Midwifery Research

Maria Teresa C. Padilla

 Research
• Is a sytematic inquiry that uses disciplined
methods to answer questions or solve problems.
(Polit and Beck, 2004)
• is a scientific study or investigation that is
pursued to discover facts, revise theories or
laws based on new facts and practical
application of these. (Webster, 1992)
• is a way of dealing with ideas for purpose of
clarifying, verifying, and confirming data.
 Midwifery Research
• Contributes to the health of women and
infants and the advancement of the
profession of midwifery through promotion
and participation in the conduct and
development of research.
• Exploring the past, present, and future
efforts to develop the best in evidence-
based care is the focused of midwifery
reasearch.
 Purposes of Midwifery
Research
• Improve the health care practices
• Create a strategy that will bridge the gap
between knowledge and practice
• Enhances the capability of the midwives to
make intelligent decisions involving client’s
condition based on scientific evidences.
 The Importance of Research in Midwifery
Practice
The ICM International Code of Ethics for Midwives
(2014) states that:

“Midwives use up-to date, evidence-based

professional knowledge to ensure safe birthing
practices in all environments and cultures (maintain
competence)”

“Midwives develop and share midwifery knowledge

through a variety of processes, such as peer review
and research”.
The Importance of Research in Midwifery
Practice

• All women deserve the highest quality,

culturally relevant, evidence based health
midwifery services.
• Midwives have a role in, and responsibility
for advancing midwifery knowledge within
the profession, thereby improving the
health of women and their newborns.
 .
Role of the Midwife in Research
Midwives are urged to:
• Maintain records and create/contribute to
national and international databases on the
quality, cost, safety and effectiveness of
midwifery care.
• Recognize the principles of ethical codes for
researchers as stipulated in the Declaration of
Helsinki. (is a set of ethical principles regarding human
experimentation developed for the medical community by the World Medical
Association (WMA). It is widely regarded as the cornerstone document on
human research ethics.)
 Role of the Midwife in Research

• Design/participate in studies that support and

promote holistic and evaluate the effects of
using technology as an intervention during
childbirth.
• Have research on the childbearing cycle
maintains a holistic approach that includes the
physiological, psycho-social, cultural and
spiritual aspects of the health of women and
newborns.
 .
Role of the Midwife in Research

• be responsible for promoting and participating in

the design, implementation and evaluation of
studies within their area of expertise
• include the theory and practical application of
research so that midwives are able to appraise,
interpret and critically apply appropriate
research findings to ensure their practice is
evidence-based.
 Characteristics of Midwife Researcher
• Honest and credible
• Accurate in data collection
• Organized and systematic
• Logical
• Self – Awareness
• Imaginative and curious
• Persistent
• Establishes good relationship with respondents
and other researchers
• Updated and informed with the latest issues
 Ethics in Research
Rights of Human Subject

1. Right to self-determination
2. Right to privacy and dignity
3. Right to anonimity and confidentiality
4. Right to fair treatment
5. Right to protection from discomfort and harm
 Ethical Pinciples in Research
• Principle of Autonomy
• Autonomy is self-determination that fosters
research subject independence and self
regulation.
Information needed by the reserach
subjects:
 explanation of the study;
 procedure to be followed and their purposes;
 a clear description of physical, mental
discomforts, any invasion of privacy;
 methods used to protect anonimity and
ensure confidentiality
• Principle of Benifecence
• this involves positive action toward preventing,
removing evil or harm and doing or promoting
good. (Edge and Grooes, 1999)

• Multiple dimensions of the principle of

benifecence (Polit and Beck, 2004)
• freedom from harm
• Freedom from exploitation
• benefits froms research
• risk-benefit ratio
• Principle of Non-maleficence
• requires that the researcher does not cause
direct harm nor inflict unnecessary pain/injury
to the subjects of the study, although
unanticipated harm may occur.

• Principle of Justice and Fairness

• requires giving what is due, right to fair
treatment, right to privacy, anonymity and
confidentiality and right to intellectual property.
 The Research Components
• Title of the Study
• Chapter 1
• Introduction
• Statement of the Problem
• Hypothesis
• Purpose of the study
• Assumption
• Definition of Terms
• Significance of the study
• Scope and Delimitation
 The Research Components

• Chapter 2 Review of the Related Literature

Theoretical Framework
• Chapter 3 Methodology and Design
• Chapter 4 Presentation of Findings and analysis
• Chapter 5 Summary, Conclusion and
Recommendation
Introduction or Background of the Study
• Brief discussion of the rationale and background of the
problem;
• This serves as the spring board for the statement of the
problem;
• It should stimulate the interest of the reader
• It should include:
• the context of the problem and its historical
background;
• authoritative viewpoints on the problem;
• the researcher’s interest in working on the problem;
• The purpose of the study in relation to the problem
 Statement of the Problem
• Problem refers to the question that the research
seeks to answer.
• The articulation of the problem to be addressed
is termed as statement of the problem or
problem statement.
• Statement of the problem is an explicit and
precise of the dilemma or research question to
be addressed and indicates the need for study
to provide understanding and direction.
• Statement of the Problem should:
• Reflect clearly a well-defined and specific
focus;
• specify key variables and express
relationship between the variables simply,
specifically and clearly;
• specify population study.
• it can be stated in declarative or interrogative
sentence
 Research Problem may be stated in:
• Interrogative form
Example: What is the relationship between the
dependency level of post cesarian section
patient and their speed of recovery?

• Declarative
Example: Relationship between the
dependency level of post cesarian patient and
their speed of recovery
Research Problem can also be:

 major problem is the the main issue to be

answered by the investigation;
 Directs attention to the purpose of the
investigation;
 This is also referred to the goal of the study
 This includes the subject matter of the inquiry,
population, and the purpose of the study.
 minor problem:
 major problems broken down to sub
problems;
 supports the major problems and their
solutions leads to the solution of the major
problem;
 serves as guide to data collection,
measurement and analysis;
 this is also called the objectives of the study.
• Sources of Research Problems

Personal experience
Literature sources
Existing resources
Previous research
 Criteria for Selection of Research Problem
• Feasible
• Number of subjects
• Technical expertise
• Cost - both time and money
• Scope of the project
• Interesting
• Novel
• Ethical
• Relevant
 Research Variables
• Variables are measurable qualities, properties or
characteristics of people, things, events,
situations under study that vary from one subject
to another.
• The problem statement should be written
properly where the variables to be studies must
be identified well.
 Kinds of Variables
• Explanatory Variables
• Independent variables
• Dependent variables
• Intervening variables
• Moderator variables
• Extraneous or Exogenous
• Organismic Variables
• Environmental variables
• Abstract or Continuous Variables
• Dichotomous Variables
 Activities
Directions: look for an undergraduate thesis and
use this for identifying the following:

1. Complete Title of the Thesis

2. Identify the main problem
3. Present the sub-problems
4. enumerate the variables used in the study
5. State the significance of the study
Direction: Complete the activity below to help you
come up with aa problem for your nursing
research.
1. Choose your topic of interest for your research
requirement.
2. Have your topic of interest be divided into sub
areas.
3. Select your main problem or the focus of your
study from your identified sub-areas.
4. Present the components or sub-problems of
the main problem in question form.
5. Propose your study Title.
 Determination of Study Purpose
• Purpose of the study states the justification,
reasons, motivations, or the rationale for the
study by presenting its overall goals and
objectives.
• objectives should posses the SMARTER
charateristics for ease in evaluation.
• establishes general direction of the investigation
• indicates the independent variable, dependent
variable and population of the study.
• Examples:
The purpose of the study is to determine
whether viewing a video of an actual delivery of
a baby will reduce the level of parental anxiety .

The purpose of the study is to identify the factors

that maximize the opportunities for mothers of
hospitalized children to participate in their care.
Activities: Using the problem which you have
identified for research project, complete the
activity by stating the purpose of your study for
the main problem and sub-problems.

1. Main Problem: _____________________

Purpose: _____________________________
2. Sub Problems: ______________________
Objectives
 Assumptions
• Are statements or assertions taken for
granted or considered true even if they
are not yet proven scientifically.
• These are not guess because of the
logical basis
• Are related to the problem usually drawn
from the theoretical framework
 Types of Assumption
• Universal Assumptions come from the
researcher’s knowledge and from observed facts
related to the problem and are presumed true
based on experience and observations.

• Ex. Smoking is harmful to one’s health.

Handwashing prevents infectious diseases.
• Study Assumptions are positive assertions
necessary to carry out the study.
• They serve as the starting point from which
the study proceeds and serve as basis for
starting the study hypothesis.
• Ex.
• Maternal Attitudes and behavior affect the
toilet training of toddlers.
• Position during labor influences progress
of labor.
• Theory or Researched –based assumptions are
premised on the specific theory applicable to
the study.
• This type may come from researches that
need further validation.
• Ex.
• The patient’s basic physiologic needs must
firts be met before providing client teaching.
• The perceived susceptibility to a certain
disease or condition influences behavioral
change
 Significance of the Study
• The researcher should cite the importance,
relevance of the expected outcomes of the
investigation and its probable effects on the
theory.
• The benefits may include the development of
new theories, guide in policy making,
improvement in the quality of care and building
up of expertise.
• Beneficiaries should include the midwifery
profession, public, students and administrators
 Statement of Scope and Delimitation

• Delimitations are the characteristics that limit

the scope of the investigation.
• Scope spells out the context of the study in
terms of subject concepts and specific
characteristics of the phenomena, treatment,
sampling and time frame.
• It clarifies the who, what, when, where and why
of the study.
 Constraints of the study delimitation
 choice of objectives or purpose of the
study;
 choice of study questions;
 choice of variables of interest;
 choice of the samples and the exclusion
of other sectors of the population;
 anticipated manageability of the study
problems
 theoretical perspective
 Study Limitation
• Limitations of the study are those characteristics
of design or methodology that set the
parameters on the application or interpretation of
the results
• Any research design or methodologic
characteristics that offers constraints on
generalizability of the findings is considered a
study limitation.
• sample deficiency
• design problems
• data collection/instrument weakness
 Activity
• Formulate the assumption of the study and
Scope, Delimitation and limitation of the
study.
 Formulation of Hypothesis
• Hypothesis is a prediction or a testable
statement about the relationship between two or
more variables which a researcher aims to see if
is supported or rejected.
• Symbols Used:
• H Hypothesis
• Ho Null Hypothesis
• HA Altenative Hypothesis
• H1 First (possible several) research
Hypothesis
 Characteristics of Hypothesis

• An ideal hypothesis is based on sound and

justifiable rationales and worded simply,
claerly and generally at present tense.

• It should be testable. It states the expected

relationship between the independent and
dependent variable within the population.
 Characteristics of Hypothesis
•it should contain phrases that embodies
specific relationship such as more than,
most likely, ssociated with, etc.
• “Midwifery Gradutes who attend review
classes are less likely to experience
failure in the licensure examination than
those who did not attend review
classes.”
 Definition of Terms
• Facilitates better understanding of the study by
explaining the terms or variables used in the
study.
• Direct the reader into the meaning of the word
according to the researcher’s own interpretation
• Guide and direct researchers in quantifying and
qualifying variables
 Types of Definition of Terms
• Conceptual are definitions that is universally
understood . Common sources are dictionary,
related literature, etc.
• Operational is the researcher’s own definition of
terms used in the study
• Lexical are taken from the authorities on the
subject being defined. These are more
meaningful when stated in sentences rather than
phrases.