Rapid Research Methods for Nurses, Midwives and Health Professionals is designed to help you find and understand the meaning of key research terminology and, more importantly, develop your knowledge of some of the essential ideas and concepts they describe. This A-Z dictionary of terms is a collection of over 200 entries with a definition of each word put in context with additional tips on its use in assignment work. Alphabetically arranged in an accessible, reader-friendly format, this book:
- Answers a clear demand for a practical, fast and concise introduction to the key ideas, concepts and methods in nursing and healthcare research
- Provides students with fast and accessible information designed for revision and writing research-based assignments
- Demystifies a field of study that students often find daunting
Table of Contents:
Introduction xi
Abstract 1
Accidental sampling 1
Action research 2
Aim 3
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 4
Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) 5
Anonymity 6
Audit 7
Audit trail 8
Back chaining 9
Bar graph 10
Before and after designs 11
Beneficence 12
Bias 13
Blinding 14
Bracketing 15
Case–control study 16
Causal relationship 17
Cell 18
Chi-square test (χ2) 19
Clinical trial 19
Closed (close-ended fixed choice) questions 20
Cluster sample 21
Coding 22
Cohort study 23
Concept definition 24
Confidentiality 25
Confirmability 26
Confounding variable 27
Contingency table 27
Control group 28
Convenience sample 29
Correlation 30
Covert observation 31
Credibility 32
Cross-over design 33
Cross-sectional study 34
Critique 35
Data 36
Database 37
Data saturation 38
Demographic data 39
Dependent variable 40
Descriptive statistics 41
Double-blind study 42
Ethics 43
Ethics committee 45
Ethnographic research 46
Exclusion criteria 46
Experimental design 47
Ex post facto studies 49
Face validity 50
Fieldwork diary 51
Fieldwork 52
Findings 53
Fittingness 54
Focus group 55
Forward chaining 56
Frequency distribution 57
Generalisability 58
Grey literature 59
Grounded theory 60
Hawthorne effect 61
Hermeneutics 62
Heterogeneity and homogeneity 63
Hierarchy of evidence 64
Histogram 65
Homogeneity 65
Hypothesis 66
Inclusion and exclusion criteria 67
Inferential statistics 68
Independent variable 69
Informed consent 70
Interval data 70
Interviews 71
Inverse relationship 72
Judgemental sample 73
Justice 73
Key informant 74
Key words 75
Levels of measurement 76
Likert scale 78
Literature review 79
Manipulation 80
Masking 80
Measures of central tendency 81
Mean 81
Measures of dispersion 82
Meta-analysis 83
Mode 83
Median 83
Naturalistic research 84
Non-maleficence 84
Nominal data 84
Non-probability sampling methods 85
Normal distribution 86
Null hypothesis 86
Observation 87
Observational designs 88
Open questions 89
Operational definition 90
Opportunity sample 90
Outliers 91
Ordinal data 91
p Values 92
Paradigm 95
Phenomenology 96
PICO 96
Pilot study 97
Population 98
Power analysis 99
Pretest–posttest designs 99
Principles of research 100
Probability sampling methods 100
Prospective and retrospective study designs 101
Qualitative research designs 102
Quantitative research designs 104
Quasi-experimental research 105
Questionnaires 106
Quota sampling 106
Randomisation 107
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) 108
Range 108
Ratio data 108
Reflexivity 108
Reliability 109
Research 110
Research design 111
Research method 112
Response rate 112
Retrospective study 112
Review of the literature 112
Rigour 113
Sample 114
Sampling methods 114
Sampling frame 116
Self-report 116
Snowball sample 116
Social desirability 116
Statistical analysis 116
Survey 117
Systematic reviews of the literature 117
Table 118
Thick data 119
Transferability 119
Triangulation 119
Trustworthiness 119
Type I Type II Type III errors 120
Unstructured interviews 122
Unstructured observations 123
Validity 124
Variable 126
