Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper
A brief overview of the study that you selected.
Doyle et al. (2020) is a journal article that presents the results of a study that explores qualitative descriptive research design. The authors note that although this design is common in health care research, typically selected because of its inherent flexibility and simplicity, as well as utility in diverse health care contexts, it is critiqued for its scientific rigor. There are concerns about consistency in decision-making as there is a lack of transparency that places the design credibility into question. In addition, the design is difficult to differentiate from other methodologies that can be applied in qualitative research. Given these shortcomings, the authors sought to provide a clear definition of qualitative descriptive research design, particularly the key characteristics, how the design is differentiated from other qualitative research designs, its underlying philosophical perspectives, and its implications for health care policy and practice when applied. Towards this end, the study presents real world examples of the design in use while emphasizing insight developed from practical application of the design and critical elements that should explicitly be applied with the design. The authors concede that the insight and knowledge developed in the study is useful for improving qualitative descriptive research design and ensuring that it is subjected to higher scientific standards that achieve the required rigor, transparency and consistency Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper
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An explanation of two to three strengths of the study and support for your selection.
Doyle et al. (2020) has three strengths. First, it includes examples of how qualitative descriptive research design is applied thereby proving the points being put across in an informed, authoritative ways. The examples are on mixed method research (using qualitative process evaluation and randomized controlled trial), recorded response to open-ended survey questions, and focus group study. These examples are illustrated by giving readers possibilities to imaging within the context of the study, relate to real-life situations, and describe hypothetical situations. They (examples) show that the design has flexibility in application. This has important implications for future research, practice and policy as it helps in explaining under what circumstances the design would fail or succeed when applied. This insight is useful for helping researchers in applying the design to generate in-depth information. In essence, the examples make the statements made clearer, giving readers more information, and reducing the possibility that the ideas presented in the study could be applied in real life situations (Schmidt & Brown, 2019) Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
Second, it presents practical use of the research findings for decision making, particularly with regards to designing the appropriate research study. To be more precise, it acts as a model for making research decisions as it interprets the indications presented by the design then establishes a rough average between the different extremes. This is a solution that allows researchers to apply the design, without necessarily having to consult other texts. For instance, it suggests how trustworthiness can be determined in a qualitative study framework, while acknowledging that there could be challenges in determining trustworthiness. This helps those who use the design to refute and address criticisms about its cursory and theoretical nature (Hall & Roussel, 2022) Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
Third, it applies triangulation that allows for more information sources to be verified. The study makes use of other sources of information to support the authors’ interpretations. This makes the study have more confidence that its interpretations and conclusions are legitimate. This also ensures that alternative explanations are explores, considering whether there are other reasons why the information was obtained. The study accounts for and rules out alternative explanations thus making the interpretations stronger (Kaakinen et al., 2018).
An explanation of 2–3 weaknesses of the study and support for your selection.
The study has two weaknesses. First, the methodology applied cannot verify or test the research problem statistically. A statistical test is important as it provides a mechanism for making reproducible quantitative decisions about the qualitative descriptive research design. In addition, a statistical test helps in determining whether the observations made occurred by chance (Suresh, 2018).
Second, the research results may reflect a certain level of bias due to the absence of statistical tests. The nature of this study makes it difficult for the researchers to separate themselves from the data. The research has tried to do this by engaging many researchers who are involved thereby ensuring that the article is consistent in its interpretations. However, it has failed to do so since no independent persons were engaged to ensure that the authors’ interpretations were consistent in agreeing over their form of the truth (Grove & Gray, 2022) Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
An explanation of proposed changes you would recommend to improve the quality of the study, capitalizing on the strengths and improving on the weaknesses that you identified in the study.
Two proposed changes are recommended to address the two weaknesses. First, including a test for statistically verifying the research problem. This involves devising a statistical test that models the observations made, then modeling the expected occurrences, measuring the actual occurrence in the real world, and seeing how extreme the observations are with respect to the expected values. This sets the stage for a hypothesis test that sets a probability statement and decision rule (designates the statistical conditions necessary for accepting or rejecting the statements) to justify the conclusions made. Including a quantitative approach that allows for statistical testing would require that a mixed-method design be applied that nests the qualitative design (Suresh, 2018) Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
Second, there is a need to engage independent researchers who can interpret the findings and present the same awareness of the truth that is in agreement with the authors’ interpretation. Getting others to review the interpretations and conclusions is important as they (others) can sometimes see things that the authors could have missed. In addition, other researchers can identify the gaps in the authors’ arguments, brining attention to the gaps and ensuring that they are addressed. Besides that, other researchers can provide affirmation that the authors present reasonable and sound conclusions given the available information (Gray & Grove, 2020; Grove & Gray, 2022) Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
A final summary of the implications of this study for nursing practice.
Doyle et al. (2020) guides readers in understanding the use of qualitative descriptive research design. The interpretations from the study are useful for helping researchers in undertaking a theoretically-informed and logical research study by guiding them in developing research questions that are suited for the specific methodological approach. In fact, the article provides a thoughtful and accessible overview of adopting a qualitative descriptive research design in health and nursing research. In addition, the insight presented in the article ensure that a research study applying the design are not overly theoretical, and instead remain close to the participants’ descriptions of their experiences. The study highlights the potential philosophical underpinnings of any research study that applies the design, and importance of a researcher being reflexive when making choices on the appropriate research design to apply. Besides that, it discusses sampling and sample size, recognizing the need for researchers to understand them when addressing data saturation in qualitative research. Furthermore, it offers an overview of methods applied in collecting qualitative data (observation, focus groups and interviews), important information for guiding content and thematic analysis in qualitative research. In this respect, the study has implications for nursing practice is it presents an accessible and comprehensive resource that supports nurses in using a qualitative descriptive research design if appropriate, whether in isolation or as part of a mixed-method study that includes a qualitative component Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
References
Doyle, L., McCabe, C., Keogh, B., Brady, A., & McCann, M. (2020). An overview of the qualitative descriptive design within nursing research. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(5), 443–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987119880234
Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020). Burns and Grove’s the Practice of Nursing Research: Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier Inc.
Grove, S. K., & Gray, J. R. (2022). Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice (8th ed.). Elsevier Inc.
Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. A. (2022). Evidence-Based Practice: An Integrative Approach to Research, Administration, and Practice (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper.
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research (6th ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
Schmidt, N., & Brown, J. (2019). Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses: Appraisal and Application of Research (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
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Suresh, S. (2018). Nursing Research and Statistics (3rd ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Article Critique-Doyle, L., McCabe, C., Keogh, B., Brady, A., & McCann, M. (2020). An overview of the qualitative descriptive design within nursing research. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(5), 443–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987119880234 A brief, 1- to 2-paragraph overview of the study that you selected. An explanation of two to three strengths of the study and support for your selection (i.e., why is this a strength). Be specific. An explanation of 2–3 weaknesses of the study and support for your selection (i.e., why is this a weakness). Be specific. Note: The strengths and weaknesses that you identified should be in relation to design, sampling, data collection, statistical analysis, results, and discussion of the study that you selected. An explanation of proposed changes you would recommend to improve the quality of the study, capitalizing on the strengths and improving on the weaknesses that you identified in the study. Be specific and provide examples. A final summary of the implications of this study for nursing practice Qualitative Descriptive Research Design Paper