A Critical Analysis of Quantitative Study

A critical analysis of quantitative study
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Date
The quantitative study:
Rahimi-Madiseh M, Tavakol M, Dennick R. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16: 478–483
A quantitative study of Iranian nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes towards pain:
Implication for education
Introduction
In scientific study, there are two brad methods of study which are; qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative method of study is essential because; it provides data that is in form of figures that are useful in arriving at valid conclusions. Quantitative method of study has been used widely in different science oriented fields. In this paper, the quantitative study on pain has been analyzed in view of protection of the human participants, data collection, data measurement and analysis as well as problem statement. There is also interpretation of the findings of the study. Those are the crucial elements of a study which go a long way in determining success and validity of a research.
Critical analysis
In as far as protection of human participants is concerned, this study can be said to be laudable. The researchers made every possible effort to ensure that there is protection of the participating nurses. When a researcher embarks on carrying out a study, t is crucial that they employ deliberate efforts of ensuring that the participants’ identities are protected. Stichler (2014) observes that; if the aspect of protection of participants is not guarded well, there is possibility of leakage of the identity of the participants. This is not only risky but also unethical. In consideration of the nature of the participating individuals, the protection of their identity in this study was very crucial. This is because; the participants are nurses, and in the event that they portray a negative notion, it would have been easy for them to lose their positions. Another aspect of protection of the human participants which is evident in this study is the efforts to ensure collection of the useful data without having to subject the participants into unnecessary pain. Dresser (2015) notes that; without knowledge on protection of the participating human beings, one would be tempted to have participants experience the variable being tested even if it subjects the person to humiliation of bad feeling. In this study, the data is obtained through subjecting the participants to filling data.
The data for this study was collected from 205 nurses. This figure is very significant because, it seems to be average. Smith (2014) asserts that; if the number of the participants is too few, it becomes unviable to generalize the findings. On the other hand, if such participants are made to be too many, then the collection and analysis of the data will be too difficult and it may not be easy to arrive at viable conclusions. Again, the study may become too expensive such that it becomes difficult to complete it in good time. Therefore, maintaining the number at around 200 is very effective. Having a mixture of gender in the study provides viable data. This study involved both male and female nurses. The data is also collected from a relevant group of people. Student nurses are...