Social Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches - Research Paper Example

? Nursing Research Paper: RESEARCH DESIGN This research will use a qualitative model of research design in its attempt to try and establish the possible communication issues that can be perceived as tending to affect older adults with non-English speaking backgrounds in their attempts at accessing and receiving nursing care. The qualitative aspects of the research will focus obtaining data from descriptive narratives (interviews) as well as from general observations and case studies that will be made as the research continues by the person taking the data. The research conducted will essentially have descriptive elements as it will attempt to try and establish the communication issues affecting the older people population demographic of Australia without any intervention. In descriptive research the researcher needs to only collect the relevant data as they occur without necessarily disrupting the subjects (Creswell 2003). In this particular research data was obtained through the concentrated effort of conducting interviews and focus groups that were targeted at establishing the problems facing the older adults in their efforts at accessing and receiving adequate nursing care. This was done without any undue attempts by the researchers to try and make any attempts at modifying the answers that they managed to gather from the field. In this respect, the data obtained and reflected in this research can thus be highly regarded in the assurance that there were attempts by the researcher to influence any part of this research (Stake 1994). The qualitative approach that has been taken by this paper can be seen to actively facilitate a somewhat more pedantic and considerably exact response from the participants of this survey. This is as a result of this particular designs tendency to draw the attention of the participants to an outlook and perceptions that tend to allow for a more comprehensive study to be carried out. The complexity that is generally seen to be engendered by a more detailed examination would necessitate the need for the researcher to use more highly specialized methods in the collection and subsequent analysis of data (Patton, 1990). The focus of this particular research is focused on the problems facing older people with non English speaking backgrounds and this particular issue can adequately be predominantly investigated via the use of a qualitative research model of approach. This particular research can be judged as not requiring any attempt by the researcher towards establishing of the elucidation of a more intense and deeper look into the sentiments that are seen to be expressed by the respondents. In light of this, it is plainly clear that the best approach to this particular research is the qualitative model of research. POPULATION AND SAMPLING PLAN THE TARGET POPULATION A target population can broadly be referred to as members of what can be considered to either be a hypothetical or real set of objects, people or events to which persons conducting a research can be seen to wish to generalize their research upon. This particular study was designed to target persons who were aged 50 years with non English speaking backgrounds residing in Australia. The research managed to access about 300 possible respondents who were deemed as being suitable target candidates for this research. Due to various limitations, it was not viable for data to be collected from all the 300 possible candidates and hence a sample size of about 30% was used to conduct the survey. SAMPLING PLAN This particular segment of the research will center on matters pertaining to establishing a sampling design and the subsequent sampling that will occur. Sampling can be broadly defined as the procedure that is to be used in the selection of a respondent or participant from among a given specific population while continually putting into consideration the peculiarities that will be deemed as being atypical to them (Neuman, 2002). It is possible for one to carry out sampling by conducting either the non-probability or the probability method of sampling (Leary, 1995). The non-probability method of sampling is generally defined as the preset procedure whereby the respondents of a research are purposively selected via the help of a random selection process (Creswell, 2003). This research has mainly adopted the purposive sampling technique as the main sampling method to be used in carrying out the sampling process. This is majorly as a result of the need for the respondents to exhibit certain key characteristics concerning their age and English communication skills. Purposive sampling is widely viewed by many researchers as being a subtype of the basic non-probability method of data sampling. Purposive sampling is mainly characterized by the prospective members of the established sample groups being seen to possess certain important traits that are considered to be vital in carrying out the and establishing the overall results of the entire research. This latter attribute is seen to play a prime role in ensuring that this sample group is made the focus of the main study and hence they are considered to be the best source of information that is being carried out by the researchers (Leary, 1995). The main aims of this research were achieved after about 30% of the possible target candidature of about 300 individuals was interviewed. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS The interview model of data collection is generally viewed as being the most economical and efficient interview screening method when it comes to conducting preventive and descriptive research on relatively large community samples. In this particular research, the researcher needs to correctly identify the actual sediments of the interview’s respondents as well as record any other view and opinions that they might happen to express during the course of data collection for the interview. This research being a both a quantitative and qualitative study, this methods was deemed to be extremely convenient as well as applicable to the research that was being carried out. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES The main and primary data collected for use in the research was mainly collected with the help of the use of group interviews conducted across various hospitals located all over the country. This was done mainly to try and even out the data collection process while ensuring that data from almost all areas of the country was adequately represented in the overall data collection process. Questionnaires to be used in the interviews were delivered to the various health facilities and the researchers took a few minutes to personally conduct the interviews. This was done with the main aim of reducing any possible mistakes on the part of the persons being interviewed that could have led to the erroneous filling in of the form and the subsequent obtainment of incorrect data. The physical presence of the researchers during the interview process also served to ensure that the subject’s response rate was relatively high in comparison to if the researchers had not been physically present during the time of the interview. Any chances of the respondents not adequately understanding the questions were also minimized as the researchers were on standby to ensure that they explained everything to the target population being interviewed. Secondary data for use in this research was collected from several literature reviews that have conducted several studies into this phenomenon. The literature was mainly outsourced from journals, internet and library sources. During the search conducted of these literature review sources some of the common terms used to conduct the searches included, “CALD”, “NESB”, and “Effects of Communication Barriers” among others. These search results were then carefully filtered by the research team and only the best and top search results were picked for their subsequent use in the research upon being subjected to further and more in depth analysis by all the researchers. This was done mainly to ensure that the secondary data was relevant and would offer sufficiently good data and information that could be applied in the eventual analysis. All the pieces additional secondary data collected were then used in the obtainment of secondary data that was proved to be quite useful and beneficial in the conducting the research. All the responses received by the researchers was treated in absolute and strict confidentiality and the researchers committed to only use the obtained information for the purposes of this research. DATA ANALYSIS The main method of analyzing the data collected from the research is the hermeneutic-phenomenological analysis of data. This method was chosen mainly done due to the need by this particular research to be able to correctly interpret the data collected in the various stages during the entire research process. This method of conducting data analysis is crucial in establishing any emerging patterns or trends related to the communication problems that aged people who happen to have non- English speaking backgrounds frequently experience in their attempts at accessing nursing services. The method helps in the proper analysis of the information that has been made available by the data collection mechanism in addition to making sure that there is an effective process of interpretation of this data (Kvale, 1996). After collection of all the necessary data during the field work stage of the research process, all data received was checked for both completeness and general adequacy. Each of the questionnaires received was then coded using numbers and symbols with the aim of ensuring the protection of the participant as well as for easier summarizing, manipulation and categorizing of the data obtained from the research questions provided. The information that was given by all the respondents in the various health facilities and focus groups was found to be well articulated upon. This is in consideration of the prevalent conditions where the researchers often hand to rely on interpreters to conduct some of the survey as the respondents were often severely impeded by the existing language barriers and were thus unable to express their thoughts and feelings effectively. The data collected from these primary sources was seen to incline towards describing patterns where most the respondents in the survey confirmed that they were often unable to access the required services as the nurses were not able to correctly comprehend whatever it was that they were initially attempting to say or express (Kvale, 1996). There was a lot of time wastage as the nurses had to often perform full body analysis that usually not only took more time but also ended up costing more. This was a severe disadvantage as the patients were mostly recent immigrants into the country and did not have sufficient medical covers capable of adequately footing their medical bills. There was the odd case of some of these aged persons being turned away from some of the private medical facilities as a result of their inability to be able to pay for the often ridiculously expensive hospital expenses. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. The main aim and focus of this research is concentrated on older adults with non English speaking back grounds and the difficulties that they encounter in their attempts at accessing nursing services. This research requires that all persons involved in the collection and actual conduction of this research ensure that they constantly protect all the rights of the persons involved in this research by following the most stringent ethical protocols possible. The anonymity of all persons who provided data that was used in the survey was protected and maintained though out the entire research process. Their details will remain confidential even after the end of this research and the finds of this research have been made public. This will be in line with the pre-established ethical protocol (Gregory, 2003). The researchers were constantly encouraged to ensure that they made a concentrated efforts aimed at basically ensuring that the all the participants engaged in this research were comfortable with the entire research process. This was often done by constantly assuring the research targets that they were always free to pull out of the research in the event that they felt uncomfortable with it. They were also assured of not being reprimanded for doing this. Each and every effort was made to try and ensure that the upmost ethical measures were sufficiently adhered to purposely to ensure that the results of this entire research were both accurate and consistent (Bryman 2001). References: Bryman, A 2001, Social research methods. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Creswell, JW 2002, Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Merrill Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Gregory, I 2003, Ethics in research. Continuum International Publishing Group, London. Kvale, S 1996, Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Leary, M. R. (1995). Introduction to behavioral research methods (2nd ed.). Quantitative research for the Behavioral Sciences (pp. 60-125). John Wiley, New York. Neuman, WL 2002, Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 5th ed. New Jersey, Allyn & Bacon. Patton, MQ 1990, Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Stake, RE 1994, Identification of the case. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Read More