Introduction
The accuracy of research depends on the application of an appropriate methodology (Heyvaert, Maes, & Onghena, 2013). Researchers ought to ensure that they gather adequate data. Besides, they are supposed to use practical methods of data analysis and to mitigate possible biases. Proper preparation can go a long way towards ensuring the success of a study. Time constraints may force a researcher to opt to use secondary data. Currently, there is adequate information regarding the problem of early elective delivery in the United States. Therefore, one can gather secondary information from peer-reviewed journals. It would enable the researcher to spare adequate time for data analysis and verification of the results. Combining secondary information with primary data would enhance the accuracy of the findings (Heyvaert et al., 2013). This study will depend on both secondary and primary data. The secondary data will be gathered from peer-reviewed journals that are less than five years old. On the other hand, the primary data will be collected from patients and health care staff with firsthand experience in the challenges of early elective delivery.
Research Design
The study will be implemented using both secondary and primary quantitative data. The researcher will gather secondary data from peer-reviewed journals. It will assist the investigator to understand what is known about the problem of early elective delivery. The secondary data will facilitate the preparation for the collection of primary data (Hoe & Hoare, 2012). The researcher will use secondary information to structure the study questions. The primary information will come from health care workers as well as patients who have experienced the challenges of early elective delivery. The researcher will contact medical facilities in advance to seek authorization to conduct research. Due to time constraints, the researcher will not organize for face-to-face interviews with the participants. Instead, the interviews will be conducted via Skype.
Context of the Study
The researcher will use 15 peer-reviewed journals to gather secondary information. The journals will be sampled based on the content of their information and date of publication. Apart from the secondary sources, the study will involve ten health care workers and 25 patients. The health care employees and patients will be selected voluntarily. The researcher will ensure that the participants understand their rights before the study. Besides, the pollster will endeavor to guarantee the security and privacy of the information that the members share. No unauthorized party will be allowed to access the information. The participants will not be requested to use their real names for the sake of privacy. Moreover, the names of the health care facilities will not be included in the study.
Sampling Technique
The researcher will consider numerous factors when collecting secondary data. They include the accuracy of the information. Only peer-reviewed sources will be used. The researcher will also factor in the date of publication of the source. All secondary sources must be less than five years old. The nature of the information contained in the sources is paramount. Therefore, only journals that account for the challenge of early elective delivery will be admissible. After identifying the essential secondary sources, the researcher will use the stratified sampling technique to ensure significant statistical precision. The study intends to use quantitative and qualitative data. Hence, only secondary sources with both quantitative and qualitative information regarding the topic of interest will be utilized. A stratified sampling technique will also be used to select the participants. It will help to guarantee accurate comparative representations of the population (Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, & Fontenot, 2015). Besides, the sampling technique will facilitate the selection of a small sample, thus saving time.
Instrumentation
The researcher will use a questionnaire to gather information from both the health care workers and patients. The questions will be unstructured to facilitate the collection of accurate information. Moreover, some problems will require the participants to rate their experience and level of satisfaction with the services offered in the health care facilities. The healthcare workers will be needed to respond to questions regarding their experience with early elective delivery. They will also share information about the challenges they encounter. On the other hand, the patients will exchange information regarding their health state, prenatal history, age, and other factors. The researcher will allow participants to select the mode of the interview. They will have to choose between a video call, sound, and the use of the message. The researcher will encourage the use of video calls to enable him to read the nonverbal expressions of the participants. The pollster will gather quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire will comprise thirty questions.
Data Collection
The study will be implemented using a systematic algorithm. The researcher will use the internet to search for secondary data. The study will rely on online libraries like EBSCOhost to obtain secondary information. The researcher will gather ratio data to guarantee the accuracy of the results. The ratio data will comprise quantitative data such as the age of the patient, the duration they have been in the hospital, the date that they undertook early elective delivery, and so on. Besides, the researcher will gather secondary information about the number of patients who opt for early elective delivery in the United States and the financial cost of the practice. The secondary information will go a long way towards laying the foundation for the primary investigation (Maxwell, 2013). Understanding the concept of early elective delivery will help to structure interview questions and clarify the responses from the participants. The research questions will focus on the health and financial problems attributed to early elective delivery. The objective of the study is to analyze early elective delivery as a fundamental nursing problem in the United States. Hence, the data gathered will identify the problems that the patients and nurses experience. The researcher will collect information from the patients with firsthand experience in early elective delivery. It will help them to understand the challenges that both the nurses and patients face. The participants will be notified of the interview dates in advance. It will give them adequate time to prepare.
Data Analysis
The objective of any research is to resolve an existing or potential problem. Thus, it is imperative to come up with accurate results. The accuracy of a study depends on the method of data analysis that a researcher uses (Pluye & Hong, 2014). The researcher will tabulate the secondary data to get a clear picture of the problem of early elective delivery. The study will use a frequency distribution to determine the rate of early elective delivery in the United States. Besides, the frequency distribution will help to identify the prevalence of early elective delivery across the states. The analysis will also assist to determine the ethnicity of the patients who opt for the procedure.
The qualitative data obtained through interviews will be analyzed using a quantitative approach. The approach will help to achieve valuable results from the data. The primary objective of using a quantitative approach is to “eliminate a large number of confounding factors that often obscure the main qualitative findings” (Tabak, Khoong, Chambers, & Brownson, 2012, p. 341). It will also enable the researcher to use numerical terms to compile the findings. The researcher will generate descriptive statistics from the 30 questions. The statistics will then be split under the main headings. The descriptive statistics will comprise the average for individual questions and the frequency distributions for every rejoinder. The advantage of using descriptive statistics to analyze the primary data is that it will help the researcher to envisage what the information shows. In other words, the use of descriptive statistics will enable the researcher to present the findings in a meaningful manner (Tavakol, & Sandars, 2014). The researcher will compute distribution and central tendency to understand the prevalence of early elective delivery and its challenges. Additionally, he will calculate the mean of the patients who develop complications after undergoing early elective delivery. It will help to determine how frequently the procedure results in complications. Besides, the calculation of the average cost of taking care of a child born via early elective delivery will help to determine the financial burden of the procedure. The researcher will later draw a comparison between the findings from both the primary and secondary data and come up with a conclusion.
Project Time Frame
Budget
References
Heyvaert, M., Maes, B., & Onghena, P. (2013). Mixed methods research synthesis: Definition, framework, and potential. Quality & Quantity, 47(2), 659-676.
Hoe, J., & Hoare, Z. (2012). Understanding quantitative research: Part 1. Nursing Standard, 27(15), 52-57.
Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., & Fontenot, R. (2015). Does sample size matter in qualitative research?: A review of qualitative interviews in research. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 54(1), 11-22.
Maxwell, J. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. London, UK: Sage.
Pluye, P., & Hong, Q. (2014). Combining the power of stories and the power of numbers: Mixed methods research and mixed studies reviews. Annual Review of Public Health, 35(1), 29-45.
Tabak, R., Khoong, E., Chambers, D., & Brownson, R. (2012). Bridging research and practice: Models for dissemination and implementation research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43(3), 337-350.
Tavakol, M., & Sandars, J. (2014). Quantitative and qualitative methods in medical education research. Medical Teacher, 36(10), 838-848.