It is well known that research is an essential part of learning, which allows people to improve their knowledge and practice in any area of expertise. Nursing, as one of the elements of medicine, is not an exception. The need for nursing research is ensured by the fact that it provides the fundament for high-quality nursing care, based on evidence (Yates, 2015). Research in nursing has some peculiarities as there is a need to follow certain ethical principles to study human beings.
These principles include minimizing the risk of harm, obtaining informed consent, protecting anonymity and confidentiality, and avoiding deceptive practices (Heale & Shorten, 2016). Therefore, it is important for nurses to be guided by ethical principles to never harm individuals who take part in studies and protect their rights and confidentiality. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the peculiarities of research in nursing, analyze quantitative and qualitative research, and reveal the meaning of the sampling strategy in nursing.
There are different kinds of scientific research, and the quantitative type is one of them. Quantitative research implies a collection of information and its analysis through the utilization of statistical data. This type of research is important because it helps to identify the true nature of realities and determine the strengths or weaknesses of new measures based on statistical data (Esperón, 2017). There is a grounded theory type of quantitative design with a significant feature of large subject numbers.
Looking at the subject numbers, scientists develop theoretical models based on the existing data. This method helps nurses to analyze new tendencies in the healthcare environment and create theories that can be used later in practice.
Qualitative research is another type of research, which aims to understand a problem or an issue without using any statistical methods. Qualitative research plays a significant role in helping healthcare professionals understand patients’ diseases (Gelling, 2014). Also, it has a number of methodological options that allow nurses and other medical specialists to reveal the effectiveness of new treatment therapies or medications.
In this case, the causal-comparative type of quantitative design is especially significant as it has an important feature, which is called an experiment. The experiment aims to reveal cause-effect relationships among different variables. This type of research can help to improve nursing practices by establishing the relationships between implementing new treatment practices and patients’ well-being.
Research sampling is another crucial component of studying. Sampling is a group of individuals or objects that are chosen for conducting an experiment, interview, or surveys. Samplings play a significant role in research because they help to draw conclusions about an entire population observing only a small group of people. The simplest sampling strategy in quantitative research is called simple random sampling.
To use this strategy, it is enough to choose individuals (subjects) from a larger set randomly. In this case, every individual has the same probability of being selected at any stage of the sampling process. There is another sampling strategy that was learned, which is called systematic sampling. Systematic sampling implies the selection of individuals at regular intervals based on the sampling interval.
In general, research helps to make the nursing practice safer because the results of studies show what measures can have a positive impact on patients and what measures should be avoided. Also, it is necessary to notice that quantitative research is critical for creating an evidence-based nursing practice. It demonstrates the accurate data in numbers, which show how measures, taken by nurses, affect the entire population. Based on these numbers, nurses can decide whether they should take the same actions if a similar situation happens in the future.
Therefore, it can be concluded that research remains the main tool that ensures the improvement of human knowledge in various areas of expertise. There are several types and methods of research that are used in various situations. In nursing, sampling is one of the most significant tools, which is utilized in conducting experiments and studies. Moreover, research has a positive impact on patients’ health and facilitates the work of nurses.
References
Esperón, J. (2017). Quantitative research in nursing science. Escola Anna Nery, 21(1), e20170027.
Gelling, L. (2014). Qualitative research. Nursing Standard, 29(30), 43–47.
Heale, R., & Shorten, A. (2016). Ethical context of nursing research. Evidence-Based Nursing, 20(1), 7.
Yates, M. (2015). Research in nursing practice. The American Journal of Nursing, 115(5), 11.