Essay on Statistics in Nursing

Holland and Rees (2010) framework guided the appraisal of the paper by Duncombe (2017). The purpose of a framework is to analyze and evaluate the strengths and limitations of the research process and to determine the validity of the paper (LoBiondo-Wood and Haber, 2017). Duncombe (2017) adopted a quantitative methodology for this study. According to Polit and Beck (2017), quantitative research is the scientific process involving large groups of participants and data, worthy of improving the understanding of nursing. Presented as statistics it offers hard facts by way of empirical data centered on a positivist approach (McEwan and Wills, 2017).

Duncombe’s (2017) focus is obvious in the title and the measurable variables constitute the ‘barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based practice.’ It appears there is difficulty implementing EBP globally, therefore, an important, current topic for research with the potential for many research questions. The author details a clear background with studies to validate the importance and rationale for choosing this topic, backed by an extensive, balanced literature review. These studies show organizational obstacles obstruct nurses from implementing EBP, giving justification for this research question. This is explored in great depth and supported by a considerable amount of robust studies from primary sources.

The research design is the strategy to address research questions. The design details techniques followed by the researcher to gather reliable, unbiased, and accountable knowledge (Polit and Beck, 2017). There are different forms of quantitative research for example, descriptive, correlational, quasi-experimental, and experimental (Walker, 2005). Duncombe (2017) used a non-experimental research approach known as a descriptive, comparative design. According to Gerrish and Lathlean (2015), the fundamentals of a descriptive, comparative design is to ascertain relationships between variables. Although descriptive, comparative studies are not as rigorous a design as randomized control trials or quasi-experimental (Parahoo, 2017), this approach is sensible for this study because Duncombe (2017) is examining the relationship between ‘the barriers’ and ‘facilitators’ of implementing EBP, with no manipulation of these variables (Cantrell, 2011). The research design Duncombe (2018) employs is a survey to obtain knowledge from a selection of people by their replies to questions (Ponto, 2015). Surveys can be useful because they are simple to carry out (Gerrish and Lathlean, 2015), but securing high response rates is difficult and, therefore not a strong research strategy (Kelley et al, 2003). This survey was paper-based and administered by a contact person, which has better response rates than online or postal surveys (Messer, Edwards, and Dillman, 2012). Duncombe (2017) could have increased the response rate by sending a reminder postcard to all participants (Lapane et al, 2007).

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The method Duncombe (2017) used to collect data was self-administered questionnaires. A questionnaire consists of a collection of questions to collect knowledge from the respondents. The advantage of self-administered questionnaires is that they can be delivered in broad numbers and are versatile (Polit and Beck, 2017). Nevertheless, self-administered questionnaires have limitations, an example being respondents may differ in reading levels (Jones et al, 2013). According to Polit and Beck (2017), personal interviews are a more reliable method for gathering data and would have been a more robust method for Duncombe (2017), attributable to less participant rejection. Duncombe (2017) used a structured self-report by incorporating a Likert scale (Joshi et al, 2015) into the questionnaire (Timmons, 2014). Cronbach's Alpha was used to measure the reliability of the Likert-like items and was found to be between 0.8 and 0.91, which indicates these results are reliable (Tavakol and Dennick, 2011). Duncombe (2017) strengthened the quantitative methodology by utilizing a pilot study. Pilot studies are a key element of successful study design because they indicate whether the questions are intelligible or unequivocal (Teijlingen and Hundley, 2002).

Analysis of data may include inferential or descriptive statistics (Moxham et al, 2012). Descriptive statistics identifies and analyses data and displays trends and patterns of collected observations or measurements (Turner and Houle, 2019). The purpose of the study was to compare and summarise a sample of nurses' perceptions based on 4 different settings; therefore, descriptive statistics are appropriate for this study. The data analysis approach is well organized and properly set out, with the results of this study presented in tables and a graph, and have been analyzed appropriately. Graphs are a robust feature for data analysis as they show data features that might be absent from statistics and render interpreting results easier to comprehend for the reader (Unwin, 2020).

Duncombe (2017) used stratified, random sampling to select 100 registered nurses. Stratified, random sampling is a type of probability sampling (Broomfield, 2015) that requires splitting a randomly selected sample from a target population into smaller groups, based on shared attributes (Parahoo, 2017). Probability sampling is considered the most robust method of sampling strategy (Gerrish and Lathlean, 2015). In this case, this type of sampling strategy is suitable, however, Duncombe (2017) used surveys to gather data resulting in a poor response rate of 61% (Kelley, 2003). A sample of this size is weak, and it could be argued the researcher may have benefited from approaching a higher number of respondents (Ponto, 2015). Duncombe (2017) could have strengthened the sample size further by approaching respondents within the private sector.

Ethical approval is paramount when conducting research (Heale and Shorten, 2016) and Duncombe (2017) clearly states the participants were treated in line with the guidelines set out by the Ethics Committee in the Bahamas. Informed consent was acquired from each respondent and confidentiality and privacy (Fouka and Mantzorou, 2011) were pursued throughout the research process, this has been done well by Duncombe (2017). According to Parahoo (2017), a self-administered questionnaire is one of the data collection methods that could theoretically keep respondents completely confidential. However, Duncombe (2017) has made no mention of protocol for psychological risks for respondents (Avasthi et al, 2013). It is apparent though that this study is ethically vigorous, and the author has maintained this throughout.