What type of research is most valuable to the nursing profession, Qualitative or quantitative
Student 1
Q1) What type of research is most valuable to the nursing profession, Qualitative or quantitative. Support your argument.
I think both qualitative and quantitative are important to the nursing profession. I think both types of research brings vital information needed to better the nursing profession. If I had to choose only one type of research it would be qualitative research. Nurses are ambassadors for science to the public. The role of the nurse is to be a bridge between the scientific study and the population. Nurses are meant to be caring and supportive and should be able to explain treatments in a way the patient can understand. Qualitative research reveals the hidden experience of the individual and makes it visible to the world. Qualitative research answers the “why” questions about life experiences and helps us understand the patient’s perspective. The nurse is meant to be sympathetic and relational with the patient, and qualitative research highlights that.
The responses should be 100 words and should add to the understanding and learning of the topic and should include at least one peer-reviewed journal article reference.
student 2
What type of research is most valuable to the nursing profession, Qualitative or quantitative. Support your argument.
The field of the nursing profession requires constant and dynamic changes that would guarantee continuous rendering of quality patient care. Although it is not a requirement for nurses to conduct a research study, it is still in its very essence, a critical part of ensuring that patients receive optimal nursing care. Thus, nurses are encouraged to partake in various academic ventures that would shed light on the very intricate aspects of the profession per se. However, it cannot be refuted that because of the various factors that can give rise to the different approaches in conducting a research design, the discussion on whether which of the research types is more ideal becomes an arbitrary conclusion.
However, delving into the very details of the profession itself, one could immediately note that there exists a disparity between the need to “scientifically provide numerical values” and the need to “provide an understanding of an event”. Even though the nursing practice itself is embedded with scientific rationale which is proven through the utilization of numbers and telemetric calculations, it still important to note that the phenomenological nature of the profession is a distinct feature that considers the very consciousness and the objects of direct experience (Runciman, pg.146) Nurses’ experience cannot be merely quantified in terms of numerical presentations but could only be translated through the usage of “qualitative” remarks. The better understanding of the events that have transpired in the life of nurses can only become relatable if they are laid out in qualitative research design.
Although the quantitative aspect of the nursing research cannot be disregarded to be of little value, still, it is very important to know that the description of a more direct relationship between an event and the structure of consciousness surrounding it could very well direct to a deeper understanding of how the profession works and how certain errors in the practice could potentially be avoided.
Works Cited
Runciman, W B. “Qualitative versus quantitative research–balancing cost, yield and feasibility. 1993.” Quality & safety in health care vol. 11,2 (2002): 146-7. doi:10.1136/qhc.11.2.146
