92973 Developing Health Care Theory

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This subject focuses on understanding nursing, midwifery and health care phenomena through methodological approaches such as grounded theory and phenomenology. Descriptive and comparative studies examining relationships among variables and predictive modelling are used as exemplars of research approvals for theory development. Design issues, such as identifying and recruiting participants, theoretical sampling, and data collection including survey design, data analysis and interpretation are addressed. Concepts such as validity, reflexivity, trustworthiness of data and applicability are examined in relation to the methodological approaches explored throughout the subject.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

• explore the processes and frameworks used in theorising and model building
• develop a beginning knowledge of selected quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches used to explore phenomena, concepts, relationships and processes
• develop an understanding of statistical methodologies used to explore concepts and relationships amongst concepts and variables
• develop an understanding of qualitative data analysis and reporting processes
• demonstrate the ability to identify an appropriate population, sample and participation or selection framework, congruent with the research question and methodology
• develop an understanding of research design, sampling, recruitment and retention strategies
• develop an understanding of the process of selecting data collection methods and/or instruments appropriate to the concepts under examination and the skills related to observation and interview techniques
• explore a selection of ethical issues associated with aspects of the research process from the examples of sampling, recruiting, consent, interviewer-participant relationship and data collection using interview, observation and instrument methods.

Content

• Selected methods such as general interpretive, ethnography and critical approaches
• Exploratory descriptive, correlational and cohort methodologies
• Rigour in research: issues of validity and reliability in quantitative and qualitative research
• Descriptive, interpretive, longitudinal, cohort and correlational analysis techniques
• Identifying appropriate populations and sampling techniques, participant recruitment and retention, theoretical and statistical methods for calculating sample size
• Observation, interview and survey data collection methods and associated validity and reliability issues
• Observation, interview and survey method skill development
• Exploring and describing associations using concept maps, graphs, figures, diagrams and participant quotes
• Ethics associated with deciding on a sample, accessing the sample, recruiting and consent, retention, data collection (e.g. confidentiality, anonymity).