Research Process and Research Design - Overview

Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches

  • Allocate 5 different healthcare scenarios with 10 questions.
  • 5 questions require a qualitative approach and 5 questions require a quantitative approach.
  • For each scenario:
    • Identify the focus of your research (e.g., experiences of…, coping mechanisms, stress levels, performance metrics, functional level, etc.).
    • Determine the approach you should use.
    • Using the appropriate acronym, identify the components for each letter of the acronym.
    • Identify research participants.
    • Determine how you will collect data (e.g., conduct pre-post intervention assessments, interviews, survey, etc.).
    • Determine what you expect to learn from this.
  • CoPilot can be used to generate ideas, but ensure the output is accurate.

Examples of Research Questions

  • The impact of social support on first-year nursing students’ academic stress
    • Qualitative: How do first-year nursing students experience and navigate social support during academic transitions?
    • Quantitative: Does the level of perceived social support correlate with academic stress levels among first-year nursing students?
  • Understanding medication compliance among persons living with chronic disease
    • Qualitative: What barriers and facilitators do patients experience in maintaining medication adherence?
    • Quantitative: What is the percentage of medication adherence among chronic disease patients and its relationship to demographic factors?
  • Communication strategies between health & social care providers and Aboriginal clients
    • Qualitative: How do Aboriginal clients experience and interpret communication with health and social care providers?
    • Quantitative: Does communication skills training significantly improve client satisfaction scores among Aboriginal clients?
  • Virtual Reality (VR) simulation in health and social care training
    • Qualitative: How do health and social care students experience learning through virtual reality simulations?
    • Quantitative: Does VR-based training improve procedural skills performance compared to traditional training methods?
  • Relationship between dietary patterns and university student mental well-being
    • Qualitative: How do university students perceive the relationship between their diet and mental health?
    • Quantitative: What is the correlation between specific dietary patterns and standardized mental health screening scores?

How to Write a Research Question

  • RECAP: Is the question about Intervention/Policy/Programme, Prognosis, or Experiences?
  • Choose the appropriate acronym: PICO, PECO, or PICo.
  • Use the acronym to formulate your question.
    • PICO: Intervention
      • Population
      • Intervention
      • Comparison
      • Outcome
    • PECO: Prognostic
      • Population
      • Exposure
      • Comparison
      • Outcome
    • PICo: Experiential
      • Population
      • Interest
      • Context

Research Design Challenge

  • Design and record a 3-minute presentation (using PowerPoint/Adobe Express/Canva) outlining a mini research study.
    • Present a research aim (0.5 minutes): State what you want to discover and why it matters. Connect your aim to the needs of the population identified in the study.
    • Describe your study design (1.5 minutes): Explain who you will recruit, how you will collect your data, and how you might analyze your data.
    • Present your expected outcomes (1 minute): Describe the findings you anticipate and explain how the findings can help the population you are researching.
  • Name your file by the Scenario Number (i.e., Scenario 1.pptx) and upload it onto teams/collaborate, as instructed by your tutor.
  • Give one another feedback using the peer feedback form.

Scenario Examples:

  • Each scenario involves designing a 3-minute presentation outlining a mini-research study, including a clear aim, study design, and expected outcomes.
  • Scenario 1: Exploring Stress Management Experiences
    • Focus: Single-parent nursing students managing academic stress.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study exploring their experiences and coping strategies.
    • Recruitment: 8-10 single parents enrolled in nursing programs.
    • Data Collection: Semi-structured interviews.
    • Analysis: Identify themes about coping strategies from interview transcripts.
    • Expected Insights: Information about stress management in this population.
  • Scenario 2: Understanding Parent-Child Communication
    • Focus: Communication dynamics between nursing student parents and their teenage children during high-stress academic periods.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to understand these communication dynamics.
    • Recruitment: 10-12 nursing students with teenage children in Perth.
    • Data Collection: In-depth interviews about family communication.
    • Analysis: Identify communication patterns from interview data.
    • Expected Insights: Information about maintaining family relationships while studying.
  • Scenario 3: Support Network Utilisation
    • Focus: How single-parent nursing students build and maintain their support networks.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study exploring support network utilization.
    • Recruitment: Focus groups with 15-20 participants.
    • Data Collection: Facilitate group discussions about support systems.
    • Analysis: Analyze focus group data.
    • Expected Insights: Information about effective support networks.
  • Scenario 4: Work-Study Integration Experiences
    • Focus: How students who work as healthcare assistants integrate practical work experiences with their theoretical studies.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to understand this integration.
    • Recruitment: 10-12 part-time nursing students who work in healthcare.
    • Data Collection: Individual interviews about work-study connections.
    • Analysis: Analyze how students transfer knowledge between settings.
    • Expected Insights: Information about work-study integration.
  • Scenario 5: Home Study Environment Experiences
    • Focus: How nursing student parents create effective study spaces within busy family homes.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to understand these environments.
    • Recruitment: 8-10 participants for a photovoice study.
    • Data Collection: Guide participants in photographing and discussing their study spaces.
    • Analysis: Analyze photographs and interview data.
    • Expected Insights: Information about effective home study environments.
  • Scenario 6: Sleep Pattern Analysis
    • Focus: How assessment periods affect sleep patterns of nursing student parents.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to gather data about sleep pattern changes.
    • Recruitment: 50 nursing student parents.
    • Data Collection: Sleep data using tracking devices and sleep diaries.
    • Analysis: Analyze sleep duration, quality, and pattern data.
    • Expected statistical findings about sleep disruption.
  • Scenario 7: Academic Performance Correlation Study
    • Focus: The relationship between work hours and academic success among nursing students.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to analyze the correlation between work hours and academic performance.
    • Recruitment: 100 working nursing students.
    • Data Collection: Accurate work hour and academic performance data.
    • Analysis: Statistical analysis methods.
    • Expected correlations between work hours and academic performance.
  • Scenario 8: Time Management Assessment
    • Focus: Measuring how nursing student parents allocate their time.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to quantify time allocation differences between regular and assessment periods.
    • Recruitment: 30 participants for time-use tracking.
    • Data Collection: Accurate time-use data.
    • Analysis: Analyze time allocation patterns.
    • Expected patterns in time allocation.
  • Scenario 9: Stress Level Measurement
    • Focus: Measuring how stress levels fluctuate throughout the semester for nursing student parents.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to measure stress level variations across a semester.
    • Recruitment: 100 single-parent nursing students.
    • Data Collection: Standardized stress assessment tools.
    • Analysis: Analyze stress level patterns.
    • Expected trends in the data.
  • Scenario 10: Support Service Utilization Analysis
    • Focus: How and when nursing student parents use university support services.
    • Task: Design a mini-research study to analyze patterns in support service usage.
    • Recruitment: 150 nursing students with children.
    • Data Collection: Service access records.
    • Analysis: Statistical methods for identifying usage patterns.
    • Expected trends in service utilization.

Review and Assessment 1 Preparation

  • Read and familiarize yourself with the research process of the qualitative article.
  • Make notes against:
    • The main focus of the study, including the research questions/objectives, and context.
    • Ethical considerations in this study.
    • Who the participants were and how their eligibility for the study was determined (i.e.: the inclusion and exclusion criteria) and how they were recruited into the study.
    • The method(s) used to collect data (e.g.: interviews, focus groups, or ethnographic observations).
    • Key findings from the study.
  • The next tutorial will walk you through your first assessment.