1.
) Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and Quantitative
Research: Key terms and building blocks
Example of Quantitative Data
Question: Thinking about the past week, how depressed
would you say you have been on from a scale of 0 to 10,
where 0 means “not at all” and 10 means “the most
possible”?
Data: 9 (subject 1)
0 (subject 2)
4 (subject 3)
Example of Qualitative Data
Question: Tell me about how you’ve been feeling lately –
have you felt sad or depressed at all, or have you generally
been in good spirits?
Data: “Well, actually, I’ve been pretty depressed lately, to tell
you the truth. I wake up each morning and I can’t seem to
think of anything to look forward to. I mope around the
house all day, kind of in despair, I just can’t seem to shake the
blues, and I’ve began to think I need to go see a shrink.”
(Participant 1)
“I can’t remember ever feeling better in my life. I just got
promoted to a new job that makes me feel like I can really get
ahead in my company. And I’ve just gotten engaged to a
really great guy who is very special.” (Participant 2”
“I’ve had a few ups and downs the past week, but basically
things are on a pretty even keel. I don’t have too many
complaints.” (Participant 3)
Settings
 Naturalistic settings –field; homes; qualitative
research
 Laboratory settings - controlled
 Site - the overall location for the research
 Entire community Institution
Multisite studies-multiple sites; more diverse
sample
Building Blocks of Research
 Abstractions–e.g. pain, fatigue, stress and obesity
 Construct-abstraction inferred from situations or
behaviors
 Phenomena–term used in qualitative research
 Concepts-are abstractions of observable
phenomena, and researchers’ world views shapes
how concepts are defined.
 Kerlinger and Lee (2000) distinguish concepts from
constructs by noting that constructs are abstractions
that are deliberately and systematically invented
(constructed) by researchers.
 For example, self-care in Orem’s model of health
maintenance is a construct.
 Construct and concept: used interchangeably
 By convention, a construct refers to a more complex
abstraction than a concept.
2.) Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and
Quantitative Research: Theories, Conceptual Models
and Variables
Theories and Conceptual Models
 Theory - is a systematic, abstract explanation of
some aspect of reality
 knit concepts together into a coherent system
 Conceptual model - conceptual frameworks, or
conceptual schemes (we use the terms inter
changeably) are a less formal means of organizing
phenomena than theories
 Quantitative Research
 Based on theory, they make predictions about
how phenomena will behave in the real world if
the theory is true.
 Specific predictions deduced from theory are
tested through research; results are used to
support, reject, or modify the theory.
 Qualitative Research
 conceptual or sensitizing frameworks –provides
an orienting worldview
 framework helps to guide the inquiry and to
interpret gathered information
Variables
 Variables - something that varies
  any quality of a person, group, or situation that
varies or takes on different values.
 are the building blocks of quantitative studies
Dependent and Independent Variables
 Example of variables:
 Weight, anxiety, and blood pressure are
variables—each varies from one person to
another
 Quantitative researchers seek to understand how or
why things vary, and to learn if differences in one
variable are related to differences in another.
Heterogenous and Homogeneous variables
Heterogeneous
 When an attribute is extremely varied in the group
under study
 When categorical variables take on only two
values, they are dichotomous variables
 Independent variable-the presumed cause
 Dependent variable-the presumed effect
 Some researchers use the term outcome
variable—the variable capturing the outcome of
interest—in lieu of dependent variable.
 Variability varies
 Investigators may study the extent to which
patients’ pain (the dependent variable) depends
on different nursing actions (the independent
variable).

Homogeneous

 If the amount of variability is limited

 Degree of variability or heterogeneity of a group of

people has implications for study design.

Inherent and created variables

 Variables may be:

 Inherent characteristics of people:
 age, blood type, or weight

 Created Variables
 Example: If a researcher tests the effectiveness of
patient-controlled analgesia as opposed to
intramuscular analgesia in relieving pain after
surgery, some patients would be given patient-
controlled analgesia and others would receive
intramuscular analgesia.
 Method of pain management is a variable because
different patients get different analgesic methods.

Continuous, Discrete, and Categorical Variables

 Continuous variables - have values along a

continuum and, in theory, can assume an infinite
Question: Is it common to design studies with multiple
number of values between two points.
independent and dependent variables?
 Ex. Weight
 Answer: Yes
 Discrete variable -has a finite number of values  For example, a researcher may compare the effects
between any two points, representing discrete of two methods of nursing care for children with
quantities cystic fibrosis.
 Ex. Number of children in the family  Several dependent variables could be used to assess
treatment effectiveness, such as length of hospital
 Categorical variables –discrete non-quantitative stay, number of recurrent respiratory infections, and
values soon.
 Ex. Blood types: A, B, AB,O
Are variables inherently dependent or independent?
 No
 A dependent variable in one study could be an
independent variable in another.
 For example, a study might examine the effect of a
nurse-initiated exercise intervention (the
independent variable) on osteoporosis (the
dependent variable).
 Another study might investigate the effect of
osteoporosis (the independent variable) on bone
fracture incidence (the dependent variable).
3.) Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and
Quantitative Research: Conceptual and Operational
Definitions
Conceptual and Operational Definitions
 Conceptual definition-presents the abstract or
theoretical meaning of the concepts being studied.
 The classic example is the concept of caring.
 Morse and colleagues (1990) scrutinized the works
of numerous writers to determine how caring was
defined, and identified five different classes of
conceptual definition: as a human trait, a moral
imperative, an affect, an interpersonal relationship,
and a therapeutic intervention.
 Researchers undertaking studies concerned with
caring need to make clear which conceptual
definition they have adopted—both to themselves
and to their readers.
 In qualitative studies, conceptual definitions of key
phenomena may be the major end product of the
endeavor, reflecting the intent to have the meaning
of concepts defined by those being studied.
Operational definition
 In quantitative studies, however, researchers clarify
and define concepts at the outset.
 This is necessary because quantitative researchers
must indicate how the variables will be observed and
measured.
 An operational definition of a concept specifies the
operations that researchers must perform to
measure it.
 Operational definitions should be congruent with
conceptual definitions.
 Example: We might operationally define weight as
the amount that an object weighs, to the nearest full
pound.
 This definition designates that weight will be
measured using one system (pounds) rather than
another (grams).
 We could also specify that weight will be measured
using a spring scale with participants fully undressed
after 10 hours of fasting.
 This operational definition clearly indicates what we
mean by the variable weight.
Examples of conceptual and operational definitions
 Rafferty et al. (2017) developed a measure called the
Culture of Care Barometer (CoCB) to measure the
culture of care in health care organizations.
 They defined “culture of care” conceptually as the
shared beliefs, norms, and routines through which
the environment of a health care organization can be
interpreted and understood.
 This construct was operationalized in the CoCB
through a series of 30 questions to staff. Two
examples are, “I have the resources I need to do a
 good job” and “I feel supported to develop my COVID-19 Risk? Does some other factor reduce
potential.” COVID-19 Risk?)

 One type of relationship is called a cause-and-effect

4.) Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and (or causal) relationship.
Quantitative Research: Data and Relationships

Data

 Research data (singular, datum) are the pieces of

information obtained in a study.
 In quantitative studies, researchers identify  Example of a functional (or an associate) relationship
variables, develop conceptual and operational
definitions, and then collect relevant data.
 Quantitative researchers collect primarily
quantitative data—data in numeric form.
 In qualitative studies, researchers collect qualitative
data, that is, narrative descriptions.
 Narrative information can be obtained by having
conversations with participants, by making detailed
notes about how people behave in naturalistic
settings, or by obtaining narrative records, such as
diaries.

Relationships

 A relationship is a bond or a connection between

phenomena.
 Qualitative researchers seek patterns of association
 For example, researchers repeatedly have found a as a way to illuminate the underlying meaning and
relationship between cigarette smoking and lung
dimensionality of phenomena.
cancer.
 Both qualitative and quantitative studies examine
relationships, but in different ways.
 In quantitative studies, researchers examine the
relationship between the independent and
dependent variables.
 The research question asks whether variation in the
dependent variable is systematically related to
variation in the independent variable.
5.) Key Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and
 Quantitative studies can address one or more of the
Quantitative Research: MAJOR CLASSES OF
following questions about relationships:
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Does a relationship between variables exist? (e.g., is
mask wearing and physical distancing related to Quantitative Research: Experimental and Nonexperimental
COVID-19 risk?) Studies
 What is the direction of the relationship between
 Clinical trial (randomized controlled trial or RCT)
variables? (e.g., are people who wear face masks
 Observational study
and do physical distancing more likely or less likely to
get COVID-19 than those who do not?) Qualitative Research: Disciplinary Traditions
 How strong is the relationship between the
variables? (e.g., how powerful is the link between  Qualitative descriptive research
mask wearing and distancing and COVID-19 Risk?  grounded theory tradition
How much lower is the COVID-19 risk for those who  Phenomenology
wear face masks and apply physical distancing?)  Ethnography
 What is the nature of the relationship between
variables? (e.g., do face masks & distancing reduce

Grounded Theory Research
 grounded theory tradition, with roots in sociology,
seeks to describe and understand the key social
psychological processes that occur in a social
setting
 Grounded theory was developed in the 1960s by
two sociologists, Glaser and Strauss (1967).
 Phenomenology, rooted in a philosophical tradition
developed by Husserl and Heidegger, is concerned
with the lived experiences of humans.
 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
 Ethnography is the primary research tradition within
anthropology, and provides a framework for
studying the lifeways and experiences of a defined
cultural group.
 Ethnographers strive to learn from members of a
cultural group, to understand their world view, and
to describe their customs and norms.
6.) Steps in Qualitative and Quantitative Research Study
Steps in Quantitative Study
Phase 1: The Conceptual Phase
 Step1: Formulating and Delimiting the Problem
 Step 2: Reviewing the Related Literature
 Step 3: Undertaking Clinical Fieldwork
 Step 4: Defining the Framework/Developing
Conceptual Definitions
 Step 5: Formulating Hypothesis
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 research
variables
 Step 11: Developing Methods to Safeguard the
Subjects
 Step 12: Finalizing the Research Plan
Phase 3: The Empirical Phase
 Step 13: Collecting the Data
 Step 14: Preparing the Data for Analysis
Phase 4: The Analytic Phase
 Step 15: Analyzing the Data
 Step 16: Interpreting the Results
Phase 5: The Dissemination Phase
 Step 17: Communicating the Findings
 Step 18: Utilizing the Findings in Practice
Activities in a Qualitative Study