Introduction
How particular nursing practices affect populations with dissimilar conditions and demographic characteristics is necessary to know to provide the best possible care, which is why nursing research is needed. Importantly, to act as knowledgeable research consumers and critically appraise research articles before implementing any findings, nurses should understand the basic principles of research and what makes findings credible. This paper reviews some key terms, including qualitative and quantitative research, sampling, and evidence-based practice, and explains their role in nursing.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research refers to the systematic investigation of different topics by collecting quantifiable or numerical data. What makes quantitative research important is that it allows making generalizations and exploring general tendencies associated with nursing care and patients’ reactions to it (Baldi & Gregori, 2017). One popular type of quantitative design used in nursing research is presented by correlational studies. Such studies use numerical data to examine the presence and nature of relationships between two or more variables. Regarding important features, correlational studies are drastically different from experimental ones, and there are no manipulations involving selected independent variables (Curtis et al., 2016). Quantitative research allows exploring links between specific nursing care practices or disease prevention programs and health outcomes in particular populations. These generalized conclusions can then be used to improve care and consider patients’ characteristics to choose the most effective practices.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research explores various topics by analyzing non-numerical and unstructured data. As for importance, qualitative research allows conducting in-depth investigations and studying micro-level trends and interactions between those involved in care provision processes. A case study is a widely used type of qualitative design aimed at investigating “contemporary phenomena within a real-life context” (De Andrade et al., 2017, p. 2). One key feature of case studies is that they explore the interactions between multiple variables in particular and very specific contexts (De Andrade et al., 2017). Qualitative studies can shed light on unobvious issues in patient care and nurse-patient communication by interviewing the members of specific population groups and identifying the most prevalent themes. The identified issues can then be used to conduct more specific investigations with larger samples and propose improvement strategies, thus making nursing practice better.
Sampling
Sampling refers to the process of selecting participants from the general population to be included in a study. Sampling is of utmost importance because it ensures the accuracy and practical relevance of research by narrowing the number of participants and emphasizing participant characteristics that are relevant to the chosen research questions. Strategies used in quantitative research include systematic random sampling or selecting participants based on some system of intervals (for instance, giving a questionnaire to every fifth patient in the list). Another strategy that I have learned is snowball sampling, where actual participants recruit new research subjects among people they know.
Credible Practice
To ensure patient safety, nurses need relevant and thoroughly verified information about specific approaches to caring for different populations. Nursing research offers such information by making generalized and verifiable conclusions about different practices’ ability to initiate health improvement without causing harm. Evidence-based practice cannot exist without research because the critical appraisal of information about care practices and approaches lies at the core of EBP. Evidence from nursing research is what allows taking a critical look at some issues and analyzing practices’ effectiveness in different contexts.
Conclusion
To sum it up, nursing research is of great importance since it promotes the credible nursing practice and initiates improvement. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches to research are critical because they help to establish links between care practices and health outcomes or study patients’ unquantifiable experiences. Studies’ practical significance and relevance to the chosen hypotheses and research questions are supported by the selection of appropriate sampling strategies.
References
De Andrade, S. R., Ruoff, A. B., Piccoli, T., Schmitt, M. D., Ferreira, A., & Xavier, A. C. A. (2017). Case study as a nursing research method: An integrative review. Texto & Contexto Enfermagem, 26(4), 1-12.
Baldi, I., & Gregori, D. (2017). Editorial: Methodological approaches for quantitative nursing research. The Open Nursing Journal, 11, 142-143.
Curtis, E. A., Comiskey, C., & Dempsey, O. (2016). Importance and use of correlational research. Nurse Researcher, 23(6), 20-25.