Polit and Beck (2004) describe 5 phases of the research
process:
- .
.
Instructor
Phase1 Conceptual phase
- Initial phase of research
[Link] the problem
[Link] the Related Literature
[Link] Clinical fieldwork-spending time in the clinical setting w/ health
care administrators and observing current policies
[Link] the framework & developing conceptual definitions
(theoretical and Conceptual Framework,Scope and Limitation)
5. Formulating the hypotheses ( predictions of expected outcomes)
Phase 2
Planning and Design Phase
Selecting a Research design
Quantitative Research or Qualitative Research / Mixed
Mixed Methods
Mixed methods research design-
is a procedure for collecting, analyzing and “mixing” both quantitative
and qualitative research and methods in a single study,
6 Types of Qualitative
1. Phenomenological - Perception of a
phenomenon
2. Ethnographic - Cultural behavior
[Link] Theory –study of social
processes
4. Case Study -investigation of individual
family , grp or institution on how they
behave
[Link] - related to past events
[Link] Analysis – focuses on story to
determine how individuals make sense of
events in their lives
Phase 3 -Empirical Phase
Data collection
instrument must be valid ( face and content validity
Methods of data collection
questionnaire ( open ended or unstructured or
close ended / structured)
Questionnaire for respondents should be
accompanied by a cover letter
Preparing the data for analysis
Phase 4 -Analytic Phase
Analyzing Quantitative data - using statistical tools
Analyzing Qualitative data : transcribing, categorization &
coding
Interpreting the results- explain the findings
Methods of presenting the Data :
a. Textual- small sets of data
b. Tabular- bulky numeric info, data presented in columns
and rows
c. Graphical –use graphs or charts
Analytic Phase
Data gathered in the empirical
phase are subjected to
analysis and interpretation
Analyzing the data to answer
research questions and test
hypothesis
Phase 5
Dissemination
Communicating the findings
research findings are to be organized and
presented formally in a research report for
sharing with others
Probability sampling refers to the selection of a sample from a population (Random)
Non-probability sampling - selecting from a population using a non-random method.