Qualitative Research Critique and Ethical Considerations

Qualitative Research Critique and Ethical Considerations Name: Institutional Affiliation Course Title: Date: Qualitative Research Critique and Ethical Considerations Background of the Study The Study by Bittner and Bechtel (2017) sought to delve into the factors that contribute to the shortage of the nurse faculty. The motivation behind the study was the need to stabilize and sustain the nursing staff that is currently in the workforce in an attempt to augmenting the prevailing and future shortage of nurses. The authors recognize the consensus among researchers that there is inadequate supply of the nurse faculty and thus the current nursing faculty cannot effectively meet all the nursing programs’ needs. This nurse faculty shortage often discourages many applicants annually. While establishing the rationale for the study, Bittner and Bechtel (2017) cite the report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which claims that, the United States’ nursing schools rejected 68,938 suitably qualified applicants from both the graduate and baccalaureate nursing programs in the year 2014. The underlying reasons as to why such schools turned away the applicants include budget constraints, lack of sufficient classroom space and insufficient clinical preceptors, clinical sites and number of faculty. Additionally, schools often find it difficult to recruit faculty due to high faculty workloads, noncompetitive salaries and limited number of qualified teaching staff. The authors further raise concerns that the problem of faculty shortage will worsen in the future since the existing nursing educators will retire within the next one decade. On average, nurse educators are older than the practicing nurses (Bittner & Bechtel, 2017). Overall, the study focused on addressing the pertinent issues relating to the shortage of the nurse faculty. The main research question implicitly in this study is: What strategies could be used to stabilize and sustain the current nurse faculty? Method of Study In order to answer the implicit research questions, the researchers adopted a descriptive qualitative research design. They used a survey consisting of 25 key questions focusing on different aspects relating to the research topic. The survey was largely appropriate for answering research questions as it focused on multiple perspectives, including the research subjects’ retirement plans, mobility, job satisfaction, workload and responsibilities and roles. The information gathered through the survey was utilized in identifying and describing the effect of retirement, nurse faculty workload as well as other issues relating to the retention of nursing educators (Bittner & Bechtel, 2017). Consistent with the purpose of the study, the researchers used the survey information to provide the necessary recommendations that could help in stabilizing and sustaining the nursing educators who constitute the current workforce. In addition, the researchers cited the relevant quantitative and qualitative studies to inform the preliminary stages of the study. All the studies cited are consistent with the focus of the current study. In total, the researchers used 15 sources, 9 of which were highly credible peer-reviewed journal articles of relevant...