Quantitatively combining and integrating the findings of the multiple research studies in a particular topic. 7econdary >ata Analysis: data collected by one researcher is reanalyzed by another researcher, usually to test new hypothesis. <utcome 9esearch: a research planned to assess or record the end result of health care services to develop evidence based practice or improve health care services. !valuation 7tudies: 0udge how well a program, practice, procedure or policy is wor.ing or determine the effectiveness of value of processes, personnel, equipment and material used in a particular setting. <perational 9esearch- involves study of comple& human organizations to improve wor.ing efficiency of an organization.

1ualitati)e Research Design

Bhat is 1ualitati)e ResearchC An emergent design emerges as the study progresses.

3haracteristics of 1ualitati)e Research Design

". !merges as the study advances %. 8le&ible and elastic+ as the data is gathered

'.

riangulation + Eultiple strategies of data collection are used to collect the data

(. 6olistic understanding of the phenomenon ). 9esearchers is involved intensely for long periods of time ,. <ngoing data analysis is done to generate information required for the study -. 9esearcher as instrument for data collection Phases of 1ualitati)e Research Design 3. 33. 333. <rientation and overview phase 8ocused e&ploration 5onfirmation and closure

RE*EAR3DER 1.AEITIE* An open and enquiring mind. 4ood listening ; 5apturing mood and affective components K Appreciating the conte&t 7ensitivity. Adaptiveness L 8le&ibility. 4rasp of the issues to interpret information. Bac. of bias with openness to contrary findings.

T$pes of qualitati)e research ". Phenomenology %. !thnographic study '. 4rounded theory (. 5ase study ). 6istorical research ,. Action research ". Phenomenolog$ derived from sociology

Phenomenological study traces out the lived e&periences of people and generates theories or models of phenomenon being studied. !.g. A phenomenological study on lived e&periences of tsunami victims in selected villages of amil :adu Data generation #ethods of data collectionriangulation#use of multiple methods of data collection$ formal and informal interviews#in+depth L may be audio taped$Kparticipant observation Kfield notes K dairiesK observation and participation in family activities Eemoing 3nterim summary 8ormal interviews audio taped and transcribed verbatim by professional transcriptionist >ata presented to families for validation and more input 9edundancy #data saturation$ provided criterion for ending data collection. Audit trail+having a full record of all activities #field notes, researcher diary, raw data, coding and analytical process$ >ebriefing+ peers 8eed into a computer software program for data management and analysis 5oded data clustered into broad categories and further into meaningful themes

20 ETDNO:RAPDF ! 6:<49AP6G+ =Portrait of people?. 3s a branch of human enquiry, associated with anthropology, which focuses on the culture of a group of people with an effort to understand their worldview. T o t$pes- Eacroethnography #study broadly defined culture$ and Eicroethnography
#study narrow aspects of the culture$. !thno+nursing research by Eadeleive Beninger as =the study and analysis of the local or indigenous people*s viewpoints, beliefs, and practices about nursing care behavior and process of designated cultures?

*teps of ethnographic research 3dentify the culture to be studied

3dentify the significant variables within the culture Biterature review 4aining entry 5ultural immersion Acquiring informants 4athering data# from .ey informants$ Analysis of data >escription of culture heory development

Fundamental characteristics of ethnograph$ 9esearcher is the instrument #emic+insider*s view than etic+outsider*s view$ through informal interactions L observation of physical evidences+ photos, diaries, letters. !&tensive 8ieldwor. #labor+intensive L time consuming$. he cyclic nature of data collection and analysis. he focus is on culture # cultural behavior+do, cultural artifacts+use, and cultural speech+say$. 5ultural immersion. 9efle&ivity

e.g. An ethnographic study on socio+cultural beliefs of the people about antenatal, natal and postnatal care of women in selected tribal communities of 9a0asthan. 60 :rounded Theor$ 7tudies in which data are collected and analyzed and then a theory is developed that is grounded in the data. <r theory developed from the research is Jgrounded* or has its roots in the data from which it was derived. e.g. A grounded theory research on the adaptation levels of people with post+in0ury permanent physical disabilities at@@. 3haracteristics of :rounded Theor$-

Degins with a research situation 7ources of data: interviews #formal/ informal, audio/video taping$, diaries, case studies, artwor., participant observation, e&amining documents. :ote+ta.ing of the happenings 5onstant comparisons of data heory emerges 9esearcher codes are made Eemoing #writes notes about the theory$ 4roup memos and sequence them to ma.e theory clearer ;0 3A*E *T.DF 5ase studies are in+depth e&amination of people, places, or institutions. 7ingle case or a small number of related cases An intensive investigation of single situations which serve to identify and describe basic phenomena. 5ase studies provide an e&cellent opportunity for triangulation. Asing observation #participant/non participant$, interviews and questionnaire.

/0 Distorical Research Design A systematic narrative description or critical evaluation of data relating to past occurrences of a particular phenomenon !.g. A historical research on the development of nursing in 3ndia 3ON3EPT OF DI*TORI3AE RE*EAR3D Past oriented, may be longitudinal or cross sectional in nature. 6istorical research may be more difficult to conduct than some of the other types of research. 5oncerns identification, location, evaluation and synthesis of data from the past. >iscovers past events to relate present and to the future. Ases all the steps of the scientific method.

6as no scope to produce or alter the form of data but to find data and accept the data

*TEP* OF DI*TORI3AE RE*EAR3D >efining a problem area. >evelop specific Questions/6ypothesis. 5ollect >ata. *ources of data- primary #first+hand information$ and secondary #reporter was not in the scene of the event but reports what some primary source had informed$ e.g. boo.s. Analyze >ata #internal criticism+reliability of source i.e. how correctly contents of document is interpreted and e&ternal criticism+ authenticity of source$ 3nterpretation ; 9esearcher should devote considerable efforts to identifying and evaluating data sources on events, situations and human behavior that occurred in the past Presentation of the facts #without undue bias$

20 Action Research Action 9esearch is a form of applied research that tries to empower people through a process that constructs and uses .nowledge 0 Data collection methods a$ 3nterview b$ <bservation c$ 7tory telling d$ 7ocio+drama e$ >rawing L painting f$ Plays and s.it 3onclusion- Advance planning is required for all research. 7electing the proper design for the study in terms of the problem, the availability of the sample, time allotted, funds available, e&perience of the researcher etc is very important based on which the outcome of the study is evaluated.