UCLA Four Categories of Qualitative Research Discussion Response

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Nursing qualitative method

Schmidt and Brown (2022) identified four types of qualitative research: phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory and historical qualitative research. Below are the sample questions under each method.

• Phenomenology: What is the lived experience of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• Grounded Theory: What is the decision-making process for individuals seeking cancer treatment?
• Ethnography: What are the cultural beliefs and practices surrounding childbirth among African American population?
• Historical: What were the societal perceptions and responses to mental illness among the Latin Americans in the early 20th century?

Statistics for Data Analysis in a Quality Improvement Project

Describing the characteristics of the sample: Frequencies and percentages can be used to describe categorical variables, such as gender, race, or occupation. These statistics provide an overview of the sample distribution across different categories (Schmidt & Brown, 2022). For example, it can be determined what percentage of the sample consists of males and females or how many participants belong to each racial or ethnic group. Besides, measures of central tendency can be used to describe continuous variables, such as age or years of experience. The mean provides the average value, while the median represents the middle value when the data is arranged in ascending or descending order. The mode identifies the most frequent value in the dataset.

Describing the measures of central tendency for variables being studied: Schmidt and Brown (2022) note that the measures include the mean, median and mode. Schmidt and Brown (2022) Note that these measures describe where most of the data lies. For example, if assessing patient satisfaction, the mean satisfaction score can indicate the average level of satisfaction within the sample. The median can offer a more robust representation of the central tendency if outliers influence the variable. The mode can reveal the most common response or category among participants.

Determining the differences between groups: Inferential statistics can be employed to determine if there are statistically significant differences between groups in a quality improvement project. For categorical variables, chi-square tests can examine associations or differences between groups. These tests determine if the observed differences are significant or can be attributed to chance. For continuous variables, independent t-tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) can be utilized. Schmidt and Brown (2022) note that these tests compare means between two or more groups to identify significant differences. Post-hoc tests can be employed when conducting ANOVA to identify which specific group means differ significantly.

Determining changes in scores from pre to post-intervention: To determine changes in scores from pre to post-intervention within the same group, paired t-tests or repeated measures ANOVA can be used. Paired t-tests compared the means of two related samples to assess if there was a significant difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention scores. Repeated measures ANOVA allows for the comparison of means across multiple time points or conditions, examining if there are statistically significant changes over time. These statistical analyses provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the intervention.