Qualitative and quantitative research styles of nursing research Essay

Qualitative and quantitative research styles of nursing research - Essay Example The term Nursing Research refers to the application of scientific inquiry to phenomena of concern to nursing. The systematic investigation of patients and their health experience is the primary concern of nursing. Nursing Research seeks to find new knowledge that can eventually be applied in providing nursing care to patients. It includes both Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies. The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research in nursing is representative of a complex issue which will be simplified for the purposes of clarity and brevity. Qualitative researchers collect their data in real world, naturalistic settings. And, whereas a quantitative researcher usually strives to collect data in one type of setting to maintain constancy of conditions, qualitative researchers may deliberately strive to study their phenomena in a variety of natural contexts. Qualitative research reports are written in a more inviting and conversational style than quantitative ones, whic h are more impersonal and include information on statistical tests. Qualitative nursing researchers also strive to share their findings with others at conference and in journal articles. Qualitative findings because of their depth and richness, also lend themselves more readily to book-length manuscripts than do quantitative findings.Regardless of researchers’ position about when a literature review should be conducted, they usually include a summary of prior research in their reports as a means of providing context for the study.... Although this rate is somewhat better than rates reported elsewhere, it still concern that control of pain for dying patients is simply not good enough. Interestingly, families had more complaints about the management of pain for decedents who died at home, even though they did not report higher levels of pain. Perhaps this is because in the home setting, family members are more aware of pain management problems and bear more responsibility for direct care of such needs. Research reports tell a story. The style in which many research reports are written- especially reports in quantitative style, makes it difficult for beginning research consumers to become interested in the story. To unaccustomed audiences, research reports may seem stuffy, pedantic, and bewildering. Four factors contribute to this impression: -> Compactness. Journal space is limited, so authors try to compress many ideas and concepts into a short space. Interestingly, personalized aspects of the investigation often cannot be reported. And, in qualitative style, only a handful of supporting quotes can be included. ->Jargon. The authors of both quantitative and qualitative reports use research terms that are assumed to be part of readers' vocabulary, but they may seem esoteric. ->Objectivity. Quantitative researchers normally avoid any impression of subjectivity and thus research stories are told in a way that makes them sound impersonal. For example, most quantitative research reports are written in the passive voice. Use of the passive voice tends to make a report less inviting and lively than the use of the active voice, and it tends to give the