Posted: November 29th, 2022

NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research

NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research
Week 1: Overview of Research
What is research, and how does research relate to nursing practice?

Nursing practice is based on outcomes and best practices supported by research findings. That is, issues related to health are examined, and proposed solutions to promote patient safety and health care quality are tested to best determine nursing protocols for professional practice. Consider for example, current nursing protocols to minimize patient falls in health care settings. Without research, extensive testing, and an awareness of how to promote solutions to minimize the risk of falls, there is an increased risk that this very real patient problem would get worse.

This week you explore an overview of the different types of research uses in health care settings. You examine how each type of research is used by nurses in providing quality of care and in promoting positive patient safety outcomes. The week will conclude with an overview of the basic elements of the research process: (a) problem identification, (b) review of literature, (c) implementation of research methods, (d) analyses and presentation of findings, and (e) conclusions about implications for practice.NURS 3150 3151: Foundations of Nursing Research.

Learning Objectives
Students will:
Describe steps of the research process to advance knowledge about quality of care and patient safety
Develop a research question that guides the development of a study on patient safety
Develop a research question that guides the development of a study
Identify different types of research and their contribution to health care
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Gray, J. R, Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Chapter 1, “Discovering the World of Nursing Research” (pp. 1-15)
Chapter 2, “Evolution of Research in Building Evidence-Based Nursing Practice” (pp. 18-34)
Chapter 5, “Research Problem and Purpose” (pp. 76-93)
Chapter 6, “Objectives, Questions, Variables, and Hypothesis” (pp. 98-117)
Martinez, K., Battaglia, R., Start, R., Mastal, M.F., & Matlock, A.M. (2015). Nursing sensitive indicators in ambulatory care. Nursing Economics, 33(1), 59-64.

Document: Developing a Good Research Question in Nursing (PDF)

Writing Resources and Program Success Tools
Walden University. (n.d.). Walden templates: General templates: APA course paper template with advice (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Document: Academic Writing Expectations (AWE) Checklist (Word Document)

This checklist will help you self-assess your writing to see if it meets academic writing standards for this course. NURS 3150 3151: Foundations of Nursing Research.

Discussion: Choosing the Type of Research for a Research Problem
How do you choose the type of research to conduct to address a research problem? What information should you keep in mind to ensure that your research process will adequately address your research problem?

Understanding the different types of research is a critical skill for the nurse researcher and nursing professional. As a current nursing professional, consider how understanding the different types of research may be conducive to achieving a particular mission in your health care setting, such as developing an intervention to address a quality or patient safety problem. This knowledge can also be a step toward assuming a nursing leadership position. As a critical component of your nursing toolkit, differentiating between the types of research is a fundamental step toward enacting change through the process of research.

For this Discussion, please review the following:

Think about clinical practice problems you have seen in health care that compromise patient safety and health outcomes. For example, nursing-sensitive indicators reflect high-priority practice problems, which are described in the article by Martinez, Battaglia, Start, Mastal, and Matlock (2015).
Choose one of the clinical practice problems you have seen in your current or past job in a health care setting. Consider the possible causes of this problem and how you think it is, or was, affecting patient outcomes.
Some patient safety problems are solved by making changes in clinical practice. For example, decreasing catheter-associated urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients often requires changes in clinical practice such as better adherence to preventive measures when catheters are inserted (e.g., use of disposable gloves, maintaining sterile fields, cleansing urethral meatus). For the problem you identified, what specific change in practice do you think is needed?
When a practice change is implemented, it is important to verify whether or not the change has improved patient outcomes. One way to determine this is by conducting research. One of the first steps in the research process involves developing a research question that will later serve as the foundation for your study. Using information from Chapter 5 in your textbook and the handout on developing research questions, think about a research question and about the effectiveness of the practice change you proposed in improving patient outcomes.
Another step in the research process involves identifying which type of research could be conducted to best answer your research question. In Chapter 5 of your textbook you will find a list of different types of research in the first column in Table 5-2, and Table 5-3. You can learn more about these different types of research in both Chapter 2 and the Glossary in your textbook. To locate even more information, you can also use an Internet search engine for more in-depth descriptions and examples. After learning more about the different types of research, think about which one you think is best for determining how well the clinical practice change you identified will improve patient outcomes.
By Day 3
Post a description of how you would address the following:

Part 1: Patient Safety Problem
Describe the patient safety problem you identified, its causes, and the impact you think it has on patient outcomes. For this problem, describe a specific change in practice that could help improve patient outcomes.

Part 2: Research on Patient Safety Problem
Develop a research question that tests the effectiveness of your practice change in the improvement of one or more patient outcomes. What type of research would you use to answer this question? Describe the reasons why you think this is the best approach and why you would not use the other three types of research.

Sample Answer Guide:

Part 1: Patient Safety Problem – Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs)

Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) represent a significant patient safety concern in healthcare settings. These infections are contracted during a patient’s stay in a healthcare facility, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Common HAIs include surgical site infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. These infections can arise due to various factors such as inadequate hand hygiene, improper disinfection, and antibiotic resistance.

HAIs have a substantial impact on patient outcomes. They can prolong hospital stays, increase the need for additional treatments, and even result in patient mortality. Furthermore, HAIs place an additional burden on healthcare systems by consuming resources and increasing the financial strain on patients and healthcare providers.

Specific Change in Practice to Improve Patient Outcomes

To address the issue of HAIs, a specific change in clinical practice that could significantly enhance patient outcomes is the implementation of rigorous infection prevention and control measures. This includes:

Stringent Hand Hygiene Protocols: Healthcare workers must adhere to strict hand hygiene practices, including proper handwashing with soap and water or using hand sanitizers before and after patient contact.

Aseptic Techniques: Healthcare professionals should strictly adhere to aseptic techniques during invasive procedures to prevent contamination.

Appropriate Use of Antibiotics: Implementing antibiotic stewardship programs to ensure the judicious use of antibiotics can help prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Environmental Cleaning: Regular and thorough cleaning and disinfection of patient care areas and equipment can reduce the risk of pathogen transmission.

Part 2: Research on Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs)

Research Question: Does the implementation of comprehensive infection prevention and control measures significantly reduce the incidence of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) among hospitalized patients?

Type of Research: Experimental Research

Rationale for Choosing Experimental Research:

Experimental research involves manipulating variables to observe their effects on a specific outcome. In this case, experimental research would be the most suitable approach to determine the effectiveness of the proposed practice change in reducing HAIs. By implementing infection prevention and control measures in a controlled manner within a healthcare setting, researchers can compare the incidence of HAIs before and after the intervention.

Reasons for Not Choosing Other Types of Research:

Descriptive Research: Descriptive research focuses on describing phenomena as they exist without manipulation of variables. This approach would not provide the cause-and-effect relationship required to assess the impact of the proposed practice change.

Exploratory Research: Exploratory research aims to identify new areas for investigation. Since the problem of HAIs and infection prevention is well-established, exploratory research would not be appropriate for this scenario.

Predictive Research: Predictive research involves identifying relationships between variables to make predictions. While predictive research could help foresee potential HAI trends, it would not directly address the effectiveness of the proposed practice change.

Conclusion

Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) pose a significant threat to patient safety and healthcare quality. By implementing robust infection prevention and control measures, healthcare facilities can mitigate the risk of HAIs. Experimental research is the most appropriate research type to assess the impact of these measures, as it allows for a controlled comparison of HAI incidence before and after the intervention. Through evidence-based research, nursing professionals can contribute to reducing HAIs and enhancing patient outcomes.

References:
Gray, J. R, Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Martinez, K., Battaglia, R., Start, R., Mastal, M.F., & Matlock, A.M. (2015). Nursing sensitive indicators in ambulatory care. Nursing Economics, 33(1), 59-64.

_______________________________________________________________________

NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research
Week 2: Conducting a Literature Search on a Clinical Research Question
Have you ever conducted a literature search before? What does a literature search entail, and why might it be important for nursing practice?

As a nursing professional, you may engage in conducting a literature search in order to refine a clinical research question that you might examine through the research process. Examining, reviewing, and considering the literature in the field will help you to hone your research question and think about new ways you might address or answer a research question with clinical practice.

This week, you examine the skills needed to conduct a literature search to locate other studies that have been conducted on a clinical practice problem. Given the importance of ethical considerations throughout the research process, you will also explore the ethical implications of clinical research. You will examine the definition of research ethics, explore a historical overview of ethical problems in research, consider the ethics of using existing data in research, and the implications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on research. NURS 3150 3151: Foundations of Nursing Research.

Learning Objectives
Students will:
Perform a literature search on a research topic
Describe components of a literature review
Demonstrate an understanding of ethical issues in conducting clinical research
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Gray, J. R, Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Chapter 7, “Review of Relevant Literature” (pp. 120-136)
Chapter 9, “Ethics in Research” (pp. 157-188)
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2015). Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/07/

Walden University Library. (2015b). Keyword searching: Finding articles on your topic: Searching basics. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword

Walden University Library. (2015a). How do I find databases by subject? Retrieved from http://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/73256

Walden University Library. (2015c). Searching and finding information in the library databases: Overview. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/searchingfinding

Writing Resources and Program Success Tools
Walden University. (n.d.). Walden templates: General templates: APA course paper template with advice (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Document: Academic Writing Expectations (AWE) Checklist (Word Document)

This checklist will help you self-assess your writing to see if it meets academic writing standards for this course.

Required Media
Walden University Library. (2019, June). Introduction to nursing research in the Walden Library [Webinar]. Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/nurs3150/week2discussion

Discussion: Conducting a Literature Review
For this Discussion, view the webinar in this week’s resources by a Walden University librarian on strategies to conduct a successful literature search. The webinar provides information on available databases, the use of search engines, and the selection of search terms. Then, you will conduct a literature search on research conducted in the last 5 years on the patient safety problem you identified in Week 1. NURS 3150 3151: Foundations of Nursing Research

By Day 3
Post the following:

For the literature search, describe the following in your post:

The databases, search engines, and search terms you used in your literature search
The number of research articles you found on your patient safety problem that were published in the last year
The challenges you encountered locating research articles and how you overcame them
Who you would go to for help in your work setting if you needed help with a literature search

Sample Answer Guide:

Conducting a Literature Search on Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs)

Databases, Search Engines, and Search Terms Used

In my literature search, I utilized several key databases and search engines to retrieve relevant research articles related to Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs). These include PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. The search terms used were “Hospital-Acquired Infections,” “HAIs,” “Nosocomial Infections,” “Prevention of Infections,” and “Patient Safety.”

Number of Research Articles Found

I found a total of 20 research articles on the patient safety problem of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) that were published in the last year. These articles provide insights into recent advancements, interventions, and practices aimed at reducing the incidence of HAIs and improving patient outcomes.

Challenges Encountered and Solutions

During the literature search process, I encountered a challenge in narrowing down the search results to recent articles published within the last year. To address this, I utilized the database filters to refine the publication date range, focusing specifically on the past five years. Additionally, I encountered some articles that were not directly related to HAIs but contained relevant information within the context of infection prevention and patient safety. In such cases, I refined my search terms and utilized specific terms like “HAIs prevention strategies” to target more relevant articles.

Seeking Help in the Work Setting

If I needed Helpance with a literature search in my work setting, I would turn to the hospital’s medical librarian or information specialist. These professionals have expertise in navigating databases, refining search strategies, and locating relevant articles. They can provide guidance on effective search techniques, help troubleshoot search challenges, and ensure that I am accessing the most up-to-date and reliable research in the field of nursing.

__________________________________________________________________
NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research
Week 3: Quantitative Research Designs and Methods
Andre is a nursing student who has just completed the first 2 weeks in a nursing research course. He has defined a clinical research question for his health care setting and has also determined that the research problem exists in the literature. However, his approach to defining a solution for his research question requires that he receive approval from his health care setting before testing it. However, Andre is not quite sure what he needs to do next. Eager to start, Andre jumps ahead in the course syllabus and sees that in the following weeks he will read about quantitative research design and methods. Slightly confused, he is not quite sure what is meant by quantitative research design and methods and begins drafting an email message to his instructor to see if he might be able to use this information for testing
his research question in practice. NURS 3150 3151: Foundations of Nursing Research

What is quantitative research design? What different methods might exist for engaging in quantitative research for nursing practice?

As you have explored in this course, your next step in the research process is to determine what type of research design and methods you will use to engage in research for your research question. While it is possible that many research designs and methods might be appropriate for your particular research question, gaining a firm understanding of different research designs and methods is another useful skill for engaging in nursing research and practice.

This week, you explore the different categories of quantitative research designs used in a clinical research studies. These include experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive and correlational designs. You will examine the basic characteristics of each design (e.g., causality, control, bias, validity, randomization, probability). You will also examine the basic features of the methods used to conduct most quantitative research designs, such as sample selection, data collection and measurement of variables, as well as data management and analyses.

Learning Objectives
Students will:
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic characteristics of quantitative research designs
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of methods used in quantitative research designs
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings
Gray, J. R, Grove, S. K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Chapter 3, “Introduction to Quantitative Research” (pp. 37-58)
Chapter 10, “Quantitative Methodology: Noninterventional Designs and Methods” (pp. 192-215)
Chapter 11, “Quantitative Methodology: Interventional Designs and Methods” (pp. 217-248)
Chapter 15, “Sampling” (pp. 329-360)
Labrague, L. & McEnroe-Petitte, D. (2016). Influence of music on preoperative anxiety and physiological parameters in women undergoing gynecologic surgery. Clinical Nursing Research, 25(2), 157-173.

Sand-Jecklin, K., & Sherman, J. (2014). A quantitative assessment of patient and nursing outcomes of bedside nursing report implementation. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(19/20), 2854–2863.

Steelman, V. M., Graling, P. R., & Perkhounkova, Y. (2013). Priority patient safety issues identified by perioperative nurses. AORN Journal, 97(4), 402–418.

Document: Journal Club Template for Quantitative Research (Word Document)

Writing Resources and Program Success Tools
Walden University. (n.d.). Walden templates: General templates: APA course paper template with advice (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Document: Academic Writing Expectations (AWE) Checklist (Word Document)

This checklist will help you self-assess your writing to see if it meets academic writing standards for this course.

Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2015c). Quantitative research designs [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 27 minutes.

Optional Resources
Fitzpatrick, J. J. (Ed.). (2017). Encyclopedia of nursing research (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Grove, S. K., & Gray, J. R. (2018). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (7th ed.) (pp. 214–263). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Discussion: Reliability and Validity of Research Methodology
Selection of the appropriate sample is critical to the reliability and validity of research methodology. The sample must be representative of the population that is being studied. Researchers often report both the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the sample. There are many different methods for selecting a sample and random sampling provides the high control of outside variables but is often difficult to utilize in many studies.

For this Discussion, please review the following:

For this assignment, read the article by Labrague, L. & McEnroe-Petitte, D. (2016). Influence of music on preoperative anxiety and physiological parameters in women undergoing gynecologic surgery. Clinical Nursing Research, 25(2), 157-173, listed in the resource section for this week.
By Day 3
Prepare at least a 350-word post discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the sampling method used in this study and if the sampling method promoted reliable and valid results. Include in the discussion if there is anything the researcher could have done to improve the sampling process.

Sample Answer Guide
Strengths and Weaknesses of Sampling Method in Investigating Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs)

The sampling method employed in a research study holds the key to the reliability and validity of its findings. Examining the study by Labrague and McEnroe-Petitte (2016) titled “Influence of Music on Preoperative Anxiety and Physiological Parameters in Women Undergoing Gynecologic Surgery,” allows us to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of its sampling method in the context of investigating the complex issue of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs).

Strengths of the Sampling Method:

The study utilized a convenience sampling method, selecting a group of participants readily available and willing to participate in the research. This method presents certain strengths. Firstly, convenience sampling facilitated ease of access to the target population of women undergoing gynecologic surgery. This approach is time-efficient, making it suitable for researchers with limited resources (Labrague & McEnroe-Petitte, 2016). Secondly, given the sensitive context of the study, the convenience sampling method helped in recruiting participants who were comfortable sharing their experiences with the impact of music on preoperative anxiety.

Weaknesses of the Sampling Method:

While convenience sampling has its advantages, it also brings forth limitations that need careful consideration. One of the primary weaknesses is the potential for selection bias. Since participants were selected based on their availability and willingness, the sample may not be representative of the larger population of women undergoing gynecologic surgery. This can compromise the generalizability of findings beyond the specific context of the study. Additionally, convenience sampling raises concerns about the external validity of the research, as the sample might not accurately reflect the diversity and heterogeneity of patients across different healthcare settings (Labrague & McEnroe-Petitte, 2016).

Reliability and Validity of Sampling Method:

The convenience sampling method employed in this study may have implications for the reliability and validity of its results. While the method facilitated data collection within the constraints of the research, the potential for selection bias threatens the reliability of the findings. The lack of randomization and systematic selection raises questions about the extent to which the sample accurately represents the population under investigation.

Improving the Sampling Process:

To enhance the reliability and validity of the sampling method, the researchers could have considered alternative approaches such as stratified random sampling. This method involves dividing the population into distinct subgroups based on relevant characteristics and then randomly selecting participants from each subgroup. For instance, in the context of investigating HAIs, researchers could have stratified the sample based on surgical procedures, age groups, and medical histories. This approach would increase the likelihood of obtaining a more diverse and representative sample, thereby strengthening the generalizability of the findings (Creswell, 2014).

Conclusion

The strengths and weaknesses of the sampling method used in the study by Labrague and McEnroe-Petitte (2016) shed light on the importance of carefully selecting a sampling approach that aligns with the research goals and context. While convenience sampling expedited data collection, its potential for selection bias raises concerns about the reliability and validity of the findings. To improve the sampling process, considering alternative methods like stratified random sampling could enhance the representativeness of the sample and the credibility of the research outcomes.

References:

Labrague, L., & McEnroe-Petitte, D. (2016). Influence of music on preoperative anxiety and physiological parameters in women undergoing gynecologic surgery. Clinical Nursing Research, 25(2), 157-173.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
__________________________________________________________________

NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research
Week 4: Qualitative Research Designs and Methods
[Qualitative research] is more than simply conducting research on a single individual or situation. This approach has the potential to deal with simple through complex situations. It enables the researcher to answer “how” and “why” type questions, while taking into consideration how a phenomenon is influenced by
the context within which it is situated.
– Pamela Baxter and Susan Jack,
“Qualitative Case Study Methodology”

How does qualitative research differ from quantitative research? How might a research question best be answered by using a qualitative research design approach?

Last week, you explored different quantitative research designs used in nursing research for clinical research questions. While quantitative research designs are appropriate and useful for a wide range of research questions, you might find that adopting a qualitative approach may yield different insights that might best support solutions for a given research question. Understanding the differences between quantitative/qualitative research designs, and their methods, will contribute to effective nursing practice and your role as a nursing professional.

This week, you examine qualitative research designs and methods. You will first explore the different types of qualitative research approaches used in clinical research studies, including obtrusive (e.g., participatory action, ethnography), unobtrusive (e.g., non-participatory observation, audiovisual), and observational (e.g., focus groups, in-depth interviews). Then, you examine the basic characteristics of each approach (e.g., inductive reasoning, narrative descriptions, process orientation), as well as the characteristics of different approaches used to conduct qualitative research designs, such as sample selection, data collection, data management, and interpretative techniques.

Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of methods used in qualitative research designs
Analyze elements of qualitative research designs
Discussion: Basic Characteristics of Qualitative Research
As a nursing professional, you will likely engage in research for your health care setting. Depending on the research question you seek to address, you might choose to use a qualitative research design. Understanding when and why it is appropriate to choose a qualitative research design will be important as you develop research skills for nursing practice. As you continue throughout this course, think about what considerations you should keep in mind when choosing to engage in qualitative research. In what ways might qualitative research be more preferred than quantitative research for informing nursing practice?

For this Discussion, be sure to review the qualitative article by Sarvestani et al. (2015). Then, view this week’s Qualitative Research Design PowerPoint webinar that describes each step of the qualitative research process and different approaches used to conduct qualitative research.

By Day 3
You will need to prepare and post a 350-word response that addresses the following:

Qualitative research often is viewed as not having the same rigor and adherence to objective standards as quantitative studies. Using the references provided to Help you, prepare an argument to either support or refute this claim and post it to the Discussion. In your response, explain if qualitative research does or does not have the controls needed to generate the results that contribute to the nursing knowledge base.
Then, explain if qualitative research could be used to investigate the patient safety problem you identified in Week 1.
________________________________________________________________________
NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research
Week 5: Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Jaime has just completed gathering quantitative and qualitative data on causes of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) on a medical/surgical unit in his hospital. After collecting data on different patients, physicians, procedures, and infections, Jaime is ready to begin analyzing the data. However, how should Jaime proceed? What data is most telling for indicating to the hospital that the medical/surgical unit is experiencing an unexpected increase in the rate of HAIs? How will Jaime determine what type of analyses will be most important for articulating his research question and proposed nursing practice solutions?
Once you have collected and gathered data, the next step in the research process is to engage in the analysis of the data. Whether you perform statistical tests to determine if your data is significant or pool responses to interview questions to indicate emerging themes and patterns, Understanding the different types of analysis available for the research process is essential for drawing the necessary conclusions to inform nursing practice. If you conduct research for your health care setting as a nursing professional, you will almost certainly analyze your data to help inform, implement, and evaluate nursing practice solutions.
This week, you will look at data analysis, with a focus on common statistical techniques such as (a) descriptive analyses (e.g., frequency distributions and mean scores with standard deviations) and (b) comparative analyses. You will also consider the significance of using existing quantitative health care data, such as electronic medical records and local, regional, and national quality and safety databases, to address clinical questions in nursing practice. You will gain an overview of the common techniques used to understand themes and patterns in narrative data for qualitative research. understanding the types of analysis available for the research process is important in order to draw necessary conclusions to inform nursing practice. As a nursing professional, if you engage in research for your health care setting, you will likely engage in the analysis of your data to help inform, implement, and evaluate nursing practice solutions.
This week, you examine the analysis of data, including a focus on common statistical techniques: (a) descriptive analyses (e.g., frequency distributions and mean scores with standard deviations) and (b) comparative analyses (e.g., t-test, chi square). You will also consider the importance of using existing quantitative health care data to address clinical questions in nursing practice, including electronic medical records and local, regional, and national quality and safety databases. For qualitative research, you will explore an overview on the common techniques used to understand themes and patterns in narrative data.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
• Analyze nursing quality indicators in relation to patient safety
• Conduct descriptive and content analyses of quantitative and qualitative data
________________________________________
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Gray, J. R, & Grove, S. K. (2021). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.
• Chapter 21, “Introduction to Statistical Analysis” (pp. 635–650)
• Chapter 22, “Using Statistics to Describe Variables” (pp. 652–662)
• Chapter 12, “Qualitative Research Methodology”
o “Qualitative Data Analysis” (pp. 350–352)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). About this tool. https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/resources/about-this-tool

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Find and compare nursing homes, hospitals, & other providers near you. https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/

Quantitative Resources

Document: Instructions: Quantitative Analysis Assignment (PDF)

Document: Codebook: Quantitative Patient Safety Data (PDF)

Document: Summary Data Analysis Form (Word document)

Document: Quantitative Data Excel Assignment (Excel spreadsheet)

Qualitative Resources

Document: Instructions: Qualitative Coding (Word document)

Document: Qualitative Code Script (Word document)

Document: Qualitative Coding Scheme (Word document)

Document: Qualitative Code Sheet (Word document)

Writing Resources
Scholarly writing is a critical component of nursing academics. Walden University provides resources to support scholarly writing such as the CON Writing Template, Grammarly, access to the Walden Writing Center editing services, and many other tools for success.
Access these supportive resources for successful writing in the Writing Resources tab found in the left-hand menu of the course or by clicking the link below.

Title of the Paper in Full Goes Here
Student Name Here
Program Name or Degree Name, Walden University
Course Number, Section, and Title
(Example: NURS 0000 Section 01, Title of Course)
Instructor Name
Month, Day, Year
(enter the date submitted to instructor)

Title of the Paper
This is your introductory paragraph designed to inform the reader of what you will cover in the paper. (BSN Students – Carefully follow your course-specific Grading Rubric concerning the content that is required for your assignment and the Academic Writing Expectations [AWE] level of your course.) This template’s formatting—Times New Roman 12-point font (other options include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, and Georgia 11), double spacing, 1” margins, 1/2” indentations beginning of each paragraph, page numbers, and page breaks—is set for you, and you do not need to change it. Do not add any extra spaces between the heading and the text (you may want to check Spacing under Paragraph, and make sure settings are all set to “0”). The ideas in this paper should be in your own words and supported by credible outside evidence. Cite the author, year of publication, and page number, if necessary, per APA. The introductory paragraph should receive no specific heading because the first section functions as your paper’s introduction. Build this paragraph with the following elements:
1. Briefly detail what has been said or done regarding the topic.
2. Explain the problem with what has been said or done.
3. Create a purpose statement (also commonly referred to as a thesis statement) as the last sentence of this paragraph: “The purpose of this paper is to describe…”.
Level 1 Heading (Name According to the Grading Rubric Required Content)
This text will be the beginning of the body of the paper. Even though this section has a new heading, make sure to connect this section to the previous one so the reader can follow along with the ideas and research presented. The first sentence, or topic sentence, in each paragraph should transition from the previous paragraph and summarize the main point in the paragraph. Make sure each paragraph addresses only one topic. When you see yourself drifting to another idea, make sure you break into a new paragraph. Avoid long paragraphs that are more than three-fourths of a page. Per our program recommendations, each paragraph should be at least 3-4 sentences in length and contain a topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and a conclusion or lead out sentence. See the MEAL plan (Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, and Lead out) in the Writing Center. In your paragraphs, synthesize your resources/readings into your own words and avoid using direct quotations. In the rare instances you do use a direct quotation of a historical nature from a source, the page or paragraph numbers are also included in the citation. For example, Leplante and Nolin (2014) described burnout as “a negative affective response occurring as result of chronic work stress” (p. 2). When you transition to a new idea, you should begin a new paragraph.
Another Level 1 Heading (Name According to the Grading Rubric Required Content)
Here is another Level 1 heading. Again, the topic sentence of this section should explain how this paragraph is related to or a result of what you discussed in the previous section. Consider using transitions between sentences to help readers see the connections between ideas.
Be sure to credit your source(s) in your paper using APA style. The APA Manual 7th edition and the Walden Writing Center are your best citation resources. Writing Center resources are available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations. You must appropriately and correctly cite all works used in your document.
The following paragraph provides examples of in-text citation examples. According to Leplante (2019), employers cause burnout when employees are stressed by too much work. Or you might write and cite in this manner: Employers cause burnout when employees are stressed by too much work (Leplante, 2019). When paraphrasing, the author name and year of publication in citations is required by APA to direct the reader to a specific source in the reference list. Personal communications are not listed in the reference page but are noted in text as (S. Wall, personal communication, May 24, 2019). This should immediately follow the content of the interview. Also, go to
Another Level 1 Heading (Name According to the Grading Rubric Required Content)
APA can seem difficult to master, but following the general rules becomes easier with use. The Writing Center also offers numerous APA resources on its website and can answer your questions via email. Prior to submitting your paper for grading, submit your draft to SafeAssign Drafts found in the left column of your course.
And so forth until the conclusion….
Conclusion
The conclusion section should recap the major points of your paper. Do not introduce new ideas in this paragraph; the conclusion should interpret what you have written and what it means in the bigger picture.

References
Please note that the following references are intended as examples only. List your own references in alphabetical order. Also, these illustrate different types of references; you are responsible for any citations not included in this list. In your paper, be sure every reference entry matches a citation, and every citation refers to an item in the reference list.
Journal Article; Two Authors; DOI
Leplante, J. P. & Nolin, C. (2014). Consultas and socially responsible investing in Guatemala: A case study examining Maya perspectives on the Indigenous right to free, prior, and informed consent. Society & Natural Resources, 27(4), 231–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2013.861554
Journal Article, Two Authors; URL
Eaton, T. V., & Akers, M. D. (20007). Whistleblowing and good governance. CPA Journal, 77(6), 66–71. http://archives.cpajournal.com/2007/607/essentials/p58.htm
Journal Article, More Than Twenty Authors; DOI
Wiskunde, B., Arslan, M., Fischer, P., Nowak, L., Van den Berg, O., Coetzee, L., Juárez, U., Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang, R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh, V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . . Kovács, A. (2019). Indie pop rocks mathematics: Twenty One Pilots, Nicolas Bourbaki, and the empty set. Journal of Improbable Mathematics, 27(1), 1935–1968. https://doi.org/xxx/xxxxxx
Book; One Author
Weinstein, J. A. (2019). Social change (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Book; Chapter in an Edited Book
Christensen, L. (2020). For my people: Celebrating community through poetry. In B. Bigelow, B. Harvey, S. Karp, & L. Miller (Eds.), Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice (Vol. 2; pp. 16–17). Rethinking Schools.
Professional Organization Web page
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Back to school. https://www.cdc.gov/features/teens-back-to-school/index.html
Professional Organization Book
American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.).
Two or more works by same author in the same year
Wall, S. (2018a). Effects of friendship on children’s behavior. Journal of Social Psychology, 4(1), 101–105.
Wall, S. (2018b). Trials of parenting adolescents with deviant behaviors. Journal of Child Psychology, 4(12), 161–167.
Government Article
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). U.S. Government Printing Office.
Lecture Notes
Health effects of exposure to forest fires [Lecture notes]. (2019). Walden University Blackboard. https://class.waldenu.edu
Personal Communication (Only Goes in Body of Paper and not in References)

Video
Walden University. (2009). Title of video here [Video]. Walden University Blackboard. https://class.waldenu.edu
Television (Audio)
Important, I. M. (Producer). (1990, November 1). The nightly news hour [TV series episode]. Central Broadcasting Service.
APA Resources
You have other several options to Help you in the formulation of your reference page.
• Your American Psychological Association (APA) Manual is your best reference resource. Use the current edition with a copyright date of 2020.
• The Walden Writing Center also a great place for referencing advice at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/references.
• Citation and reference examples are provided in the ‘BSN TOP Ten References and Citations” handout found in the Writing Resources tab of the course. This document covers the 10 most commonly used reference and citation formats. You are responsible for looking up any that are not included on this list.

Week 5: Quantitative Analysis Assignment Instructions: Quantitative Analysis Assignment For the Week 5 quantitative analysis assignment, you will need to conduct basic descriptive analyses about the frequency of patient safety incidents during one month on two medical units in a major urban teaching hospital. To complete this assignment, you will need the following three documents: (a) Excel Spreadsheet: Quantitative Patient Safety Data, (b) Codebook: Quantitative Patient Safety Data, and (c) Summary Data Analysis Form. Below is a description of each of these documents: (a) Excel Spreadsheet: Quantitative Patient Safety Data: The quantitative data for this assignment has been entered into an Excel spreadsheet which can be accessed using the Excel software that is part of the Microsoft Office suite of applications. This type of spreadsheet is called a rectangular file because it is arranged in columns and rows. Each column is a different variable in the data set. For example, Column A (ID) is the identification number variable for patients, and Column B (AGE) is the variable on patient age in years. Each row has data (or information) for each individual patient for each of the variables in the columns. To clarify this, look at the date set for this assignment. You will see that the patient in row 2 has an ID number 001 (Column A) and is 22 years old (Column B). The patient in row 44 has an ID number 43 is 75 years old. (b) Codebook: Quantitative Patient Safety Data: A codebook is used in quantitative research to define the variables (or columns) in a data set and the response categories for each of these variable. Looking at the codebook for this assignment, you will see that the second column in the codebook is the name of variables in the data set. Usually the variable names are abbreviated (e.g., DX stands for primary diagnosis upon admission). Next to each variable name is its description and its response categories. As an example, look at the variable called FALLS. Next to this variable is its description which is defined as whether or not a patient had an accidental fall during the hospitalization. The response categories for the variable FALLS is either “0” which means the patient did not fall or “1” which means the patient did fall. To further clarify this, take a look at Column G on your Excel spreadsheet which is labelled as FALLS. The term “falls” can mean many different things, such as a person accidentally falling at home or a waterfall (e.g., Snoqualmie Falls). The codebook for a quantitative data set gives the specific definition of a variable. In this assignment, the variable FALLS means a patient fall that is reported during a hospitalization. Now look at the numbers in the column underneath FALLS. You will only see the numbers “0” or 2 “1”. In the codebook, these are the response categories for the variable FALLS with 0 = no fall and 1 = fall occurred. Now that you know about the rows and columns of a rectangular data set, you are ready to conduct some basic analyses that summarize (or aggregate) information about the 50 patients in the patient safety data. (c) Summary Data Analysis Form: This form provides guidelines on how to conduct the required quantitative analyses for this assignment and how to report your findings. When you complete your analyses, you need to submit this completed form using the Week 5 platform for submitting assignments.
Select Writing Center Resources

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Walden University Library
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• Click here to learn the fundamentals of library research.
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• Click here for information on how to read research articles.

Title of the Paper in Full Goes Here
Student Name Here
Program Name or Degree Name, Walden University
Course Number, Section, and Title
(Example: NURS 0000 Section 01, Title of Course)
Instructor Name
Month, Day, Year
(enter the date submitted to instructor)

Week 5: Quantitative Analysis Assignment
Summary Data Analysis Form
This is the form you need to use to describe the findings (or results) of your quantitative analyses of the patient safety data set. The data set is found in the Week 5 Learning Resources. For each finding, you are given specific instructions on how to use the Excel program to analyze the data that will give you the results you need for this Assignment. When you have completed the analyses and described your findings on this form, you then need to submit it using the Week 5 platform for assignments.
Analysis 1:
What is the mean age of patients in the patient safety data set?
_____ years
Instructions:
a) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
b) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
c) Highlight Column B, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
d) Click on “Autosum,” and then click on “Average.”
e) You will find the mean age of patients in the data set on line 52 for Column B.

Analysis 2:
What percentage of patients were reported to have fallen during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
a) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
b) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
c) Highlight Column G, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
d) Click on “Sum.”
e) The number of patients in the data set who had reported falls during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column G.
f) To calculate the percentage of patients who fell during their hospitalization, divide the number of falls by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 3:
What percentage of patients reported catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
a) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
b) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
c) Highlight Column H, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
d) Click on “Sum.”
e) The number of patients in the data set who reported CAUTIs during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column H.
f) To calculate the percentage of patients with CAUTIs during their hospitalization, divide the number of CAUTIs by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 4:
What percentage of patients reported medication errors during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
a) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
b) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
c) Highlight Column I, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
d) Click on “Sum.”
e) The number of patients in the data set who reported medication errors during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column I.
f) To calculate the percentage of patients with reported medication errors during their hospitalization, divide the number of errors by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 5:
What percentage of patients reported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections when first admitted to the medical unit?
_____ %

Instructions:
a) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
b) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
c) Highlight Column J, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
d) Click on “Sum.”
e) The number of patients in the data set who reported MRSA infections at the beginning of their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column J.
f) To calculate the percentage of patients with MRSA, divide the number of errors by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Data Analysis

Summarize the findings from your analyses about these patient safety events that occurred in one month on the two medical units at this major urban hospital. What additional information would you need to help develop a plan to decrease the occurrence of these events? The summary should consist of a minimum of 350 words and should be two to three paragraphs. Citations should be used to support statements. After the summary, a reference section should be included.

References
List your own references in alphabetical order and in APA format. References should be published within the last five years. In your paper, be sure every reference entry matches a citation, and every citation refers to an item in the reference list.
Week 5: Quantitative Analysis Assignment
Code Book: Quantitative Patient Safety Data

Column
Variable Name
Description Response Categories
A ID
Unique patient identification number
B AGE Age of patient in years

C GENDER Sex of patient 1 = female; 2 = male

D EDUC Educational level of patient Education in years
Completed
E UNIT Inpatient hospital unit 1 = medical unit 1
2 = medical unit 2

F DX Primary diagnosis of patient when
admitted to medical unit
1 = congestive heart failure
2 = pneumonia
3 = chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease
4 = diabetes
5 = R/O myocardial
infarction
6 = other

G FALLS Reported fall during hospitalization 0 = no fall
1 = fell

H CAUTI Reported catheter-associated
urinary tract infection
0 = no CAUTI
1 = CAUTI

I RXERR Reported medication error during
hospitalization
0 = no medication error
1 = medication error

J MRSA Reported methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
infection
0 = no MRSA
1 = MRSA infectio

Title of the Paper in Full Goes Here
Student Name Here
Program Name or Degree Name, Walden University
Course Number, Section, and Title
(Example: NURS 0000 Section 01, Title of Course)
Instructor Name
Month, Day, Year
(enter the date submitted to instructor)
Week 5: Quantitative Analysis Assignment
Summary Data Analysis Form
This is the form you need to use to describe the findings (or results) of your quantitative analyses of the patient safety data set. The data set is found in the Week 5 Learning Resources. For each finding, you are given specific instructions on how to use the Excel program to analyze the data that will give you the results you need for this Assignment. When you have completed the analyses and described your findings on this form, you then need to submit it using the Week 5 platform for assignments.
Analysis 1:
What is the mean age of patients in the patient safety data set?
_____ years
Instructions:
f) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
g) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
h) Highlight Column B, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
i) Click on “Autosum,” and then click on “Average.”
j) You will find the mean age of patients in the data set on line 52 for Column B.

Analysis 2:
What percentage of patients were reported to have fallen during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
g) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
h) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
i) Highlight Column G, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
j) Click on “Sum.”
k) The number of patients in the data set who had reported falls during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column G.
l) To calculate the percentage of patients who fell during their hospitalization, divide the number of falls by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 3:
What percentage of patients reported catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
g) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
h) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
i) Highlight Column H, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
j) Click on “Sum.”
k) The number of patients in the data set who reported CAUTIs during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column H.
l) To calculate the percentage of patients with CAUTIs during their hospitalization, divide the number of CAUTIs by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 4:
What percentage of patients reported medication errors during their hospitalization?
_____ %

Instructions:
g) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
h) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
i) Highlight Column I, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
j) Click on “Sum.”
k) The number of patients in the data set who reported medication errors during their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column I.
l) To calculate the percentage of patients with reported medication errors during their hospitalization, divide the number of errors by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Analysis 5:
What percentage of patients reported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections when first admitted to the medical unit?
_____ %

Instructions:
g) Open up your patient safety data set using the Microsoft Excel program.
h) At the top of your screen, click on “Formulas.”
i) Highlight Column J, starting at line 2 and ending at line 52.
j) Click on “Sum.”
k) The number of patients in the data set who reported MRSA infections at the beginning of their hospitalization is now given on line 52 for Column J.
l) To calculate the percentage of patients with MRSA, divide the number of errors by the total number of patients in the data set (n = 50).

Data Analysis

Summarize the findings from your analyses about these patient safety events that occurred in one month on the two medical units at this major urban hospital. What additional information would you need to help develop a plan to decrease the occurrence of these events? The summary should consist of a minimum of 350 words and should be two to three paragraphs. Citations should be used to support statements. After the summary, a reference section should be included.
EXCEL SPREADSHEET
ID AGE GENDER EDUC UNIT DX FALL CAUTI RXERR MRSA
1 22 1 14 1 2 0 1 0 0
2 57 1 16 1 5 0 0 0 0
3 48 2 13 1 5 0 0 1 0
4 69 1 12 1 3 1 0 0 0
5 34 2 15 2 4 0 0 1 0
6 76 2 12 2 2 1 0 0 0
7 63 1 15 2 1 0 1 0 0
8 52 2 16 1 2 0 0 0 1
9 55 2 12 1 1 0 1 1 0
10 58 2 11 2 5 1 0 0 0
11 66 1 12 2 4 0 0 1 0
12 64 1 16 1 4 0 1 0 0
13 79 2 10 2 2 1 0 0 0
14 73 1 8 2 3 0 0 1 0
15 55 2 12 2 1 1 0 0 0
16 63 2 13 1 2 0 1 0 0
17 68 2 16 1 4 1 1 0 0
18 80 1 12 1 2 1 0 0 0
19 59 1 12 1 5 0 0 1 0
20 25 1 13 2 2 0 0 0 1
21 35 1 16 2 4 0 0 1 0
22 78 2 11 1 2 1 1 0 0
23 67 2 17 2 3 1 0 0 0
24 64 1 14 1 3 0 0 0 1
25 58 2 12 2 5 1 0 0 0
26 71 1 10 2 1 1 0 0 0
27 51 1 17 2 5 0 0 1 0
28 40 1 12 2 3 0 0 0 1
29 49 2 17 1 5 0 1 0 0
30 19 2 12 2 4 0 0 1 0
31 45 1 13 2 4 1 0 0 0
32 93 1 8 1 2 1 0 0 0
33 52 1 13 2 1 0 0 1 0
34 46 1 16 2 4 0 0 0 1
35 18 2 12 2 4 0 0 1 0
36 90 1 8 1 2 1 0 0 0
37 49 2 16 1 4 0 0 0 1
38 79 2 12 1 1 1 0 0 0
39 23 2 14 2 2 0 0 1 0
40 87 1 11 1 2 0 1 0 0
41 50 2 16 2 3 0 0 1 0
42 24 2 16 2 4 0 0 1 0
43 75 1 8 1 2 1 0 0 0
44 53 1 16 2 1 0 0 0 1
45 29 1 16 2 4 0 0 1 0
46 66 1 13 1 1 1 1 0 0
47 31 2 12 2 4 0 1 0 0
48 80 1 12 1 2 1 0 0 0
49 33 1 12 2 2 1 0 0 0
50 19 2 13 1 2 0 1 0 0

Week 5: Qualitative Analysis Assignment

Instructions: Content Coding of Challenges of Staying in the Hospital

Content coding is one way to identify the themes or patterns found in the narrative text of qualitative research studies. The qualitative research assignment for Week 5 requires you to content code the challenges of staying in the hospital of 10 recent patients. These patients were asked to detail the issues and challenges they had with their hospital stay.

To complete this assignment, you need the three documents: the code script, the code scheme, and the code sheet. Below is a description of each of these documents.

Code Script: You will see the narrative text written by each of the 10 patients in this document. Each patient has a unique identification (ID) number. For example, 001 is the ID number of the first patient and 010 is number for the last patient. Some patients only wrote about one challenge, whereas others listed up to two or more challenges. If a patient listed two or more challenges, a “vertical bar” | is used to separate each them. Take a look at the patient whose ID number is 002. This patient’s first challenge about waiting for tests is separated from the second one by a vertical bar ( | ).

Coding Scheme: A code scheme has unique numbers linked to different types of content or themes found in narrative text. For this assignment, you will see a unique number for each different type of challenge. For example, a challenge on the amount of noise in the hospital is assigned the number “01”. Sometimes the content of narrative text cannot be categorized, because it is unclear or doesn’t make sense. For this assignment, this type of narrative text is given the code number “99”. If narrative text is not a challenge, it is given the code number “98”.

Code Sheet: This is the form that you use to enter the code scheme number for each challenge in a patient’s narrative text. The first column of the code sheet lists the patient’s unique ID number. The next column (Code 1) is used to write the number from the code scheme that best describes the content of the first challenge listed by the patient. The second column (Code 2) is for the second challenge, and the third column (Code 3) is for the last one.

Example

Here is an example of how to code the narrative text on hospital challenges. In this example, the patient described the following challenges from their recent hospital stay:

132 My nurse wasn’t very nice and didn’t seem to care how I felt.  I also missed my bed and pillow.
First, the number “132” is the unique ID number for this patient. When you code this patient’s challenges, you need to write them on the line for this ID number.
Codes
Next you will see a vertical bar | in the narrative text which means there are more than one pet peeve listed by the student.
Code Sheet Example
The first challenge is about the staff and the feeling that “no one cares”. When you review the code scheme for patient challenges, it looks like the number “17” (Feeling that “no one cares”) best describes this patient’s first challenge, so you should enter this in the “Code 1” column.
In the next challenge, the patient writes about a desire to have their own belongings which is related to code number “13” (Wants personal belongings). Enter “13” in the third column of the code sheet. Because this patient did not list a third challenge, you then leave the fourth column (Code 3) blank.
Code Sheet: Student Pet Peeve Data
ID # Code 1 Code 2 Code 3
132 17 13

You are now ready to start content coding the narrative text of hospital challenges for the 10 patients in this assignment. When you are finished, submit your completed code sheet to the submission link in Week 5.

Week 5 Qualitative Data Analysis
Narrative Text on Challenges of Staying in the Hospital (Code Script)

001 Hospital food is the worst! I had a really hard time getting it down.  I had a lot of pain the whole time I was in the hospital,  and I often had to wait a long time for medications to help with the pain.

002 It felt like I was always waiting: waiting to get testing done,  waiting for medicine. Waiting is hard.

003 The hospital smell really bothered me.  Because of it, I also had a hard time keeping food down  and sleeping.

004 Staying in the hospital is hard, because you aren’t around your own stuff. I wanted my bed and my TV.  I really hated waiting for the doctor to come in and talk with me about my condition.

005 While I was staying in the hospital, some of my belongings went missing. I think that they were stolen.  I ended up with pneumonia,  and the staff did not communicate what was going on with my condition.

006 I didn’t feel like the staff really cared about making me feel better. They seemed to want to get out of my room as quickly as possible.

007 I didn’t like being woken up in the night to get vitals or medicine.  One time, I was given the wrong medication in the night as well.
008 The nurses were very loud  went a little “stir crazy,” too, just sitting around all day.

009 The hardest part for me was being away from my husband and kids sleeping was really difficult there.
010 I’m not very good at waiting. The sitting around drove me a little crazy.  I also had a really hard time being away from my dogs.

Week 5 Qualitative Analysis Assignment
Coding Scheme: Challenges of Staying in the Hospital
Comforts
01 = Too loud (e.g., nurses, roommate, “beeping”)
02 = Food tasted bad
03 = Could not keep food down (e.g., due to sickness, medication)
04 = Problems sleeping (e.g., due to noise, being uncomfortable)
05 = Did not like being awakened (e.g., for vital checks, medication times)
06 = Pain from injury/illness
Waiting
07 = Does not like “sitting around”
08 = Waiting time for medication
09 = Waiting time for testing
10 = Waiting time for doctor visits
Being Away From Home
11 = Miss family
12 = Miss animals
13 = Wants personal belongings
Staff Issues
14 = Poor communication (e.g., from doctors, nurses)
15 = Medication errors
16 = Staff did not listen to concerns
17 = Feeling that “no one cares”
Other Non-Staff Issues
18 = “Hospital smell”
19 = Hospital-acquired infection (e.g., MRSA, CAUDI)
20 = Theft of personal property
98 = Other: Patient’s written response is not a challenge or doesn’t fit coding scheme.
99 = Unable to decipher meaning of patient response
Week 5 Qualitative Data Analysis
Code Sheet: Challenges of Staying in the Hospital

ID # CODE 1 CODE 2 CODE 3

001

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

After you complete the code sheet, summarize the major themes or most common challenges described by the 10 patients during their hospital stays. This should be written in paragraph format.

________________________________________
Assignment: Application: Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
In order to provide meaningful results, research processes must be carefully selected and appropriate for the data being analyzed. Statistical programs such as SPSS are frequently utilized by researchers to conduct the analysis of large data sets. These data are organized to provide meaningful interpretation and often include descriptive statistics. Qualitative analysis is completed using content analysis, looking for patterns and themes that emerge from the data. Individual experiences described in interviews and focus groups are considered data and are often provided as examples to support the results in the study publication. Whether you will engage in either quantitative or qualitative research, it is likely that you will encounter both types of studies in the literature. As a nursing professional, being able to analyze and interpret both types of research designs will be important to affect nursing practice that promotes positive health outcomes in
quality of care and patient safety.
For Assignment 1, you will conduct descriptive statistical analyses using quantitative data. For Assignment 2, you will conduct content coding to analyze qualitative data. Please review the Instructions: Quantitative Analysis Assignment and Instructions: Content Coding of Challenges of Staying in the Hospital in this week’s resources to review how to complete both parts of this Assignment. Note: Assignments 1 and 2 will not be accepted unless the required templates are used.
Assignment 1: Quantitative Analyses
• Follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the Instructions: Quantitative Analysis Assignment document in this week’s resources on using the Excel program to conduct descriptive analyses of quantitative data.
• The Quantitative Data Excel Assignment spreadsheet that you will need is in the resources for this week.
• For this Assignment, you will need to describe the findings from your analyses and summarize what they tell you about these patients and the extent of the adverse events they experienced during their hospitalization. What additional information would you need to help develop a plan to decrease the occurrence of these events? Use the Summary Data Analysis Form in this week’s resources to complete your analysis.
Assignment 2: Qualitative Analyses
• Follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the Instructions: Qualitative Coding document in this week’s resources. The document provides detailed instructions on the step-by-step process of conducting the content analysis for this part of the Assignment.
• Access the Challenges of Staying in the Hospital Data document located in this week’s resources that includes the narrative descriptions of 10 students about their challenges in a recent hospital stay.
o The analytic method you will use to analyze the narrative data for this Assignment is called content analysis. It requires you to read each patient’s narrative and then code its content using thematic categories on a coding sheet.
• Access the Code Sheet document located in this week’s resources to carry out the coding as defined in the instructions.
o For the written part of this assignment, you will need to describe the most common types of challenges that students had while staying in the hospital.

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Tags: Communication Breakdowns, Diagnostic Errors, Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs), Medical Errors, NURS 3150/3151: Foundations of Nursing Research, Patient Falls