Methodological Approach in a Quantitative Research - Report Example

Methodological approach Introduction: A research is a continuous human effort to invent or discover something new on any aspect related to the area of study. A research involves application of the knowledge of the researcher on the topic under study. Research may be related to any discipline. The time frame of the research may vary according to the topic, scope and requirement of the research. Research can be basically classified into two namely- qualitative and quantitative. (Tesch). A qualitative research is one in which the researcher analyses the pattern of behavior or other human and behavioral aspects. “Qualitative research allows you to explore perceptions, attitudes and motivations and to understand how they are formed.” (Kivlichan). The result of a qualitative research is depended on the analytical skills of the researcher. The researcher should possess a good observation skill in order to make proper analysis of the situation. As the name describes quantitative research deals with numbers or items that can be expressed in numbers. It gives information about the number of people involved in the topic of the research. “Quantitative research is all about quantifying the relationships between variables. Variables are the things you measure on your subjects, which can be humans, animals, or cells.” (Hopkins 1998). A quantitative research is usually made by making analysis of the data collected from the public through questionnaire or interview. Survey is always regarded as the best way to collect data for quantitative research. The given two case studies are related to quantitative and qualitative research each. The given qualitative paper is related to the perception of women in managing arthritis. A data of two years have been gathered in order to gather information on the given topic. In the given qualitative paper the required information is gathered from the respondents through interview. For the purpose getting better results the women were divided into two groups. They were selected from the local branches of Arthritis care. The approach is different in the case of quantitative method. The quantitative paper is related to occupational therapy. The topic is “a randomized controlled trial of occupational therapy for people with early rheumatoid arthritis.” (Hammond et al 2004, p.23-30). The basic purpose of this is to measure the effectiveness of the operational therapy programme and its effect on the health of those people with early rheumatoid arthritis. Main body: First, the issues concerning quantitative research can be analyzed. Issues surrounding research design: Research design is the structure on which the research is based. “Research design provides the glue that holds the research project together.” (Trochim 2006). A research is based entirely on the research design. The research designs to be employed in both cases are different. An issue in qualitative research design is that since it is based on the quantitative data more patients have to be interviewed for gathering reliable data. The objective is to find out the impact of occupational therapy on self-management and status of people. Issues concerning sampling techniques: Since this is a quantitative technique sampling is very much essential for conducting the research. The major issue here is to select the best sample. “Surveys are the primary method of quantitative research – research with some claim to statistical accuracy.” (Quantitative research 1996- 2004). There is no clear-cut rule in order to select the best sample for the research. Determination of the sample size is also another issue in front of the researcher. The sample size that can give best result is upon the discretion of the researcher. Validity and reliability: “Validity represents how well a variable measures what it is supposed to. Validity is important in descriptive studies: if the validity of the main variables is poor, you may need thousands rather than hundreds of subjects.” (Hopkins 2000). The researcher cannot be sure that the sample and the information furnished by the sample are reliable and valid. Due to the less knowledge of the patients, the researcher will be misguided by the data collected from such sample. Trustworthiness: This is somewhat similar to the above factor. The data provided by the patients cannot be fully trusted. There are more chances for bias in the data. Data analysis: The data that is collected by the researcher is analyzed on the basis of simple percentages. But there is certain information which cannot be analyzed just by using simple percentage. It is very difficult to use simple percentage or other mathematical techniques to analyze the health status of the people. It is very difficult to make an analysis of the situation with the help of quantitative data. “Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail.” (Neill 2007). A lengthy and comprehensive qualitative research study has been used in this article, which has been featured in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy during January 2006. 69(1). It is mainly concerned with the self-management of chronic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, which are life crippling diseases, whose chronic intensity only increases with time. This study utilizes research to find out how women patients are able to gain control over these afflictions, and how they affect strategies that could address to the carrying out of their daily lives and functions, within the restrictive health environment caused by such conditions. The theoretical background of this research and evidence based research practice also deals with how women in these conditions are able to combine these health strategies into their daily lives. (Goodacre 2006, P.7-14 (8)). The methods adopted were in terms of personal interviews, diaries and focus groups. “A longitudinal qualitative study using interviews, diaries and focus groups was conducted over a period of 2 years.” (Goodacre 2006, P.7-14(8)). It is now proposed to view the strength and weaknesses of the methodologies in terms of the following parameters Sampling Techniques: It is seen that a total of 12 women participated in Research Study. The principle weakness of this sampling technique is that men were not considered as participants. (Good acre, 2006, P 7-14(13)). Moreover, it is seen that their age groups are diverse, ranging between 63 to 27 years. Since the age groups are inconsistent, it is seen that accurate results may not be forthcoming. Moreover, it is seen that the length of continuity of the arthritic conditions vary from 5-30 years. The accuracy of reports based on inconsistencies in sampling leaves a large measure of doubt. The strengths of this sampling could be seen in terms of the fact that it is randomized with a survey period of 2 years, during which time sizeable amount of data fields could have undergone conspicuous changes that could vitiate the data findings. Research Design: The research design in the first case study is by way of semi-structured interviews with 12 women of varying age groups and years of chronic ailments spread over disparate social conditions and family settings. The strength of this kind of research design could be in terms of the fact that a wide spectrum of occurrences of such medical interventions could be established. However, this could also be seen in terms of close relationships that are needed for comparisons may not be established. In a research study of this sort, dealing with medical aspects of chronic ailments it is necessary that cohesiveness and comparability be established in order to get accurate and plausible results. Moreover, it is seen that the number of respondents are also lesser, considering the seriousness and enormity of the problem in hand. It is necessary that at least 150 respondents be interviewed in order to establish authenticity and comparability in a research survey of this sort. Issues concerning validity and reliability: Chronic arthritis is a major problem in the United Kingdoms and women are more afflicted then men. It is necessary that the validity aspect assumes priority and significance since the disease is a progressively degenerating one if not properly treated and controlled through interventionists measure and self-management methods. Considering the fact that individual patients have to evolve their own self-management routines by knowing about their bodies and how it would react to situations and circumstances, the aspect of self-management could be seen in terms of how effective strategies are evolved by individual patients to put minimum risk upon themselves, and others in coping with their arthritic conditions. (Good acre, 2006, P 7-14). The reliability of the research study could be seen in terms of its ultimate results in which it was stated that interventionist strategies need to be done on the contextual basis and how effective it could be for individual patients. In the absence of quantitative analysis in this research study, the quantitative aspects with regard to different changes that take place in the lives of the patient respondents during 2 years of this Study. In order to ordain an accurate and reliable picture of the study, it is necessary that the research dwell into these changes that have taken place during the period of study. However, the main strength of this study has been that it has considered all aspects of self management strategies that need to be invoked by the respondents. Trustworthiness and Rigour: It is seen that this research study has been qualitative in approach and has thus not provided any quantitative data, which need to be analyzed for its strictness and dependability. The use of regularly updated diaries in conformity with National Institute for Health Activity Records (Gerber & Furst12 1992) “which recorded specific daily activities over a 24-hour period and identified the level of physical effort for each task.” (Gerber & Furst 2005, P.81-86). Moreover, the use of Focus groups (2) for the respondents to interact among themselves regarding their respective strategies and its effectiveness over a period of time lends an air of authenticity to the proceedings. However, it needs to be mentioned that diaries are subject to individual bias and the objectivity may be superseded by emotional considerations, especially in the context of ailing patients. Moreover, it could be said that Focus groups would be a collect endeavour and individualistic aspects may be severely compromised. Therefore, it is seen that in a research study of this character, the adherence to rigour and reliability would have to be seen in the context of how accurate and discerning the individual interpretations of the respondent to their health condition could be made, and how well they could communicate the same through the group discussion done through face- to- face interviews. Data Collection procedures: The data collection procedure has been done through deliberations of facts gleaned from face-to-face semi-structured interviews, recordings in diaries, notes taken during the meetings of focus groups. The proceedings of interviews were recorded on tape and fully transcribed. The collection of data takes place in Two Sessions. In the first session, the interviewers established personal rapport with respondents and briefly explained the aims and objectives of the research study and what it had to offer to the respondents. Next, the individual respondents were encouraged to speak about their impairments and how it affected their normal lifestyles and living. In the second session, the impact of Rheumatic Arthritis on the participant patients and the specific problems they faced on day- to- day basis were discussed. Mainly, the strategies employed by them to contain such limitations and its effective were also taken up for group discussions. The data collection procedure also entailed dissemination and analysis of entries made in individual diaries. The strength of the data collection lies in the fact that it is methodical, innovative and amenable to useful discussions and interpretations. The weaknesses would be in terms of the element of bias and unrandomised nature of data, which is suggestive of human misjudgement and innate errors. Presentation: Although the presentation could not reach a decision on how different arthritic debility could possibly affect the lifestyles and functioning of women respondents in a variety of ways, it had been marginally successful in identifying certain inter-related areas in which it could be used. 1. Trying to discern the physical impact of the condition 2. Development and use of interventionist programmes 3. Combining of the strategies into regularly useable formats. Data analysis techniques: The longitudinal study lends credibility to the fact that the evolving nature of the health predicament of women over a period of 2 years has been predicated by entries made in diaries, facts revealed during face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions and other fact finding methods. (Good acre, 2006, P.8). As mentioned earlier, the sources of data were interviews, diary entries and focus group elicitations. These dates were assimilated, separated, marked and reorganized into separate categories to facilitate comparisons. These comparative studies affirmed or denied relationships between data and lend credence to the study. This multi-pronged strategy was made in order to bring focus on the different occurrences that are associated with different women’s experiences and how this could add to the volume and scope of the research study. Critical analysis: This study is based on the interfacing with 12 women respondents, having arthritic conditions for a lengthy period. However, there are variations in terms of their age groups, and the length of their ailments range between 5 – 30 years. A fair comparison under such circumstances would not be just and equitable since consistency of data and comparability may not be as effective and accurate as if there were similar age groups and length of ailments. Moreover, the incidence of men having chronic arthritis has not been considered .It is necessary that a study of this sort also considers the aspects of men who have such conditions for a better analytical study of the case. Next, although the data sources are genuine and valid, the mode of analyzing and interpreting the data may be doubtful, since no scientific data assessment techniques have been used and the data interpretation is more subjective and abstract rather than objective and amenable to accurate quantitative analysis. Conclusion: The different aspects of both methodologies have been clearly seen in this report. It is found that both qualitative and quantitative methods have their strength as well as weakness. The type of research to be employed in a particular situation cannot be changed on the basis of the strength and weakness. A quantitative method can be employed only in the area in which it can be applied. The researcher will have to adapt the particular method to the particular situation in which he employs it. Bibliography GERBER, Lynn H., & Furst, Gloria P (2005). Arthritis care & Research: Original Article: Validation of the NIH Activity Record. 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