Answer the questions for each of the articles Quant and Quali - Research Paper Example

Research Critique      Research Critique The first research d “The relationship between simulation in nursing educationand medication safety” was authored by Goodman, M. W. Goldsworthy, S. and Sears, K. in 2008. The research appeared in the first issue of the 49th volume of the Journal of Nursing Education. The research objective was to determine whether clinical simulations in teaching nursing could help in reducing cases of medication error. The research design adopted for this research was a randomized control group, post-test-only design, which is a purely experimental design (Sears, Goldsworthy & Goodman, 2010, p. 53). The design is generally categorized under the major class of quantitative approaches to research.

The major category of the design was experimental design. The random assignment of sampled subjects into a treatment and control group are identifiers characteristic of an experimental design (Sears et al., 2010, p. 53). An independent variable is a variable that the researcher has control over. In this case, the independent variable in the research was the mode of training adopted for nursing education. The manipulation of this variable was attained by assigning differing models of nursing education delivery, which included clinical simulation-based education and actual clinical placement.

The dependent variable is the measured element of interest, which is affected in the research, and in this research the dependent variable was the medication errors (Sears et al., 2010, p. 52). Survey forms were used as the data collection instruments and these were filled by the instructors and students (Sears et al., 2010, p. 53). Observed medication errors were entered into forms that only bore the instructor’s name in order to preserve the confidentiality of the participating students. The external validity of the research was low because the research cannot be widely generalized.

In spite of randomly selecting the participants, generalization cannot be possible for other populations and locations because all participants were from a single collaborative nursing program. This limitation reduces the external validity, but it can be overcome if the research could be replicated for different populations and locations across different times (Sears et al., 2010, p. 54). The second research titled “Whatever it takes": nursing students experiences of administering medication in the clinical setting” was authored by Happell, B.

Walker, S. Moxham, L. and Reid-Searl, K. The research appeared in the seventh issue of the 20th volume of the Qualitative Health Research Journal. The research adopted a grounded theory design in which data collected from interviews was analyzed and the results of the analysis were used to develop a theory. The grounded theory design involves the extensive collection of rich data that is later analyzed and used in developing a theory (Reid-Searl et al., 2010, p. 953). The researchers justified the use of the method by stating that it was best suited for research in cases where previous research did not exist.

The used design is generally categorized under the major class of qualitative designs of research. The research question for this research was not explicitly stated, but by reviewing the aims and objectives of the research the question would be framed as follows: Does the effectiveness of medication administration by nursing students differ when the students know that they are working without the expected level of supervision?(Reid-Searl et al., 2010, p. 952). Data collection was done through face-to-face interviews in which open-ended questions were used.

The answers offered were placed on interview transcripts that would later be analyzed (Reid-Searl et al., 2010, p. 954). The final-year undergraduate nursing students from a Queensland University were sampled, and they acted as the source of information for research. The researcher tried to enhance rigor through the use of bracketing. Though not explicitly stated, the fact that the researcher allowed participants to refine and influence the focus of the study is an enhancement of bracketing. Bracketing is aimed at preventing the research data and analysis from simply being a reflection of the researchers’ preconceived values and ideas.

In essence it allows the research to take a natural course that reveals the truth rather than a directed flow characterized by bias. If the researcher would have developed the questions for the interview in a rather closed manner, then it is highly likely that they would have been influenced by personal bias based on past experience and ideas. This is appears outright in the quote below from the research: “Interviews were conducted with the use of open-ended questions. This allowed participants to influence and refine the focus of the research according to their experiences and opinions, which emerged during the data analysis, process (Reid-Searl et al., 2010, p. 954.).” In order to maintain research rigor open, permission was also sought from the university’s ethical committee so as to fulfill the ethical requirements as part of maintaining research rigor (Reid-Searl et al., 2010, p. 954).

ReferencesReid-Searl, K., Moxham, L., Walker, S., & Happell, B. (2010). "Whatever it takes": nursing students experiences of administering medication in the clinical setting. Qualitative Health Research, 20(7), 952-965. DOI: 10.1177/1049732310364988Sears, K., Goldsworthy, S., & Goodman, W. (2010). The relationship between simulation in nursing education and medication safety. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(1), 52-55. DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20090918-12