Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs in Nursing

Waiting for a Liver Transplant

The Brown et al. (2006) study has a qualitative research design. There are several characteristics that indicate that the study is qualitative. First, the purpose of the research is to gain an understanding of an experience, in this case understanding what it is like for patients to wait for a liver transplant. Second, the study has a small, non-representative sample size; six patients were chosen by maximum variation sampling. Third, data collection was conducted through a semi-structured technique—in-depth interviews. Fourth, the data in the study was analyzed through a non-statistical method; here the researchers used the phenomenological approach. Finally, the research had an exploratory outcome. The findings could not be generalized to the population of interest but were used to develop an initial understanding and a basis for further decision-making. In this study, the researchers explored common themes experienced by the patients such as poor digestive function and made recommendations on how to mitigate the suffering that they go through while waiting.

Career Decision Status of African American Adolescents

The Constantine et al. (2005) study has a quantitative research design. There are several characteristics that indicate that the study is quantitative. First, the purpose of the research is to quantify data and generalize results from a sample to a population of interest. The researchers aimed to quantify the extent to which perceived occupational barriers would be predictive of career certainty and career indecision as well as the extent to which perceived parental support would be predictive of career certainty and career indecision. Second, the study used a large sample size meant to represent the population of interest, in this case, 151 African American upper-level high school students meant to represent African American adolescents. Third, data collection was conducted through a fully structured technique—questionnaires. Fourth, the data in the study was analyzed through a statistical method; here the researchers conducted a multivariate multiple regression analysis. Finally, the outcome of the study was that the researchers made recommendations on a final course of action to follow. They made recommendations to career counselors on what they can do to support the career decision status of African American adolescents.

Comparison of My Responses to the Tutorial Annotations

The tutorial annotations mentioned several more characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research than the ones I mentioned, and there was some overlap with the characteristics I mentioned. For the Brown et al. study both I and the annotations mention gaining an understanding as a qualitative research characteristic. Another qualitative characteristic mentioned in the annotations is interview data, which I mentioned as a data collection technique. Both I and the annotations mention the use of the phenomenological approach and themes. For the Constantine et al. study, I mention quantifying data as a quantitative characteristic, which corresponds to “observes and measures information numerically” in the annotations. The use of questionnaires I mentioned corresponds to “uses unbiased approaches” in the annotations, and the use of the statistical method corresponds to both “employs statistical procedures” and “statistical interpretation.”

References

Brown, J., Sorrell, J., McClaren, J., Sharma, A., & Creswell, J. (2006). Waiting for a liver transplant. Qualitative Health Research, 16(1), 119–136.

Constantine, M. G., Wallace, B. C., & Kindaichi, M. M. (2005). Examining contextual factors in the career decision status of African American adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(3), 307–319.