Research allows us to learn more. It allows us to go beyond simple questioning and curiosity. It provides us the opportunity to dig deeper, search for outcomes, and explore meaning. Throughout your practice, you will experience the need for research. Whether it is in your educational journey or within your career, research is an integral skill set for your role as a DNP-prepared nurse.

Research begins as a question which leads to the study and collection of data. Through understanding and examining variables, determining levels of measurement, and analyzing outcomes, the question presented comes into clearer focus. This week, you consider the role of research in the field of nursing. You will explore variables in research and analyze data to develop understanding and meaning.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze independent and dependent variables for research questions
• Identify levels of measurement for independent and dependent variables
• Analyze approaches for addressing advantages and challenges in the data analysis for variables and levels of measurement
• Evaluate frequency and descriptive statistics
• Summarize descriptive statistics

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Learning Resources

Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)

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Discussion: Levels of Measurement

• What is the incidence of blood clots from COVID-19 in females over the age of 35?
  The above question is an example of a research question. A research question consists of three parts and guides the methods and approaches in which you will study the question to find answers. The research question includes: the question, the topic, and the population or variables. In the example provided above, the question is examining the prevalence of blood clots from severe COVID-19 in a selected population. From this question, the variables can be assessed, considerations can be analyzed, and populations can be sampled in order to guide the research.

• Photo Credit: Socha, A. (n.d.). Scale question, balance [Photograph]. pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/photos/puzzle-last-part-joining-together-3223922/

During Week 2, you developed a research problem statement based on a topic of interest to you or your specific area of practice. Using this research problem statement, you will develop a research question. “A research question is a concise, interrogative statement that is worded in the present tense and includes one or more of a study’s principal concepts or variables” (Gray & Grove, 2020). These questions typically point to the type of study that will be conducted and serves as a guide for the research.

For this Discussion, reflect on your research problem statement. Consider the independent and dependent variables of your research problem through the construction of a research question. Reflect on the potential levels of measurement for your variables and the rationale for the labels, as well as consider the advantages and challenges that you might experience in the statistical analysis of your proposed variables.

Reference: Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.

To Prepare:

• Review your research problem statement from Week 2 to develop your research question.
• Review the Learning Resources on how to describe variables.
• Consider the levels of measurement for your variables: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.
• After reviewing your research question and considering the levels of measurement, analyze your classification for each variable. What was behind your reasoning for labeling the variables? How might the data be analyzed based on these labels?
• Consider advantages and challenges that you might encounter in the statistical analysis of your proposed variables.

By Day 3 of Week 4

Post your research question and describe the independent and dependent variables. Then, identify the level of measurement of both your independent and dependent variables. Provide a brief rationale for your classification of each variable. Be specific. Explain considerations of analyzing data related to each variable based on its level of measurement. Be sure to include any advantages or challenges that you might encounter in your statistical analysis of each variable and explain why.

By Day 6 of Week 4

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by noting any discrepancies and/or suggesting alternatives in the levels of measurement and statistical analyses described.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 4 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 of Week 4 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 4

To Participate in this Discussion:

Week 4 Discussion

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Assignment: Frequency and Descriptive Statistics

• Imagine that you have collected data from 100 patients. You have carefully compiled vitals, pain scores, and medications for each of the patients. However, what does all of this data mean? Is your work now done?
  How do we make data meaningful? Why must we move beyond the raw data to ensure that data is purposeful?  
  
  Descriptive analysis is the analysis of the data to develop meaning. Descriptive analysis provides meaning through showing, describing, and summarizing the data compiled to “reveal characteristics of the sample and to describe study variables” (Gray & Grove, 2020). This allows the researcher to present data in a more meaningful and simplified way.

• Photo Credit: Getty Images

For this Assignment, summarize your interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided to you in the Week 4 Descriptive Statistics SPSS Output document. You will evaluate each variable in your analysis.

Reference: Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2020). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.

To Prepare:

• Review the Week 4 Descriptive Statistics SPSS Output provided in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Review the Learning Resources on how to interpret descriptive statistics, including how to interpret research outcomes.
• Consider the results presented in the SPSS output and reflect on how you might interpret the frequency distributions and the descriptive statistics presented.

The Assignment: (2–3 pages)

• Summarize your interpretation of the frequency data provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, and family income from prior month. 
• Note: A frequency analysis is way of summarizing data by depicting the number of times a data value occurs in the data table or output. It is used to analyze the data set including where the data are concentrated or clustered, the range of values, observation of extreme values, and to determine intervals for analysis that could make sense in categorizing your variable values.
• Summarize your interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, race and ethnicity, currently employed, and family income from prior month.
• Note: The descriptive analysis includes N (size of your sample), the mean, the median, the standard deviation, the size and spread of your data to determine the variability/variance in your data.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general#s-lg-box-20293632). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

By Day 7

Submit your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 4 Assignment Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4

To participate in this Assignment:

Week 4 Assignment

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What’s Coming Up in Module 3?

• Photo Credit: [BrianAJackson]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

In the next module, you will continue your exploration of quantitative research and data analysis. You will look more closely at additional techniques and methods of conducting quantitative data analysis and interpretation.

Looking Ahead: Assignment: CITI Program Training

• As a doctorally-prepared nurse, you may have opportunities to collaborate in research activities in your practice. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) provides education on protection of human subjects. In the United States, the CITI Program is the training module that most research institutions use. Therefore, as a part of this course, you are required to successfully complete the CITI Program training by Day 7 of Week 9.  

• Photo Credit: Андрей Яланский / Adobe Stock

This online course may take up to 8 hours to complete. You will receive an electronic Certificate of Completion upon successfully passing the training. You will submit this Certificate of Completion to the Walden University Institutional Review Board office when you submit an application to conduct research.

To Prepare

• Follow the instructions on the CITI Program Learner Registration webpage to create your account (https://www.citiprogram.org/index.cfm?pageID=154&icat=0&clear=1).
  • Review the CITI Program Learner Registration Guide for step-by-step instructions on completing the registration process.
  • Be sure to select Walden University under the “Select Your Organization Affiliation” section. If you do not select Walden University, you will not be able to access the training at no cost.
• Create and record your CITI Program User Name and Password for future reference.

To complete:

By Day 7 of Week 9

• Complete the five required Citi Program training modules as well as the two elective modules.
• Copy and paste the Certificate of Completion into a Word document and save the file as a “.doc” or “.rtf” file.

You are not required to submit this Assignment this week.

Note: This Assignment must be completed by Day 7 of Week 9 in order for you to successfully complete this course.

Next Module