Chapter 2
Understanding Key Concepts and
Steps in Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Selected Key Research Terms
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Faces and Places of Research
Study (investigation): addressing a research question
Study subject or participant: people being studied or
cooperating in quantitative study
Informants: people cooperating in qualitative study
Researchers or investigators: persons who conducts
the research
Study site: the overall location for a study (e.g.,
Portland)
o Multisite studies: tend to yield more diverse
group of study participants, potentially enhancing
generalizability of findings
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Question #1
A nurse researcher is conducting a quantitative study
to determine protocols for triaging patients in the
emergency department. Which term is generally
associated with this type of research?
a. Phenomena
b. Subject
c. Pattern of association
d. Inductive reasoning
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Answer to Question #1
b. Subject
Rationale. The person contributing information in a
quantitative study is called the subject. In the
qualitative study, this person is called the study
participant, informant, or key informant. That which is
investigated is called a concept in quantitative studies
and concept or phenomena in qualitative studies.
Pattern of association and inductive reasoning are
qualitative terms. Relationships and deductive
reasoning are quantitative terms.
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Question #2
Tell whether the following statement is True or False.
Researchers involved in quantitative research
commonly engage in fieldwork.
a. True
b. False
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Answer to Question #2
b. False
Rationale: Researchers engage in fieldwork when
performing qualitative studies.
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Concepts and Constructs
Concepts: abstractions of particular aspects of
human behavior or characteristics (e.g., pain,
weight) in quantitative studies
Phenomena: abstracts in qualitative studies
Constructs: slightly more complex abstractions
(e.g., self-care)
o For example, self-care in Orem’s model of
health maintenance is a construct.
Theories: knit concepts into a coherent system
that purports to explain phenomena
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Variable
A characteristic or quality that takes on different
values, that is, that varies from one person to the
next associated with quantitative studies
Examples
o Blood type
o Weight
o Length of stay in hospital
The term “variable” is used almost exclusively in
quantitative research.
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Types/Characteristics of Variables
Inherent vs. created
Independent variable—the presumed cause (of a
dependent variable)
Dependent variable—the presumed effect (of an
independent variable)
o Often referred to as the outcome variable or
outcome: Example: smoking (IV) lung cancer
(DV)
o IV and DV terms can be used to indicate
direction of influence rather than cause and
effect.
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Conceptual and Operational Definition
Conceptual: the abstract or theoretical meaning of
a concept being studied
Operational: the operations (measurements) a
researcher must perform to measure the concept
and collect the desired information
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Question #3
What is the best description of a dependent variable?
a. Outcome being measured
b. A person’s gender
c. Presumed cause
d. Measurements performed
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Answer to Question #3
a. Outcome being measured
Rationale: The dependent variable is the presumed
effect or outcome of an independent variable (the
presumed cause). Gender typically is a categorical
variable. The operations (measurements) to be
performed for data collection refer to the operational
definition of a variable.
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Data #1
Data (singular = datum): the pieces of information
researchers collect in a study
o Quantitative researchers collect numeric
(quantitative) data. See Box 2.1.
o Qualitative researchers collect narrative
(verbal) data. See Box 2.2.
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Data #2
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Data #3
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Relationships
A relationship is a bond or connection between
phenomena.
o Cause-and-effect (causal) relationship (e.g.,
cigarette smoking and lung cancer)
o Associative (functional) relationship (e.g.,
gender and life expectancy)
o Qualitative study of pattern: Qualitative
researchers may seek patterns of association
as a way of illuminating the underlying
meaning and dimensionality of phenomena of
interest.
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Quantitative Research: Experimental and
Nonexperimental Studies
Experimental research
o Researchers actively introduce an intervention or
treatment most often to address Therapy
questions.
o Called clinical trials in medical research
o Test causal relationships
Nonexperimental research
o Researchers collect data without intervening or
introducing treatments
o Called observational studies in medical
research
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Question #4
Tell whether the following statement is True or False.
Clinical trials are an example of observational research
in medicine.
a. True
b. False
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Answer to Question #4
b. False
Rationale: Clinical trials are a form of experimental
research in medicine. Observational research is
nonexperimental research in medicine.
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Qualitative Research: Disciplinary
Traditions
Grounded theory research
o Seeks to understand key social psychological
processes that are grounded in reality
Phenomenological research
o Focuses on the lived experiences of humans
Ethnographic research
o Focuses on the patterns and lifeways of a
cultural group and strives to learn from
members of a cultural group to understand their
worldview and to describe their customs and
norms
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Question #5
What is an example of a question that researchers ask
when using phenomenology during qualitative
research?
a. What is the meaning of the phenomenon
experienced by the people?
b. What are the psychological phases that
characterize a particular event?
c. What are the patterns and lifeways of a defined
cultural group?
d. What is the core variable that explains what is
happening in the social scene?
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Answer to Question #5
a. What is the meaning of the phenomenon
experienced by the people?
Rationale: The phenomenological researcher asks the
questions What is the essence of this phenomenon as
experienced by these people? or What is the meaning
of the phenomenon to those who experience it? The
focus of most grounded theory studies is on a
developing social experience—the social and
psychological phases that characterize a particular
event or episode. Ethnography provides a framework
for studying the patterns and lifeways of a defined
cultural group in a holistic fashion.
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Phases in a Quantitative Study
Phase 1: Conceptual Phase
Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase
Phase 3: Empirical Phase
Phase 4: Analytic Phase
Phase 5: Dissemination Phase
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study:
Phase 1: Conceptual Phase
Step 1: Formulating/delimiting the problem
Step 2: Reviewing related literature
Step 3: Undertaking clinical fieldwork
Step 4: Defining the framework and developing
conceptual definitions
Step 5: Formulating hypotheses
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study:
Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase
Step 6: Selecting a research design
Step 7: Developing intervention protocols
Step 8: Identifying the population
Step 9: Designing the sampling plan
Step 10: Specifying methods to measure variables
and collect data
Step 11: Developing methods to protect
human/animal rights
Step 12: Reviewing and finalizing the research plan
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study:
Phase 3: Empirical Phase
Step 13: Collecting the data
Step 14: Preparing data for analysis (e.g., coding
the data)
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study:
Phase 4: Analytic Phase
Step 15: Analyzing the data (through statistical
analysis)
Step 16: Interpreting results
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Major Steps in a Quantitative Study:
Phase 5: Dissemination Phase
Step 17: Communicating the findings in a research
report (e.g., in a journal article)
Step 18: Putting the evidence into practice
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Question #6
Which action would be performed first when designing
and planning a quantitative study?
a. Developing intervention protocols
b. Identifying the population
c. Designing the sampling plan
d. Formulating a research design
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Answer to Question #6
d. Formulating a research design
Rationale: The first step in designing and planning a
quantitative study is formulating a research design.
This is followed by developing intervention protocols,
identifying the population, and designing the sampling
plan.
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Activities in a Qualitative Study #1
Qualitative researchers continually:
o Examine and interpret data
o Make decisions about how to proceed based on
what has been discovered
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Activities in a Qualitative Study #2
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Activities in a Qualitative Study #3
Conceptualizing and planning the study
o Identifying the research problem
o Doing a literature review
o Selecting sites and gaining entrée
o Developing an overall approach
o Addressing ethical issues (safeguard participants)
o Deciding what type of data to gather and how to
gather them
o Deciding from whom to collect the data
o Deciding how to enhance trustworthiness
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Activities in a Qualitative Study #4
Conducting the study: undertaking iterative
activities through emergent design
o Making sampling decisions
o Deciding what questions to ask
o Collecting data
o Evaluating integrity and quality
o Analyzing and interpreting data
o Making new decisions
o Communicating findings
o Utilizing findings in practice and future research
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