Research methods used in evidence based practice - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Other investigations concerning the problems of the nursing field, and ways to implement evidence-based practices in other areas are used to supplement this comparison. It is not in doubt that these procedures are effective, this article explores additional means to expand these practices more thoroughly throughout the clinical profession. Introduction In the interests of the nursing profession, the term evidence-based practice is a relatively recent development. The term represents the new framework for the medical field in general representing the logical culmination of scientific principles essential to the foundations of modern medicine. But the term itself was first described in the work of the evidence-based medicine working group in the early 1990s (Cullum et al. 2007). For all areas of human endeavor with any intersect with the material or biological sciences and evidentiary area approach is the fundamental precept that permits reliable scientific progress as an alternative to superstitious or intuitive practices predating the advent of the scientific method. In addressing this theme a patient safety research article from Berland and colleagues (2012) will be subject to examination. The article itself focuses on a specific tasks relative to the healthcare profession, providing a direct analysis utilizing evidence-based practice. Primarily, this article will address the specific research findings of Berland and colleagues (2012) , who conducted a study on the experiences of homecare nurses in the area of patient safety. This is an example of evidence-based practices applied to resolve the specific issue of patient safety. Pursuant to an exploration of this article, additional background will be given on evidence-based medical practices in general. Before the modern movement towards evidence-based practice, similarly related terms such as evidence-based medicine (Beyea & Slattery, 2006) described the fundamental approach of utilizing scientific evidence as the primary assumption needed to identify the most efficacious treatment strategies based on the objective appraisal of the physical facts pertaining to the case at hand. Qualitative Overview During any research project, executive decisions must be made concerning the best strategy by which to derive conclusions from the available information. There are two principle categories of data that are meaningful in terms of human interactions and endeavor: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative information is primarily numerical, using ratio-level data that allows precision calculations often of physical phenomenon. It is essential for mechanistic processes involving functions or forces that can be duplicated or replicated. This stands in contrast to qualitative data. Qualitative data reflects findings relating to social interactions or behavioral motivations that do not immediately entail numerical representation. Qualitative findings often use ordinal or normative information in order to draw behavioral conclusions. Many of the issues relevant to this article are dependent upon behavior and human interactions, such as questions of leadership and responsibility. These functions of behavior are not amenable to hard numerical data under most circumstances, and therefore a qualitative approach is most useful for the type of research included in this analysis. For the Berland study, the first line of the Methods ...Download file to see next pagesRead More