Research Design

Can you envision navigating through the streets of London without a map or navigator? Most likely, you cannot. In the same vein, conducting research without a well-thought-out research design would be both challenging and inevitable. If research is to be meaningful and beneficial, meticulous planning is essential. This planning process, and the resulting 'blueprint,' is referred to as the research design. In the realm of research, the research design serves as a guiding map that researchers follow to achieve their research aims and objectives.

Purpose of Research Design

Some of the key purposes of research design are:

• To provide a structure for answering a specific research question
• To aid in the solution of the research question and to maintain control
• The research design involves designs for the following aspects of the study:
  • What will be research aims and objectives?
  • How to integrate theoretical and methodological approaches to it?
  • What will be the research participants, settings and location?
  • Will there be an intervention?
  • What type of comparison will be made?
  • what procedures will be used to control extraneous variables?
  • When and how many times will data be collected from research subjects?
  • In what settings will the study take place?
  • When will the research project be completed (timeline)?

Types of Research Design

Different research designs are used by researchers that help them answer their research problems. However, broadly at a higher level, there are two major approaches/designs to research: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing data to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs and motivations.

Qualitative researchers engage with study participants in their natural social settings to gain a holistic picture of their life experiences. Qualitative researchers may be required to engage over some time with research settings to familiarise themselves with social, cultural and other contextual variables and to build rapport with research participants. We will discuss the need for prolonged engagement in quantitative research later in the book.

Qualitative research is a valuable approach to understanding the complexities of human behaviour, experiences, and social phenomena. However, like any research method, it comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages:

In summary, qualitative research is a powerful tool for exploring complex, context-dependent phenomena and understanding the lived experiences of individuals. However, it has limitations, including subjectivity, limited generalizability, and the resource-intensive nature of data collection and analysis. Researchers should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research when choosing their research approach.

Types of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research encompasses a wide range of methodologies and approaches designed to explore and understand human experiences, behaviours, and social phenomena. Here are some common types of qualitative research used in nursing and health:

• Phenomenology: Focuses on exploring the lived experiences of individuals, often patients or healthcare providers, to understand the essence of a particular phenomenon or condition.

• Grounded Theory Research: Aims to develop theories or models grounded in data, typically used to explore and explain social processes and interactions within healthcare contexts.

• Ethnographic Research: Involves deep immersion in a particular healthcare culture, such as a hospital or clinic, to understand the behaviours, practices, and values of healthcare professionals and patients.

• Case Study Research: Examines a specific case or instance within healthcare, providing an in-depth analysis of a particular situation or intervention.

• Narrative Research: Involves the collection and analysis of personal stories, narratives, or accounts related to healthcare experiences to understand patient perspectives.

• Action Research: Integrates research with practical action to address specific healthcare problems or challenges, often in a collaborative manner with healthcare professionals.

Researchers can select the method that best aligns with their research questions and goals to gain deeper insights into the issues relevant to the field of nursing and healthcare.

Below we describe three main types in further detail:

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research stems from the positivist paradigm. It is a formal, objective and systematic process in which numerical data are utilised to obtain information about the world. A quantitative researcher’s aim is to examine and describe relationships between various concepts or variables. The researcher may also aim to establish or explore cause-and-effect relationships between variables. for example, the relationship between alcohol (variable 1) and sleep deprivation (variable 2) in causing premature mortality (outcome). They do this by examining numerical data with the help of appropriate statistical procedures and programs.

In healthcare, you will note that quantitative research is often used to investigate or compare whether a new drug, treatment or therapeutic intervention is better than an existing one.

Quantitative research is identified as a preferred and more scientific method of investigation than qualitative research. However, both of these methods are useful in exploring various issues. Both of these methods complement each other and can be used at the same time to ensure robust research investigation.

Advantages:

• It is a systematic approach to prove or disapprove a hypothesis
• Quantitative research is a scientific process that helps in proving or disproving a hypothesis
• Data can be collected from a large number of participants with the help of questionnaires and/ or other data collection instruments
• The findings of quantitative research can be generalised more widely.
• It ensures greater objectivity as well as accuracy of results.
• The research process is very prescribed and therefore easier to follow when compared with qualitative research
• The risk of personal bias is minimal as the researcher keeps a distance from participants

Disadvantages:

• It is often difficult to obtain and record information about the context in which phenomenon of interest occurs
• It is not possible to provide a detailed account of participants’ perception about issues under investigation.
• Various types of bias can occur in quantitative data collection. For example, when completing a questionnaire, there is a risk of recall bias as the participant may not correctly recall information about their experience

Types of Quantitative Research

Like qualitative research, there are a number of types of quantitative research; here we will focus on three main types.

Quantitative research in nursing and healthcare involves the systematic collection and analysis of numerical data to draw statistically significant conclusions.

Here are some common types of quantitative research used in these fields:

Descriptive Research: Descriptive studies aim to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of a specific healthcare phenomenon or population. They do not attempt to manipulate variables but focus on presenting data as it naturally occurs.

Correlational Research: Correlational research investigates the relationship between two or more variables to determine if they are related. It helps identify associations or connections between healthcare factors, but it does not establish causation.

Cross-Sectional Research: In cross-sectional studies, data is collected at a single point in time from a group of participants. This type of research is often used to assess the prevalence of certain health conditions or behaviours in a population.

Longitudinal Research: Longitudinal studies track the same individuals or groups over an extended period. They are valuable for examining changes and trends in health and healthcare practices over time.

Experimental Research: Experimental research involves controlled interventions or treatments to assess the effects on health outcomes. This approach is crucial for establishing causation. RCTs are a good example. RCT is considered the gold standard in healthcare research. They involve randomly assigning participants to an experimental group receiving a treatment and a control group not receiving the treatment to determine the treatment's effectiveness.

Quasi-Experimental Research: Similar to experimental research, quasi-experimental studies include interventions but lack random assignment of participants to groups. This is often used when randomization is not feasible or ethical.

Observational Research: Observational studies involve researchers observing participants in natural settings without intervening. This method is useful for understanding patient behaviours and healthcare practices.

Case-Control Studies: These studies compare individuals with a specific condition or outcome (cases) to those without the condition (controls) to identify factors associated with the outcome, such as risk factors for a disease.

Cohort Studies: Cohort studies follow a group of individuals with a common characteristic or exposure over time to assess the development of health-related outcomes. They can be prospective (follow-up) or retrospective (looking back in time).

Quantitative research methods in nursing and healthcare provide valuable evidence for decision-making, policy development, and practice improvement. Researchers choose the most appropriate method based on their research questions and goals.

Comparison of of qualitative and quantitative Research table:

Research in a Digital Age

In healthcare institutes, digitalisation has a robust presence helping healthcare practitioners communicate better and enable patients to access services. Digital transformation has been noted to boost patient outcomes and improve the healthcare system. Today, we see smartphone apps, like Samsung Health, wearable devices, like Fitbit, and platforms that provide remote healthcare, like telehealth, are widely used examples of digital transformation in health. This (influence the way) has implications for the way we interact and collect data about or from our patients.

Digital technologies have transformed the way traditional research is conducted. Today, how we engage, interact or recruit research participants/patients is often determined by modern and available methods of technology. In research participant recruitment, for example, social media, internet platforms and digital advertising through a wide range of channels, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the most common and accessible way to reach out to the targeted populations. In data collection and generation, similarly, AI-supported tools are the easiest, most flexible and most effective platforms. We also see technology shifting social and natural research settings of engagement and interaction to virtual sites. Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Team are popular new social fields changing traditional ways of face-to-face interaction and data collection.